This is the longest chapter that I have written in a awhile. I can slowly but surely feel my writers block easing and my muses are urging me to write again. I hope everybody enjoys this chapter because the drama between the characters will continue into this chapter.
Quinn quietly pulled on her clothes and watched as Puck did the same thing. She didn't know how it had happened but in the space of a few minutes she had went from wanting to kill him to having sex with him on the floor of the office he had pulled her into. All of it because she couldn't let go of the anger she still felt at Finn choosing Rachel their junior year.
It wasn't that she wanted Finn back; he had made it very clear when he had broken up with her after the funeral that his heart belonged to Rachel. That while he loved her, he wasn't in love with her; it was the fact that Rachel Berry once again gets what she wants. A loving family that is allowing her to live in a Central Park penthouse apartment, an acceptance to one of the top drama schools in the country and the chance to spend the rest of her life with the man she loves. After all of the hateful and spiteful things that she had done to Rachel throughout their sophomore and junior years of high school and the speech before Regionals about whose future it was to marry Finn Hudson, Rachel Berry had won.
Quinn finished putting her clothes on and walked out of the office without saying a word to Puck. She walked down the hall and back into the main room where the party was taking place unaware of the fact that Bonnie Morgan had come walking down the hall at that moment. She smirked at the sight of Puck leaving the office a few seconds later and wasn't paying attention to the fact that her husband, Walter had come walking over to where she was standing.
"I know that smirk, Bonnie. What are you planning to do?"
Bonnie, at four foot eleven reached up and put her arms around her husband's neck, running her fingers through his light brown curly hair. Except for some graying throughout the top of his head and some wrinkles at his eyes, Walter still looked the same as he did when she had first developed a crush on him at sixteen years old. It had been over two years of unrequited feelings while he had dated and started a relationship with Roberta, the woman who would eventually marry her older brother Jackson before they had finally became a couple. If she hadn't almost died in a car crash out in the middle of a snow storm, it might not have ever happened.
"Nothing, I just watched two of Rachel's classmates sneak out of that office after what looked to be a quickie but I have a strong feeling it caused more trouble between them then helped."
"We need to leave it between them, Bonnie."
"I know but it was one of the two girls that your mom had to stop Hannah from flying here to kill last spring.
"Let me guess, the little miss prom queen who told Rachel she gets Finn and Rachel gets heartbroken," Walter said with a grimace. "I have never seen Hannah that angry before in my life when she finished talking to Rachel."
"I wouldn't want to be Quinn Fabray if Hannah ever got any time alone with her. She is still very pissed off after finding out that the girl who used to be bullied had become one. Then you factor in all of the hateful things she said and did to Rachel her sophomore and junior year. Rachel might have forgiven Quinn for everything she said and did but Hannah hasn't."
Walter didn't say anything to his wife but he knew exactly how his younger sister could be when you hurt someone she loved. She could be vicious and if his mom hadn't of talked her down; Hannah would have been in Lima last spring, teaching Santana Lopez, Quinn Fabray and even Finn Hudson some harsh lessons in what happened when you caused her niece pain. Finn had been dealt with last summer with a blistering lecture about lying and being a hypocrite that he was still scared of Hannah. She still hadn't dealt with the other two that had caused Rachel pain. So he agreed with his wife, it would be in everybody's best interests if Hannah didn't come face to face with Quinn or Santana.
Rachel and Finn were sitting at the main table, watching their friends and family dance and talk around them. She was on his lap and had her arms around his shoulders, caressing the nape of his neck lightly with her fingers.
"Rach, did you see Puck pull Quinn out of the room right after speeches were over?"
"Yes. He didn't look happy with her and by the look on her face, she didn't like what Burt had to say."
"Don't listen to anything she might say to you. She might have loved me but it was a selfish type where it was about what she could get from me. The entire time I was back together with her it was all about Prom and being crowned Queen. I was so sick of the word Prom; I didn't even want to go to the dance by the time it got here."
"Finn, Quinn has changed. Being in that wheelchair has made her less selfish than she was before."
"Like hell it did," Finn muttered angrily to himself.
"Finn…"
"There was something I haven't told you about Prom night because I knew it would tick you off. I caught Quinn standing up in the bathroom during the Prom. She said that she wanted to surprise everybody when she received her crown. I handled it badly and tried to make her tell the truth in the middle of the Prom. I even almost got into a fight with Joe over it."
Rachel paused for a moment, a part of her screaming to go over to where Quinn was at and smack the fire of her but then she came to her senses.
"I don't blame you for being angry at her. She has caused you a lot of pain in the past with her little schemes to stay popular but I can see why she did it, too."
"What does that mean," Finn asked his fiancée.
