A/N: Hey, guys! Thank you so much for the great reviews! Sorry it took me so long to get this out. I was in Chicago for a week, came home and was sick for a week, then had to leave to go to my brother's wedding. It's been a whirlwind! Anyway, enjoy the next chappie!

"Not when it comes to this. I've been here before."

"This is different! This is so different."

"I'm learning from past mistakes."

"By making more?"

"What are you doing out of bed?"

Quinn jumped a mile, the water in her glass almost sloshing over the side. She turned toward the kitchen doorway and smiled at her husband.

"Hey," she spoke softly. "You scared me. I was just getting some water." She held up the glass a little more to show him. "Did I wake you?"

"No," he answered. "Your phone did."

"It did?" She felt a sudden panic, not knowing if someone texted or called and who it was. "Did someone call?"

"Text," he replied.

"Oh." She could tell by his tone that this wasn't good.

"From Steven," he added.

"Oh." Quinn tried not to show fear. "What did it say?"

"You're meeting him tomorrow." Michael moved closer to her slowly.

"Yes," Quinn agreed with a nod. "Joey and Dave get along really well with Maybelle and Alex. They're going with us to the Halloween activities at the library."

"I told you I didn't want you hanging out with him," Michael reminded her, keeping his tone calm for now. "I don't like him."

"You said hanging out with him alone," Quinn spoke softly. "We don't do play dates anymore. There's going to be lots of parents and kids at the library. I thought it was okay."

"If you thought it was okay, then why did you hide it?" Michael asked her.

"I... didn't," Quinn replied, trying to calculate her words. "I told you we were going there tomorrow."

"And you neglected to tell me you were meeting him there," Michael added.

"It's not a big deal." She needed to play this off as not a big deal, which it wasn't, but she was worried her fear might make him think it was something she was hiding. "I mean, we were both going. We decided to meet when we both got there."

"You lied to me." Michael moved even closer.

"I didn't," she insisted.

"You left that detail out."

"There's going to be lots of people there," Quinn went on. He was invading her space and she was scared. "I would have seen him there anyway."

"I don't want your excuses!"

Michael slapped her hard across the face and Quinn stumbled back, spilling water from her glass on the floor.

"Yeah, make a fucking mess," he hissed angrily.

"It's just water."

Quinn turned to get paper towels when Michael smacked her glass from her hand. It fell to the floor, breaking. The blonde kept her head ducked, not wanting to look her husband in the eyes.

"You'll clean it up," Michael told her.

"Of course," she replied quickly.

"With your bare hands," he added. "Now."

He shoved her toward the broken glass and Quinn winced as she stepped on a piece of glass.

"Ow."

"Get down," he pushed hard on her back, knocking her to the floor. Quinn was aware her foot was bleeding and her pajamas where wet from the water. She couldn't see the glass too well in the darkened kitchen. She carefully began to pick up the bigger pieces.

"Faster!"

He kicked her, knocking her over and causing the glass in her hands to fall back to the floor.

"Michael, please," she begged, not wanting to get any more cuts.

"Get it done," he kept his voice low, stern, even. "Now. You're a fucking mess. I should make you sleep on it."

Quinn looked up at him. "No..."

"Clean it the fuck up," he told her. "I don't want you in my room. You sleep out here."

"Michael—"

"Are you going to talk back to me?" he cut her off and leaned down, getting in her face.

Quinn glanced away. "No..."

He hit her again and she cried out, tears springing to her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly.

"Fuck, I'll show you sorry."

"Michael, please."

She was crying now and he grabbed her by her hair, dragging her over the glass. Quinn cried out as Michael yanked her to her feet by her hair.

"Let's go." He growled in her ear as he tossed her into the living room. He shoved her onto the couch and straddled her, his arm raising high above his head before he brought it down, over and over, making contact with her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey, Mom," Quinn said softly into the phone once her mother picked up. Her left eye was bruised and bloodshot. Her lip was swollen in two places. She had a cut on her right cheek.

"Hey, Quinn," Judy responded brightly. "Just packing up to start the drive."

"That's what I'm calling about," Quinn told her and closed her eyes, trying not to sigh.

"What now?" Her mother's voice was tired. She was used to this.

"It's not good," Quinn said. "Um... It would be better if you didn't come. I'm a little sick, the kids are sick a little. Um. We won't even be out that long. So... you know, we can reschedule."

"Quinn." Judy paused. "It's always one excuse or another."

"I know," Quinn replied softly. "I'm sorry." She hung up the phone.

Rachel trudged up the stairs to her apartment. She froze when she saw Quinn standing outside the door. That was a surprise. She looked away and moved toward the door, unlocking it.

"I haven't seen you in a while," Rachel said.

"Been busy," Quinn replied.

"So..." Rachel glanced at her. "What's up?"

"Nothing." She shrugged.

Rachel opened the door. "Want to come in?"

"Sure."

Quinn followed Rachel inside and looked around. The apartment seemed empty. Rachel turned around to ask if Quinn wanted something to drink when the blonde closed the space between them and kissed her.

For a moment, Rachel didn't react. But then her eyes closed and she kissed Quinn back. The blonde reached up to cup Rachel's face as she pressed her body into the other girl's. She moved them back until she had the brunette pinned against the wall.

This time, Quinn wasn't drunk, as far as Rachel knew. It wasn't just a fluke. She took her time kissing Quinn. It would be a lie if she said she had never thought about it before. Especially since that drunken night. She broke the kiss and pulled back slightly.

"We can go to my room... if you want."

"Yes," Quinn answered, a little breathlessly, and led the way to Rachel's room.