Thanks for the reviews, and for continuing to add this story to your favorites, and alerts. I really appreciate it, as well as your input!

I also wanted to point out something that I found rather interesting with the previous update. Usually I get people telling me that they hate Sugar and some that aren't pleased with the way Quinn has handled the situation, but it has never been about Rachel until now. I always enjoy reading everyone's opinion, and it kind of made me smile to hear this about Rachel. It's just nice to have things balance out a bit. With that said I hope you guys enjoy this update.

Quinn was forced to wake up when she felt the warmth of the sun rays brush across her face as they glimmered through the bedroom window. She grunted and shuffled around trying to reach for Rachel, but found nothing. She would have questioned whether last night had actually happened, but her naked body made it a little difficult to debate it all together. Half asleep she sat up and quickly searched for her clothing, as she heard the shower in their bedroom go off. Without even realizing it she let out a breath she was holding. Watching Rachel step out of the bathroom in just a towel caused her to break into a smile. She found some sort of comfort in knowing that not only had she spent the night with her, but that she hadn't left her in the middle of the night.

"I thought you had left me." Quinn said as she threw on her torn blouse.

"I wouldn't- sorry about your blouse." Rachel said avoiding eye contact as she tossed her towel on the bed, and replaced it with her bathrobe.

"It's okay it's just a blouse, but I will need to borrow a sweatshirt or something, because I can't really step out half naked." Quinn said with a smirk, as Rachel pulled out an old t-shirt from her closet.

"Hey! This was my favorite cheerio t-shirt. I thought I had lost it!" Quinn shouted as she arched her eyebrow at Rachel.

"No, I guess I accidently mixed it in with my stuff the same way my Barbra blanket mixed in with yours"

Caught in her lie Quinn couldn't help but let out a chuckle, causing Rachel to join right in. She was actually relieved with the response she was getting from Quinn. Even though she had exhausted herself to sleep after their intimate encounter, she woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't go back to sleep. It had been so long since Quinn held her the way she was holding her, especially in their bedroom.

She wanted to enjoy the moment as best as she could, after all there was a time when she didn't think it was possible for them to be in the same room, much less in each other's arms. She desperately wanted to find comfort in that detail alone, but she couldn't. She had Quinn all to herself, but not in the way she wanted her.

She wanted to know that the girl she had married was there one hundred percent, not just physically. She wanted them to be okay. She wanted Quinn to wake up with her, and spend the night holding each other until the morning light snuck up on them. She wanted to know that Quinn was okay with what had happened. She needed to know that her wife didn't regret any of it, even though she kind of did.

She didn't regret being with her wife, but she regretted the way it happened. She was careless, and took what she wanted not once taking Quinn into consideration. It was all about what she wanted, and what she needed. She needed to take Quinn. She needed to know that she was still hers, and she didn't care what it resulted in. At least that's how it was while they were in the act, but when she woke up, and she watched the woman beneath her sleep it broke her heart. She loved Quinn more than anything in the world, and it scared her. So far the love that they had for each other, had left them both torn up, and even resulted with them fucking. More than anything that was what bothered her; sure they had been rough with each other before, but not without reassuring eye contact and gestures. They always took their time, and it was never selfish, unlike what had happened between them that night.

As soon as she saw the first speck of dawn make an appearance she gently unwrapped herself from Quinn and made her way into the bathroom. She secretly hoped that while she was in the shower Quinn would wake up, and let herself out. She didn't want to deal with the reality of what the night had meant, and all the trouble that would come with it. When she walked out she was confronted with the image of Quinn trying to cover up with a torn blouse, and her worries slowly vanished.

"That obvious huh?" Quinn asked as she put her t-shirt on.

"Yes, and although I find it kind of sweet that you took it as a memento, I still think it was cruel of you to take it without any notification." Rachel said as she crossed her arms.

"What makes you think I took it as a memento?" Quinn asked with a smirk.

"Well it wasn't by accident, because if that would have been the case you would have found it when you unpacked and sent it to me with Santana. You were always very verbal when it came to that throw blanket, so I know it was no accident." Rachel said as she mirrored Quinn's smirk causing Quinn to chuckle once more, and she couldn't help but feel butterflies set at the pit of her stomach. Loving that girl scared her, but everything about that same girl made it worth it. Rachel never knew how Quinn managed to make her feel so secure and hazardous at the same time, but that's how it was with them from the very beginning.

"Well you're right. At first I took it out of spite, but I'll admit that it helped me sleep at night when I- missed you the most." She whispered the last part out but Rachel heard it, and reached for her hand.