"She was stuck in a wheelchair after her car accident and learned a harsh lesson on texting and driving. It wouldn't shock me if she thought that it was Karma paying her back for every hateful thing she had done in her life. Quinn also had to have been scared as hell when she woke up in that hospital to find she couldn't walk. Do I agree with her lying and letting everybody think she was still paralyzed so she could get the sympathy vote from our classmates? No. Do I understand why she did it? Yes because I have done things like that myself."
"But Rachel, you try to change and learn from your mistakes, not keep doing the same things over and over again."
"Not always, Finn. I think you remember how I acted during our stakeout junior year. How I tried to get you back from Quinn even though Kurt, Mercedes, Dad and Daddy told me to back off and let you come to your senses on your own. Although from what Kurt said, your mom was ready to put her foot up your ass if you had continued to date Quinn for too much longer."
Finn grinned as he remembered his mother's opinion on him getting back together with Quinn. He hadn't been allowed to bring her to his house, per Burt's rules, for fear that Carole would tell her what she thought of her and try to physically attack Quinn. She had never completely forgiven her for the lies about who Beth's father was and deep down Finn had known his mom was right but his hurt and anger over Rachel cheating on him with Puck had made him do things that he now regretted with everything inside of him. He tenderly kissed Rachel in front of their family and friends and knew that when he did the same thing tomorrow during their wedding, there would be no doubts or regrets on his part.
The next day
Rachel stood at her bedroom window, wearing a white satin robe, her hair in rollers and drinking a cup of coffee. She watched as her grandmother stood in the back yard with a clipboard in her hands, ordering the workers on where to put everything for the wedding and the reception afterwards. She was in awe of how this tiny woman could make grown men double and triple her size do what she said with just the tone of her voice. For all of the ways that Rachel was confident in her talent as a singer and an actress, her confidence in other areas needed a lot of work, especially her ability to stand up for herself. It was a skill she would need for her chosen career.
She turned away from the window at the sight of her aunt Hannah stepping into the room, dressed in a floral print dress that Rachel had seen in the latest Vogue as one of the latest styles for this coming summer.
"How's the bride doing this morning?"
Rachel smiled at the teasing tone in Hannah's voice before she noticed a small box in her aunt's hands.
"I'm ready for this to happen. Finn is my future," Rachel stated before commenting on what she could now see was long rectangular box from one of Lima's jewelry stores. "What's that?"
"This is your something new for your wedding. Christina, Bonnie and I bought this for you and we hoped that you would wear it," Hannah said as she handed the light blue jewelry box over to her niece.
Rachel opened it and gasped at the sight of the diamond tennis bracelet that laid on a piece of black velvet in the box.
"It is so beautiful, Aunt Hannah. Thank you."
"We thought it would go good with the necklace and earrings that your grandmother wore on her wedding day to the General."
"Now all I need is something borrowed and blue and I will be all set."
"I think your bridesmaids will have that taken care of for you. All of them were starting to arrive to help you get ready. Kurt is downstairs with Finn in Hiram's office with the ushers, Burt and William. He is making sure they all put their tuxes on correctly and to help with their bowties before coming to help with your hair and makeup."
"Okay," she responded. "Are you okay, Aunt Hannah? I saw that Jackson was at the graduation party last night with his wife and I know that it had to hurt you to see them together."
"I'm fine. I knew it was wrong to get involved with a married man and did it anyway. I think Christina moving to New York is for the best and I can stay away from Jackson a lot easier now. He left last night going back to Washington because of an emergency at Craig International so I won't have to deal with him today."
Before Rachel could respond, the door to her room opened and the girls of New Directions along with Kurt, Carole and Camilla all came into Rachel's room. Their conversation long forgotten at the excitement of getting Rachel ready for her second attempt at marrying Finn, one that would actually happen this time.
A few hours later, Finn was standing at the altar waiting for Rachel to come down the aisle and glanced over to see his mother smiling tearfully at him. He knew that Carole still was worried about them getting married right after their high school graduation but Rachel was the one for him. Who knew what could happen and the future they had planned together could come to an end so they should grab onto that happiness while they can. His parents were proof of that.
As Rachel's bridesmaids started to walk down the aisle, Finn could sense there was tension between Puck and Quinn but any thought of that went out of his head at the sight of Rachel standing between her fathers. The dress she was wearing was not the one that she had worn during their first attempt at getting married right after Regionals.
As the Rabbi went through the his part of the ceremony, Finn stared at Rachel in awe that this day was finally here and at how close he had come to throwing it all away.
Finally the Reverend that had married his mom and Burt got into the Protestant part of the ceremony where he and Rachel would recite vows that they had written for each other. He had spent all night trying to write out what he wanted to say to her and hoped that he wouldn't have to deal with Quinn's bullshit because she wouldn't like a certain part of his vows. But he had to tell the truth and things he had thought were true his sophomore and junior year were superficial and not as true as he had originally thought they were.
