Rachel woke up to darkness. She rolled over in her bed and let out a groan at the soreness of her back before smiling as she remembered why it was sore. She groggily blinked her eyes a few times, adjusting to the dark as she threw a hand to the other side of the bed: empty. She sighed as she sat up, plucking the fabric of her grey, baggy t-shirt as she yawned. "Quinn?" she called out quietly, not expecting to get an answer. Quinn was gone. "Alone again…" she mumbled.

The brunette kicked her legs over the side of her bed and sat for a few minutes, simply holding her head in her hands and breathing, listening to the crickets chirp outside. "God, I wish I knew what I was doing," she mumbled to the darkness. Glancing at her clock, Rachel took note that it was 4 A.M before her bare feet padded downstairs, dressed in nothing but pink skimpy shorts and an oversized shirt.

She rounded the corner to her kitchen and stopped in her tracks as she saw a figure sitting at her kitchen table, hunched over a cup of something. Her breath hitched and the figure's head shot up at the girl's entrance.

"Rachel, it's just me, it's okay." The brunette fumbled for the light switch on the wall as the kitchen was suddenly bathed in light. Quinn sat at the table with Rachel's plaid pajama bottoms and a plain white t-shirt on. She nursed a cup of coffee that had gone cold a half an hour prior. "I made coffee. There's still some in the pot if you want any. It is yours, after all."

Rachel shook her head, dumbstruck, as she sat down across from Quinn. "I don't drink coffee," she stated, quietly, "bad for the voice."

Quinn chuckled over the cup's rim as she took a drink and winced at the coldness, "Figures."

"You're still here?"

Quinn set down the cup and arched an eyebrow, "Looks like it."

Rachel fumbled for the right words, "Did we really…?"

Quinn's eyes closed tightly, "Yeah."

"I - I mean, at least we didn't… go all the way."

Quinn snorted into her cup, "Geez, Rach, be more relieved that we didn't have spontaneous sex."

Rachel stared hard at Quinn, and Quinn would have given anything in that moment to be able to read minds. "I feel like I should apologize."

The diva shook her head, "I'm pretty sure I was the one who kissed you, initially. I should be apologizing since you made it completely clear earlier that you were, indeed, not gay."

"And you are?"

"I - Well," Rachel sputtered, eyebrows furrowed together deep in thought before continuing, "I've had feelings for girls before, although admittedly they weren't strong ones. However, I'm not averse to having feelings for girls, especially with my upbringing. I wouldn't consider myself gay, though. I can't deny our… rather unusual chemistry, though."

Quinn stared at the brunette, surprisingly bemused, as she traced her eyes over Rachel's face. Abruptly, she stood up and took her mug to the sink. Rachel watched from her seat, confusion and fear etched into her face. The blonde calmly refilled her cup, took a sip of the hot coffee and smiled at the mug as she sat back down.

Rachel huffed and made a wild hand gesture before half yelling, "Quinn! We made out! I mean, we spontaneously made out in my bed for hours. How are you this calm?"

Quinn set down her coffee cup as her eyebrows shot up, "Who said I was calm? I'm just not being a ten year old about it like you are. Why don't we just stay -"

"I think you should leave."

She hesitated, "It's 4 A.M, okay? I'm not leaving."

Rachel groaned, "This is insane. Am I dreaming? We hate each other."

"We don't hate each other," Quinn pointed out calmly, taking another sip of her coffee, "remember? This is our night to be friends and put our differences aside."

Rachel stood up dramatically and slapped her hands, palm down, on the table. "How can you be so serene about this? By now, you should be saying 'gotcha!' while Santana comes out of the closet with a tape recorder and a baseball bat or something! Something to have this make sense, it has to be some elaborate prank." Quinn bit her lip, holding back the laughter that was bubbling up inside of her after hearing Santana should be coming out of the closet.

Quinn regained her composure and leaned back, opening her mouth to speak as the sound of glass breaking came out instead of her voice. She snapped her mouth closed as her wide eyes met Rachel's, mirroring hers. They jumped up and ran through the dark house to the living room. Quinn, despite being weighed down by her baby, made it to the living room before Rachel did. She eyed the brick laying on the floor, surrounded by the glass of the shattered front window, bathed in moonlight. She didn't need to pick it up to read the note that had been attached to it. She felt Rachel stiffen next to her as she read it too. Written in big, black, block letters read, "FAGGOT FAMILY".

Quinn's head shot up as Rachel ran to the front door, furious at the attack. "Rachel, no!" Quinn yelled as she charged as best she could towards the shorter girl. But she was too late as Rachel raced out of the door with fire in her eyes as she faced the group of jocks in her front yard.