"I did the same with your shirt. I wore it so much it became my daily uniform, until I spilled coffee on it, and decided not to wear it again. I feared washing it. I didn't want your scent to dissipate in case I never had the opportunity to smell it again." Rachel said as she gave Quinn's hand a squeeze.

"Well you don't have to worry about that anymore. I'm here Rach, and I am not going anywhere." She tried to pull Rachel into a hug but she pulled away from her catching her off guard.

"For how long Quinn? How long do I have until someone else comes and takes you away from me once more? How long until you realize that you're the Quinn Fabray, and I am just Rachel Berry, the same Rachel Berry that you so easily kicked to the curb when it became inconvenient to be my friend." Rachel said as tears escaped her eyes.

"Rachel, I- where is this coming from baby? I know I was an asshole in high school, and I will always hate myself for that, but I thought we had moved past this long ago?" Quinn asked as stepped closer to Rachel, but still gave her the space she had requested.

"I don't know Quinn, maybe we never really did move past it, maybe it's the reason why our marriage is falling apart… maybe you and I just aren't meant to be." Rachel said in a deflated tone

"Baby, don't say that! I know you don't believe it one bit, so why do you say it? I know our lives together haven't been a walk in the park, but it's just part of what makes us us. I love you more than I ever thought possible Rach, and even though it hasn't always been easy I wouldn't change any of it. I mean obviously I would avoid all the pain and suffering that I've caused you, because you don't deserve any of it. You never have, and you never will. I want to make things right with us. I want you to trust me again, and I want you to feel secure about us. I don't want you to feel like you have to fight just to keep me, because I am already yours, and I will always be." She paused to read Rachel's face, and when she didn't show resistance she pulled her into a hug before she spoke again.

"Please don't leave me Rachel; I need you here with me. I am not complete if you're not around." She pleaded as she tightened the embrace.

"What about Sugar?"

"What about her?"

"Can you honestly tell me that you aren't even the slightest bit attracted to her?"

"Rach, come on we've been over this so much."

"Just please answer the question Quinn, I need to know." Quinn remained quiet causing Rachel to pull away from the embrace.

"What do you want me to say Rachel?"

"Geez I don't know Quinn, maybe the truth?" Rachel spat out.

"Okay so maybe I do find her attractive, but that doesn't mean anything. There are a lot of attractive women out there, but they don't matter to me Rachel, because I only want you!"

"Of course it means something! You work with her, and she told you that she has feelings for you! I've seen her flirt with you! Have you- do you flirt with her?" Rachel asked already sounding wounded, and once again she received silence from Quinn.

"Unbelievable Quinn!"

"Rachel, I didn't say that I did!" Quinn shouted aggravated with how quickly their moment had spiraled out of control.

"You didn't have to; your silence gave you away!"

"I stood quiet, because I really wanted to give you an honest answer. I know I have a flirtatious personality. I've always have, but I never intentionally done it with Sugar, or with anyone since you and I have been married. Do you honestly think that I would go out of my way to jeopardize the most important thing in the world to me?"

"No, but I did! I let my insecurities get the best of me, and I hate myself for that Quinn! I hate myself so much!" Rachel shouted as she let herself fall to the ground, and Quinn quickly curled in next to her.

"Baby, I don't blame you for that night." Quinn said as she held her in her arms once more.

"Yes you do! And you have every right to!"

"But I don't baby so stop saying that."

"You do Quinn! You shouted it last night." Quinn remained quiet as she recalled her angry ramble from the previous night.

"I was angry Rach, I said that because I was hurt but it was wrong of me to say it. I am so sorry sweet heart." Quinn said as she peppered kisses at the top of Rachel's head.

"But I slept with Finn!" Rachel shouted, and although Quinn didn't want to show remorse, hearing that slip out of Rachel's mouth made her cringe.

"Rach, he took advantage of your condition! You said it yourself; the last thing you remember was entering his room. He should have stopped the moment he realized how intoxicated you were, and he didn't! I swear if I ever run into him again, a black eye will be the least of his worries."

"No Quinn! If you're going to be mad at someone be mad at me! I may have been really intoxicated when I entered his room, but I wasn't drunk when I was flirting with him at the reception. I- I wanted to make you jealous; I wanted you to ignore your phone, and pay attention to me! I thought that if you saw Finn show interest you would come back to me, but you didn't even notice. You were so wrapped up in what was going on with Sugar that you didn't even see what was going on before you. I didn't intend for my flirtation to go anywhere, but when you left me there I was so angry, and I didn't want to be alone." Quinn held on to Rachel tighter as she began to sob and tremble.

"Shhhh Rach, it's okay." Quinn cooed as she held a take in of air.

