Sorry for the lack of Fuinn in the previous chapter! I just wanted to show Finn's glee club at Nationals (and don't worry—you'll find out how The Chirrups did, soon). This chapter is very Quinn-focused and the chapter to follow will return to more Fuinn Fabrudson love. Enjoy!

August 2023

It was a beautiful, warm day in Lima—Quinn and Finn's wedding day. Quinn's bridesmaids, along with her mother Judy were all fussing over her to help get her ready. Her matron of honor, Mercedes, was putting the final touches of make-up on her face while her second bridesmaid, Santana, freed another large ringlet of blond curls from the curling iron. Brittany offered to be a runner for Quinn, in between holding Sophia. Ander h mother was checking her veil and dress for the hundredth time.

"Oh Quinnie, dear—you're going to be a vision!" she cried. She walked over to pat her daughter's arm meaningfully and sighed, "I only wish your sister were here for this."

"Yes, so she can continue to berate me with questions on why I live the way I do," Quinn responded curtly. With her eyes closed for Mercedes, she made her voice unusually sweet and mocked her sister's slightly nasal voice, "'Quinn, why go into real estate? It's so boring! Quinn why are you moving to Chicago? You're too pretty to live in the Midwest your whole life. Quinn you've had 2 babies out of wedlock—don't you think it's about time you settled down already?'"

"Oh screw her!" Santana interrupted. She caught Judy's look of reproach for a moment but unapologetically went on to say, "You're not your sister's clone, Q. And the sooner she realizes it, the happier we'll all be…not that I care about your sister's happiness but I know how she's been towards you."

Quinn had a stony look of misery on her face now; she opened her eyes to see the female half of the bridal party all staring at her. When her eyes locked on her slumbering daughter, her features softened while Santana's words echoed in her mind. "You're not your sister's clone."

Truer words were never spoken. Once upon a time, Quinn did idolize her older sister, Marilyn, but things changed once Marilyn went off to college. On her visits home, she displayed high criticism towards Quinn. At first, it was over little things like why she didn't have a boyfriend. It seemed petty now, but at the time, Quinn's issues with her self-image made her take this question to heart. After pushing the re-vamp of her image even further, she found herself dating Finn Hudson by her Freshmen year in high school.

Next, Marilyn asked her why she wasn't pursuing head cheerleader 'like her big sis'. So before the start of her sophomore year, she tried out for the spot and beat out Santana for the position. Her sister continued to make passive aggressive remarks about Quinn's life and choices, driving a wedge between Quinn and then boyfriend Finn. She started to attack him for everything he did, until she put space between them and found comfort with wine coolers and Noah Puckerman—which led to her accidental pregnancy with Beth. She couldn't confide in her family, knowing their disapproval of her situation. Their judgments—most of all, her father and sister's—kept a heavy burden on Quinn, on top of her infidelity against the boy she truly cared for and grew to love.

After Judy and Russell Fabray divorced, Marilyn's critical eye over her sister only sharpened. Things came to a head prior to Quinn's senior year, following Finn dumping her for Rachel Berry. Marilyn came home for the summer, spewing disapproving comments about everything—from Quinn's new haircut, to her losing Finn to a "theatre freak". Her passive mother did next-to-nothing about the scolding remarks. Quinn reached her breaking point when she, once again, re-vamped her image and became a Skank.

Over ten years have passed and Quinn and Marilyn had never really reconciled. Rather, the two opted to speak to and see each other as little as possible. To appease her parents however, Quinn sent a wedding invitation to Marilyn. The elder Fabray sister hadn't responded, and there had been no complaints about this from Quinn.

"I'm going to check on things…see if there's anything I can do to help your friend, Kurt." Judy cast a nervous smile to her daughter and quickly left Quinn with her friends.

Quinn pursed her lips, feeling a mix of agitation and disappointment. Her mother almost never stuck up for her in the past; she didn't expect anything different now but that didn't mean that it didn't still sting.

Her bridesmaids must have noticed this because Mercedes spoke up, putting the final dabs of lip gloss on the bride's lips, "Alright enough of the 'blah' talk. Finn's gonna be waiting at the altar for you. Let's you in your dress!"