"Rachel, you are the love of my life and my first real and true love," Finn stated emphatically, ignoring the anger that had flared in his ex's eyes at his words. "You were the first person, besides my mom, who believed in me and didn't act like I was stupid when I said and believed things that anybody else would have questioned. Even when we were apart last year, I knew deep down that I was running from you and caused not only you but others pain with my actions. I love you and I will spend the rest of my life making sure that you know that."
Rachel wiped tears from her eyes before starting to speak. She stared into the eyes of the man she loved more than anything in this world.
"You were the first person besides my family to see me for who I was. You looked beyond the selfish girl that needed applause to live and saw the scared little girl who just wanted a friend. You forgave me even after I lashed out and hurt you just so you could feel as bad as I did. I love you, Finn and I will spend the rest of my life showing you just how much."
The Reverend told Finn that he could kiss his bride and he did so joyfully before they walked back down the aisle to the house so they could change clothes for their reception. Before Quinn could follow them and have it out with Finn over what she thought was lies on his part, she was grabbed by Hannah and led to the pool house, slamming the door behind her.
Santana smirked at the coming argument, knowing what was about to happen because she had been told off by Rachel's aunt for her part in what happened junior year. That woman was one scary bitch if she had stood there and took it instead of going all Lima Heights on the older woman.
The night before:
Santana had been dancing with Brittany when she had noticed a woman even shorter than Rachel come walking over to where she was at. She instantly recognized her as Rachel's Aunt Hannah and she knew what was coming.
"I was wondering if we could talk, Santana."
"Okay," Santana said, before turning to Brittany to get her out of the line of fire. "How about you go and get us some punch while I talk to Ms. Coleman real quick."
Brittany walked away and left Santana and Hannah standing beside each other, the tension between them could be felt by others around them.
"Thank you because I don't think you want your girlfriend to hear what I have to say to you."
"Do you want to talk about my part in Finn and Rachel breaking up last year and the events that led to him dating Quinn again?"
"Yes I do."
"All I did was keeping it real and decide to tell the truth after Finn wouldn't do it."
Santana stepped back at the raw fury that came over Hannah's face and knew that she had just royally fucked up with a woman that wouldn't play her games the way her teachers and fellow classmates at McKinley had done.
"You didn't have to tell Rachel in the most hateful and humiliating way that you could either. If you had really wanted to tell Rachel the truth, it could have been done in a way where those little hypocritical twits the two of you were in Glee with couldn't take pleasure at her pain. No you did it to be a bitch because you were jealous of Brittany dating Artie but instead of going after them, when you knew that you would lose Brittany, you went after the couple where you could cause trouble, hoping that you could get Finn to date you instead of Rachel. Instead all you got was him rejecting you because he was pissed at you for your part in why he and Rachel broke up. Then to top it all off, you came in between Sam and Quinn leading to that opportunistic little manipulative bitch getting her hooks back into Finn again and not because she loved him but because she thought dating the MVP of the District Championship would get her Prom Queen. You and that bitch are damn lucky that Rachel and my adoptive mother are the only ones who can calm me down because after hearing about everything that happened Rachel's junior year, it was only Rachel begging me not to and Christina talking some sense into me that kept me from coming here and doing everything I could to make you and Quinn suffer."
"What could you have done?"
"For starters, I own the companies that both of Quinn's parents work for and I was planning on firing them and making damn sure they never got another job in the state of Ohio; then telling them that they had her selfish ass daughter to thank for losing their jobs. Oh I am also on the board of the hospital where your father works and I was planning on dismissing him from the hospital and doing the same thing to your family."
Santana could see that Hannah meant every word she had said and that if Rachel had told her aunt about how bad she had been bullied, a lot of people at McKinley would have been hurting by the time she had gotten done with them. She made Sue Sylvester look like a sweetheart in comparison. She couldn't help the comment that came out of her mouth.
"And people call me vicious!"
"You fuck with my family and I hurt you. The only thing that kept me from doing all of that was Rachel begging me not to along with her grandmother and my adoptive mother. When you have money, you can be very creative in making your enemies suffer. If I had known about the bullying, especially yours and Quinn's little nicknames for Rachel, you would have regretted it," Hannah said as she walked away before firing off one last verbal shot. "Oh and Rachel is a female, I changed her diapers when she was a baby so I if ever hear of you and that blond bitch calling her Tranny, manhands or any of those other vulgar names, you will see just how vicious I can get."
"Who the hell do you think you are to talk to me like that?"
Quinn's shout pulls Santana out of her thoughts and she walked over to the door of the pool house, smirking as Quinn gets her dose of reality from Hannah.