"It's not okay; I slept with him while being married to you! I betrayed you because I thought you had found someone else!" Rachel shouted between sobs, and it was really confusing for Quinn. What was she aiming at with her rant? They had already established it was a mistake, and they decided they were going to move past it, so she had no idea what was going on.

"Okay Rach, you don't have to keep repeating it. I get it, it happened, but I forgive you. I forgive you, and now I want to apologize. I am so sorry for ever making you feel like I wasn't there. I am sorry for making you feel like someone else was taking me away. I am so sorry that I made you feel like high school was happening all over again."

As Quinn finished her sentence it hit her. This outbreak wasn't just about the past six months; it was about everything they had been through. Rachel had always felt like she had to fight for Quinn's attention, even back in the sixth grade. She always carried cherry Jolly Ranchers with her, because she knew they were Quinn's favorite, she quit Ballet and joined gymnastics because Quinn enrolled in that instead. She always aimed to please Quinn, and all Quinn had done was push her away, making her feel like she wasn't wanted, when in reality it was the total opposite.

"Oh Rachel, I am so sorry!" Quinn shouted once more as cupped Rachel's face to stare into her favorite pair of dark brown eyes.

"Just promise me that you won't push me away. I can handle you no longer loving me, but to be dismissed by you completely, as if I never existed, that I could never do again." Rachel sobbed as she buried her face into the crook of Quinn's neck.

"Baby, you never have to worry about that ever happening again, ever! I was an idiot in high school, and I let fear get the best of me, but it won't happen again, I promise you!" Quinn said pulling Rachel out from her neck to seal her promise with a chaste kiss.

"But I screwed up Quinn."

"Honey I've screwed up so many times before, and you never gave up on me! What makes you think I'll give up on you? You're stuck with me Rachel Berry-Fabray! You're mine, and I am yours forever." Quinn said as pecked Rachel on her lips once more.

"I'm just scared that it's going to come up again, and I don't want to screw up anymore!" Rachel said with a pout that caused Quinn to smile. She was never able to resist that pout; it had the ability to melt her insides.

"Don't pout Rach, you know I can't resist it."

"But I'm being serious right now Quinn. I am really scared!"

"Look… I'm not going to tell you not to be scared, because the truth is that I am scared too, but I am more scared of living my life without you in it. Those six months apart were a nightmare, and the worst part was that it was a nightmare I couldn't wake up from. It won't be easy to completely move forward from this, because we have a lot of skeletons in the closet, but there is always help out there. We can go to couple's therapy, whatever it takes as long as we get through it. Okay?" Rachel just nodded in response.

"Would you really agree to counseling?"

"Of course babe, there is nothing wrong with that. It will only make us stronger, and we'll have someone other than Santana to deal with our problems." Quinn said with a giggle.

"We've put her through a lot already, so she definitely deserves a break."

"Yes she does, she was taking the whole Brittany situation pretty bad. I felt horrible for burdening her with our problems." Rachel agreed.

"Yea, I just hope she makes an effort to see her while she is here. She owes to herself and Brittany even if it is just for closure."Rachel nodded once more, and remained quiet enjoying every minute of being in Quinn's arms.

"Rach…"

"Mhhmm"

"I was thinking, and maybe you should go to Lima?"

"You- want me to leave?" Rachel asked timidly.

"No! Of course not silly, but I do think that some time away from here will do the both of us some good."

"So you're coming along?" Rachel asked with a smile.

"Well I would have to meet up with you, but that is the idea. I've already maxed out on my sick days so I kind of have no choice, but to show up. We can either all head out Friday after I get out of work, or you guys can head out before that and I'll meet you there. It's been awhile since I've been back home, and I really wouldn't mind seeing my sister and the kids, and our god daughter who is getting so big now."Rachel couldn't help but smile, Quinn was painting her the perfect get away image and she couldn't contain herself.

"Quinn that sounds marvelous! I can't wait!" She shouted as she moved to sit on Quinn's lap, and wrapped her arms around her neck.

"I love you baby, so much! I'm sorry that I've allowed my insecurities to get the best of me, I just- it's just I've already experienced what is like to be ignored by you once before, and just to imagine it happening again kills me inside Quinn."

"Shhh… You don't have to be sorry about anything, we will move past this."Once again there was silence until Rachel spoke again.

"Quinn…"

"Yes baby?"Feeling the warmth that came with the term of endearment she allowed herself to ask the question.

"Can you sleep with me tonight?" Quinn just gave her a blank stare in response.

"I don't mean sexually, I just want to go to bed in your arms, and wake up in your arms."