"Oh, look! We woke the devil's spawn!" A Cheerio called, arms folded over her chest while next to her some football players smirked.

Quinn pressed herself flat against the wall by the front door, breathing heavily. She laid a hand on her stomach and thought of her reputation, and how God-awful it would be if anyone actually knew she was here. Even if her car was in the driveway, there was still a chance…

"Excuse me, first I would like to point out that I am not the devil's spawn. My parents, I can assure you, are better than all of yours combined, and I do not have to meet them to know that. Secondly, are you aware of the damage you just inflicted on my house? Not only was it property damage, but it was a hate crime, and I will make sure -"

"Shut up tranny," another nameless Cheerio shouted - Quinn shrank further into the wall, closing her eyes tightly and letting out a broken sob at the nickname she'd started years ago - "wanna hear a joke?"

"And no, we don't mean you in general," Karofsky snickered from the back of the group, bulky arms folded across his chest.

Rachel stood at the doorway, arms folded and a blank expression on her face as she slowly broke inside. The cheerleader waited for the laughter to die down before she continued, "You'll never be the man your mother was, you know. Oh wait," she said through a grin, "what mother?"

Quinn's hands tightened on her stomach as she lightly laid her head against the wall behind her. She heard the crack in Rachel's voice and prayed no one else did. "Your pathetic insults will do nothing to help you in court. So I hope this little practical joke was worth it."

Karofsky stepped forward, another brick in his hand as he smirked, "Might as well go all out shouldn't we?" He chucked the brick and then Rachel saw blackness.

Rachel groaned as she woke. A low, throaty groan that made her wince against the blackness of her eyelids. "Rachel? Stay down, okay? Don't move."

The brunette opened and closed her hands that were lying to the sides of her as she tried to feel her surroundings. "Where am I?"

Quinn leaned forward in the chair, dabbing at Rachel's forehead with a washcloth. "You're in your bed. I didn't think you needed to go to the hospital but… I'm probably wrong on that."

Rachel groaned again, "If you felt I needed to go to the hospital you should have taken me. I don't want to die before I get to be a star, Quinn. I know you don't like me but you didn't need to kill me."

Hazel eyes rolled as she shook her head, "I don't think you're going to die, and your mouth seems to be working fine so I'm not worried." Which is a lie, she thought, staring at the huge bandage she'd wrapped around Rachel's head.

Rachel opened her eyes slowly, wincing at the pain, "Did they really throw a brick at me?"

"They really did."

"What happened after that?"

"Well," she began, sitting back in the chair she'd pulled to Rachel's bed, "they left. I guess they figured their bullying job had been done for the night and so they… left."

A small hand slowly made a path to her head as she felt a bandage. "What's wrong with my head, Quinn?"

"The brick hit you in the head… I mean, that doesn't just not leave a mark. I don't think you have a concussion since you aren't in a coma or anything. But you have a big cut from your forehead to a little ways into your hair. I wrapped a big bandage around it after cleaning it, which was easy since you were knocked out cold so you couldn't bitch at me the whole time."

Rachel eyed Quinn skeptically, "How did you get me to my room?"

"I-I…" she sputtered, trying to come up with an excuse when Rachel's door opened.

"Quinn, I think the - Rachel! You're up!"

Rachel's head turned too fast as she gasped, "Finn?" Choosing that moment to get a head rush, which Quinn thought was rather dramatic, Rachel passed out again.

Finn stood in the doorway, mouth open, as Quinn shot him a look. "Smooth."

"Unguh," Rachel muttered, blinking open her eyes again. She heard shifting next to her as she opened her eyes, "Quinn?"

Tina and Artie exchanged a smile before Tina leaned forward, "No sweetie, it's me and Artie."

"Why are you in my room?"

Artie shook his head vehemently, "First thing's first, we need to check you for a concussion," he stated, unclipping a tiny flashlight from his suspenders.

She winced as a light was shone in one eye, then the other. "Do I have a serious head wound, Artie?"

The boy shook his head, "No, you don't. It's just gonna hurt like a mofo on crack for a few days, ya know?"

Rachel nodded slowly, "Good… to know. If I may ask, why are you all here?"

The couple exchanged a confused look before Tina spoke up. "Quinn called us at like, 4:30. Told us what happened and that she needed us, and we all came." Rachel's brow furrowed, signaling her confusion, so Tina continued. "You know… she managed to pull you into the doorway and shut the door, but she needed our help to get the assholes to leave and the guys help to carry you upstairs."

"Quinn said… that they just left, that they didn't cause any more problems."

Tina's eyebrows shot up as Artie started stuttering, "Oh - oh - well, r-right. That's what happened. We just must have heard wrong. Oh! Look at the time; it's time… to leave." Tina stood up, gave Rachel a brief hug, then speed-wheeled her and Artie from the room, leaving a confused Rachel.