"Someone who can fire both of your parents from their jobs and make damn sure you can't afford Yale in the process. Don't play with me little girl because I am not the nice person my niece is. I know how to fight dirty and I don't have to resort to insults, slaps or lying about a pregnancy to do it," Hannah snapped at her. "So you didn't like what Finn had to say during his vows? Get over it and grow up! You might have been his first love but as he said, it wasn't a real type of love like he has experienced with Rachel. Besides from what I have heard from my brother and sister-in-law, you have some issues with your baby daddy. I sure hope he wore a condom last night or you might get pregnant again."
Santana stepped back in shock at the revelation that Quinn and Puck had slept together again. She had known about their kiss when Quinn had helped him study for his geography test but to find out that they'd had sex the night before. This was gold for a noisy bitch like her.
A few hours later, Rachel and Finn were sitting at the main table, facing their guests, holding hands and sharing sweet and tender kisses. They were in the middle of another one where Puck's voice carries across to them as he stood on the stage that had been built in the backyard.
"As the groom's best friend, I have had a front row seat to his and Rachel's love story and even kissed the Bride a few times at the risk of getting my ass kicked. I still remember when he punched me right before Christmas our junior year for kissing her and having a part in their breakup. It made the punches he gave me the previous year for finding out that I had sex with Quinn look tame in comparison. Through all of the ups and downs, Finn and Rachel have been in love with each other, even when they were with other people that knew better than to get between them and did it anyway."
Quinn's shriek of outrage drew the guests and wedding party's eyes over to her. She was standing at the end of the main table, glaring at every one in the room.
"What is this attack Quinn day? First I have to hear all of this Rachel is the only girl to ever love Finn and now he has the gall to say that Manhands was his first true love. I wish all of the lies would damn well stop!"
"Well you would know about lying, wouldn't you Quinn?"
Rachel's voice was full of scorn and disdain as she stood up to face her longtime bully.
"Finn told me about Prom night and the fact he caught you standing up in the bathroom. That you knew you were starting to walk again but were using that damn wheelchair to get your crown. Oh and I am not stupid, I know that you and Santana wrote me in as Prom Queen. Was it to make up for every crappy thing that the both of you had done to me? Or how about we discuss a conversation we had before Regionals junior year where you took pleasure in telling that you and Finn were back together and your version of the future. How the two of you would get married, he would manage Burt's tire shop and you would become a successful real estate agent. That you would get Finn and I would be alone and heartbroken or how about the fact you slapped me in the bathroom during Prom that year after you lost to Kurt. How everything that happens to you is everybody else's fault. It's Puck's fault that you got pregnant and lied to Finn about who Beth's father was. How it was my fault that nobody voted for you for Prom Queen because people knew that Finn wanted me and not you. You never do anything wrong."
Quinn goes to slap her but her arm is caught by Finn, who looks furious at finding out some things that had happened and he had never been told about.
"Don't touch my wife! I must have missed the conversation we had during junior year where I said I would marry you and run Burt's tire show. Or if you said it, I didn't respond because I tuned you out so I wouldn't have to hear one more damn word about Prom," Finn's face was red with anger. "Do you know why I never took you to my house? My mom said that you weren't allowed in her home or she would kick my ass. She called me a glutton for punishment and being an idiot for going back to the girl who would have happily passed her baby off as mine and continued the lie for as long as she could get away with it. She told me that I should talk things out with Rachel and stop acting like the innocent party because I did a good job in hurting Rachel too by lying about having sex with Santana. Kurt can tell you about it, he was there. I care about you but I have never loved you enough to marry you, Quinn. You built that fantasy up in your head and I stupidly let you do it. Now do us a favor and leave, now!"
Finn let her arm go and took Rachel in his arms, holding her as she cried at her ruined wedding reception. Quinn was escorted out of the yard by Mercedes and Sam while everybody else tried to salvage the wedding reception for Finn and Rachel so they could have some good memories of their wedding day instead of the chaos it turned into.
AN: The next chapter will deal with their honeymoon.
I apologize to any Quinn fans that were reading this chapter. For Finn and Rachel to say what they needed to say to each other, there were going to be things said that would tick Quinn off because of her own lingering feelings for Finn and history with him. There will be continuing drama and tension between her and Puck as well as with Finn and Rachel where a lot of growing up will have to be done by all of them. There is also the fact that Rachel never really stood up for herself with Quinn for all of the crap that she did to her during the first two seasons. I also think that Carol couldn't have been happy about Finn going out with Quinn again during season 2 because any mother would have issues with their child going back out with someone who deceived Finn the way Quinn did.
I liked the scene with Hannah and Santana where even the latter is scared of just how bitchy another person can be when defending someone she cares about. I haven't decided if I want it to be Hannah or Camilla who goes off on Cassandra when I get to the events of season 4.