Quinn couldn't help but smile when Mercedes smiled at her; she had always been a good friend to her—near or distant—and more than that, though she had never spoken it aloud, Mercedes was more of a sister to her than Marilyn. For that, it was her main reason for making her Matron of Honor. She stood from her seat and rid herself of her robe while Santana and Mercedes prepared her gown for her.

After only a few seconds of waiting, she stepped into a petticoat first, and then she stepped into her gown. The brush of the fabric going up to her hips triggered a wave of happy anxiety that escalated with the rise of her zipper. She stood as still as possible with a confident look on her face. A photographer knocked twice and asked for permission to snag a few photos of the bride getting ready.

"As long as you stay outta the way, Paparazzi," snapped Santana. "We gotta finish getting her ready."

"I wish Lord Tubbington were here to help with security," Brittany mumbled sadly.

Santana frowned at her girlfriend and Mercedes and Quinn's brows came together in confusion.

"He was a great wedding planner. He helped me plan all my weddings for my Barbies when I was little."

Quinn fought the urge to smile; as nonsensical as some of Brittany's statements were, she knew how much her cat had meant to her. "It's alright Brittany. I'm sure he visited Kurt in his dreams to give him some ideas on decorating the chapel."

Brittany's sad expression vanished and was replaced with a bright smile. "Probably."

After the photographer took a few photos, she excused herself from the room and left the bride and her friends alone to finish getting ready. Quinn took a deep breath and sighed it out softly; after all the years she had known Finn, she didn't think she would feel nervous today, but she couldn't be more wrong. Her stomach was filled with butterflies; butterflies that were intent on being restless as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. But she also felt very princess-like; like Cinderella getting her happy start with her prince after years of struggle. Her hair was in large, lustrous curls, pinned out of her face with two miniature Tiger Lilies on either side of her head. Her dress—a wedding present from Tina Chang—was the epitome of princess gowns: a cream silk bodice with pearl button backing and ribbon-thin halter straps. At the waist, the dress plumed into a silk, billowing A-line skirt.

Her lips twitched into a smile, that spread once she saw Brittany and Santana lift her veil over her head. Brittany pulled half of the veil over the front of Quinn's face, as intended, while Santana adjusted the back to keep it from crushing the tiger lilies in her hair. She closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them again, her hazel green eyes were seeing past the screen of the veil to gaze at her daughter. Mercedes had picked her up—carrying her down the aisle in lieu of a bouquet—and watched with a blissful smile as Sophia stirred from her nap.

She blinked heavily and stretched her tiny mouth for a yawn, and then quickly shut it, blinking up at Mercedes.

"Hey miss Flower Girl. You ready to watch Mommy and Daddy get married?" asked Mercedes.

Quinn laughed softly when her daughter babbled in response. "She's a little chatter box, Mercedes."

"I can tell," giggled Mercedes. "Which is why we're gonna get along just fine."

Santana handed Brittany her bouquet of white roses and then held her own while handing Quinn her thick bouquet of white roses and tiger lilies. "Ready for this? It's not too late to

"Santana!" scolded Mercedes.

Quinn laughed softly and shook her head, "This is mine and Finn's moment. It's finally here, and I'm not going to miss a second of it."

Santana smirked, "Good. You passed my test. No hesitation in your voice or a trace of doubt on your face. Just that creepy happy bride glow."

The two friends smiled at each other and carefully hugged one another, and pulled apart as soon as Kurt entered the room.

"Alright, Quinn—ladies, it's three o'clock. Brittany, Santana, Mercedes—the guys are in the hallway waiting for you. Quinn?"

The bride looked to her soon-to-be brother-in-law. "You're gorgeous. Give Mercedes and me a moment to get to the altar so we can make sure Finn's still standing by the time you reach him."

She grinned and softly told him, "Thanks Kurt."

The best man and wedding planner flitted over to peck his niece's cheek, and then offered his arm for Mercedes to escort her out of the room. Soon, Quinn was alone; she took another deep breath while gazing in the mirror, gripped her bouquet tightly and followed her bridal party out to the hallway.

Please leave me love! I'm always grateful to know your thoughts on the chapters! The next chapter will, of course, be in Finn's focus/POV. :)