"Are you sure you won't leave me with an empty bed?" Quinn asked with an arched eyebrow.

"About that, last night… that was different Quinn. That wasn't us, well I mean it was us, but not the healthy us. I was selfish last night, taking you how I wanted not caring about what you needed. I couldn't allow myself to wake up with you holding me after that. I- I felt guilty, like I didn't deserve you."

"Sweet heart, you will always deserve me! So don't ever think that you don't, and about not giving me what I wanted? I honestly don't know what you're talking about, because you gave me everything I wanted, and more! Six months was a long time so trust me when I say that I got just what I wanted, and needed." Quinn said with a wink and a smirk, causing Rachel to turn a light shade of pink.

"But I didn't tell you that I loved you. I didn't make love to you… I just took what I wanted. I wanted to know that you still belonged to me. I was selfish with what I took from you, and didn't even take my time to show how much I love you! I've never done that before, and I never want to do that again." Rachel said as she nuzzled into Quinn's neck to hide her face, causing Quinn to let out a sigh. She didn't want Rachel to feel bad about their encounter from the night before, because she loved every aspect of it, but she suspected that Rachel's guilt came from something that she still hadn't forgiven herself over, and she didn't want to be insensitive.

"It's okay to be selfish when you love someone. There is nothing wrong with that, but I don't want you to worry about me not belonging to you, because that is not an issue. I am yours, and I trust that you know exactly what to do with me in every aspect. I've learned that love is a lot deeper than what appears on the surface. There is no actual way to capture it, because it can be manifested in many different ways. Sometimes it's easy to be in love, and sometimes it's not, but that's okay, because nothing that is worth anything in life comes easy, and we're worth every obstacle that comes across our path. You're worth it Rachel! I can only hope that I am worth it as well." Rachel held on to Quinn with everything she had, she wanted to show Quinn just how much she loved her, and how grateful she was to have her in spite of everything that they had been through but she didn't even know where to begin.

"I wish I had the rights to the Jolly Rancher factory, that way I would give you all the cherry Jolly Ranchers you have ever dreamed of." Quinn couldn't help but laugh at Rachel's comment. She knew it was Rachel's way of reassuring her that she understood what she meant, and she was worth the struggle as well.

"I'm kind of glad you don't. I don't know about you, but I kind of like my teeth, and if you had the rights to the factory, I know you would spoil me rotten." Quinn said causing Rachel to giggle in her arms.

"I'm kind of afraid to say this, but I'm going to say it anyway. I am really happy right now, the happiest I've been in a very long time, and I owe it all to you! Thank you for putting up with me, and thank you for not losing hope in us. I want to move past this, so we can keep moving forward with our lives. I want a family with you. I want to raise kids, and I want to grow old with you, as we spoil our grandkids. You're my everything Quinn, and I want to trust you the same way you trust me. I really do, and I know that with time I will. I just hope you can understand and help me through this. I also need for you to be patient with me when it comes to what happened six months ago. I- still haven't been able to forgive myself for that, and I know that in order to really move on I have to learn to do that. I know it's a bit unfair of me to request that from you, but I hope you can help me."

"Of course baby! I'm your wife, and I will help in any way that I can. I am your other half, and I am not going to leave you ever again. I will always be here when everything becomes dark and scary. I will always be here to catch you when you're falling. You'll never need to worry about that. This will make us stronger than we were, and we well get all of that. We will have our kids, and we will grow old watching our grand kids. We will get all of that sweet heart I promise."

"I love you Quinn Fabray!" Was all Rachel could say in response but was caught off guard when Quinn gave her a pout, and she understood what Quinn meant about not being able to resist the pout."

"What's wrong?"

"You said Quinn Fabray! I am not Quinn Fabray! I am Quinn BERRY-Fabray, and don't you ever forget that!" Rachel broke out into laughter and pushed Rachel to the ground, as she allowed herself to lay directly on top of her.

"Of course! Please do forgive me Mrs. BERRY-Fabray, how could I forget that."

"It's okay; just don't make a habit of it Mrs. Fabray!" Quinn responded as she guided Rachel's face down to hers until she was able to make contact with her lips, and captured them with hers as she slipped her tongue inside. She allowed herself to fully enjoy the bliss that surrounded them. She was happy, and she didn't have any doubt about them working out. She trusted that Rachel would take care of her, and she was going to do whatever she had to, to show Rachel that she could trust her as well.

Hope you guys enjoyed this update. It was a lot cheerful to write than the previous ones so I hope you liked it. I really want them to start moving on from what happened at the reunion, but I am still not done with Sugar. I apologize in advance to those of you who don't really like her. Let me know what you think : )