Thank you all for the support. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

"Are you sure you're ready?" Quinn questioned looking at the girl in her passenger seat. Rachel had finally received the okay from her doctors to go back to school. She was ecstatic to finally get out of her house and do something stimulating. "Ready as I'll ever be. You have to start somewhere."

Quinn was inspired by the girl next to her. The strength that Rachel encompassed was beyond anything she had ever seen before. Since the day that Quinn had sung to the smaller girl, they still hadn't discussed any feelings towards one another. However Quinn could feel herself falling more in love with Rachel each day.

The halls of McKinley were bustling with energy like every other day. No one seemed to be paying much attention to Rachel's return. Granted the girl was never seen as that important. Quinn showed the brunette to her locker and left briefly to put her belongings in her own locker down the hall.

Rachel watched the blond depart and smiled to herself. She too was falling in love. Turning back to her locker, Rachel took in all the pictures and memories that she herself had no recollection of. She saw herself wrapped around Finn Hudson, sharing kisses and glances. The people in the picture looked very happy. As hard as everyone had been on Finn, Rachel was now beginning to feel sympathetic for the boy. They were obviously in love and she felt bad that they feelings had just vanished. At that moment she decided that a talk with Finn would be necessary.

Among the photos, she found herself posed in matching costumes to her friends from Glee. They must've been from a competition. Sadly Rachel could not find any pictures with Quinn. She was going to change that as soon as possible. Still somewhat reminiscing Rachel barely registered that someone had approached her locker. She was shaken from her thoughts by an ice cold beverage being thrown in her face.

"Welcome back freak!" a male voice said mockingly. Before Rachel had a chance to wipe the slush from her face she heard a bang. "What the hell are you doing Kurofsky?"

"Back off Fabray. It was just a welcome back present," Kurofsky brushed himself off and started heading down the hallway. Quinn was about the chase after him, but she heard the girl behind her whimper. She turned around and wrapped her arms around Rachel.

"Sh it's okay. I'm here now. I'm so sorry."

Quinn ushered Rachel into the nearest bathroom and began cleaning the red ice off the small girls face and clothing. "Rach? Talk to me."

Rachel didn't know if she was in shock from the cold or the action, but no words were coming out. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the sink. "I promise nothing like this will ever happen to you again. I should've been there to stop him. I'm sorry Rachel this is my-"

"Stop Quinn. Don't finish that sentence. My initiation had to happen at some point. Might as well get it done with sooner than later." Quinn stopped what she was doing and looked at Rachel. She would never understand this girl. Even without the memories of the past, Rachel still felt like she deserved to be mistreated.

"I-" at that moment the door burst open, Santana and Brittany entering.

"Q! We just heard about what Kurofsky did. The guys are hunting him down right now. I'm about to go all Lima Heights on his ass."

Brittany took Santana's hand trying to calm down the fiery latino. Rachel took note of this, unaware of their relationship. "Thank you.."

"Santana," Quinn helped fill in the blanks.

"Yes thank you Santana. Really it means so much to know you all care even though I don't know you."

Quinn winced at this, Santana's demeanor softened, and Brittany just looked confused. Rachel noticed the change in the atmosphere and frowned. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I just-I don't.." she trailed off, her lip began to quiver. This was all too much to handle. Maybe coming back to school was a mistake.

"Rach let's go find a new shirt for you to change into. I think I have some in my gym locker." The brunette stood up, still regretting her choice of words. As they approached the door Rachel turned back to the two girls.

"Thank you both again. I promise one day I will remember."

Santana looked at Quinn with tears in her eyes. It broke all of their hearts to hear Rachel sound so desperate. "We will see you both in glee later." Quinn smiled at her best friend and grabbed Rachel's hand, leading her out into the hallway.

The rest of the day was uneventful for both girls. They had lunch with some members of the club. There was some small talk, and Rachel seemed to enjoy it. However Quinn could tell she still wasn't feeling completely comfortable. As the end of the day rolled around, Quinn could feel Rachel getting anxious. The last class of the day was their only one together. Quinn leaned over and whispered, "You don't have to go if you don't want to."

Rachel turned to the blond, placing their faces only inches from each other. Quinn's breath hitched and it took everything in her to not kiss Rachel. The teacher cleared their throat from the front of the classroom and continued on with the lesson. Not wanting to draw anymore attention to themselves Quinn took out a piece of paper.

I can take you home at 3.

She slid the looseleaf across the desk to Rachel and waited for the smaller girl's response.

I want to go.

Quinn looked at Rachel and smiled. The brunette returned the action, but it seemed forced. She wanted to know what was bothering the other girl so much. Instead of pushing, Quinn let it go for the remainder of the class. The bell rang and both girls headed to the choir room.

Upon entering, no one stopped what they were doing to acknowledge Rachel's presence. As much as this should have upset the brunette, for the first time that day she felt like a normal person. Sighing with content she took a seat next to Quinn. Kurt came in and took the chair next to Rachel.

"Hey Rachel, Mercedes and I were wondering if you wanted to have a movie night on Friday?" Quinn sat listening to the conversation. As much as she wanted to have Rachel all to herself she knew that she needed to branch out again.

Rachel was unsure of what to say so she looked at Quinn. The blond girl smiled and told her to go. Kurt watched this interaction and again made note of how close the two girls had gotten. "I would love to join you and Mercedes this Friday."

"You can come too Quinn," Kurt extended his invitation to Rachel's new keeper. Quinn glared at Kurt knowing his intentions but politely replied, "Thank you Kurt, but I think I have plans with Santana."

Rachel looked hurt by Quinn's decline, but brushed it off. As much as she wanted to spend every moment with Quinn, she would need to let herself open up to others as well. The practice began, following similar suit to the one Rachel had previously attended. She was still hesitant about singing, but she could feel the want building. Every time the group burst into a random number she wanted to jump out of her chair and join in. The rest of the group was waiting for that moment. They knew that no matter what happened, Rachel Berry would never stop singing