After a few minutes she head, "Rach? You up?" The brunette nodded as she watched Mercedes come into her room wearing a bright smile. "Hey girl, how's the head?"

Rachel shrugged, sitting herself against the headboard, "It doesn't hurt as much as my pride does right now. You'd think random hate crimes would get old by now, but then again, this is small town Lima."

"Where the winners are," Mercedes finished with an eye roll, "I hear ya. Quinn should be up in a few minutes with some soup or something, I don't know. She heard you were up and sprang into action."

"Mercedes," Rachel began, motioning for the girl to take a seat near her bed, "can I ask you a question?"

Mercedes eyed the door warily, but gave in and sat in the chair. "Yeah, shoot."

"What did Quinn have to do to get the mob of delinquents to go away?"

Mercedes grumbled a bit as her gaze flicked to the door again. "Why do you ask?" Rachel fixed her with a pointed look and she sighed, "She freaked when you went down, went onto the porch and yelled up a storm. I guess she got some hate, obviously, for being with you. But she gave as well as she got and she was able to pull you in far enough to close the door. She was pissed that she lost so much of her bitch appeal because the mob didn't leave, just started pulling other crap. So she called us to help."

"Did anyone question why she was here in the first place?"

Mercedes face pulled into an expression that made Rachel feel idiotic, "Why would we need to question that?"

Rachel's expression was blank as she drew out, "Why… wouldn't you…?"

The two girls stared at each other for a few moments before Mercedes shook her head, "Never mind. No, we didn't ask. Quinn got enough of that from the idiots that were here anyway. They all think she's sleeping or living with you now or something."

Rachel sighed, "It must have been pretty bad for her to allow Finn in here."

Mercedes laughed bitterly, eyebrows shooting up, "Yeah… that was a hard call for her. She got a lot of shit from Santana but they came to an agreement about it. He sort of redeemed himself anyway when he and Puck beat the crap out of Karofsky. That was fun to watch," she finished with a reminiscing smile.

Rachel groaned as Quinn's voice cut through the air, disguising her anger with an overly cheery voice, "Mercedes! Thank you for keeping Rachel company, but I think Kurt needs you downstairs."

Two sets of brown eyes turned to see Quinn in the doorway holding a bowl of steaming soup. "Right Quinn, uh, you two take… care okay, bye," Mercedes rushed out while practically running out of the room.

Rachel's eyes stayed on Quinn as the blonde moved into the room and stood by the chair that Mercedes had just vacated. "I really wish you'd stop getting hurt."

Rachel tried to keep her head as still as possible as she regarded Quinn through hazy eyes, "If you hadn't noticed, it's your kind that chooses to continue tormenting me."

Quinn stilled, her gaze lowering to her swollen belly then back up to Rachel's eyes, "They aren't my kind anymore, you know that."

Rachel smiled softly, "I do. I just wanted to hear you admit it. I'm going to take that as your roundabout way of saying you're sort of my kind now. Thus making us friends."

"Even with a head injury you still manage to blab more worthless nonsense than anyone else. I brought you medicine and soup," Quinn said with a shake of her head, shrugging her shoulders under the weight of the tray she had brought into the room. "You weren't supposed to hear that, by the way. You know, what you got out of Mercedes."

"Why did you lie to me?" Rachel questioned, watching Quinn set up the special breakfast in bed tray that her dad kept under the sink, across her midsection.

Quinn silently gestured to the medicine and the orange juice next to the soup on the tray in front of Rachel and sat back with sad eyes. "Because… I don't know," she said, honestly, watching Rachel take the pills and wincing. "I don't even know what's going on with us right now; I didn't want to have to own up to caring about you enough to once again take care of you."

Rachel nodded as she began lazily twirling the spoon in the bowl, "Understandable. I suppose there's a lot that we need to talk about."

Quinn groaned, "Can't it just be like, some unspoken agreement that we never mention last night again?"

Rachel's eyes trace the patterns as she stirs the soup, "So, you want to forget it ever happened? Go on and pretend like there's nothing going on between us? Like there hasn't been since the day Finn hit me and you held a cold water bottle to my face, too angry to even speak? Probably even before then."

Quinn took in a sharp gasp of breath as the memory of that day coupled with Santana's lecture and Rachel's scars assaulted her senses. She idly fingered the cross around her neck as she stared through a spot on Rachel's wall. "I don't know what you expect me to say," she drew out, slowly.

Rachel winced as she swallowed down some soup. I wonder if this is vegan soup. That thought was quickly chased away by Quinn's words. "I expect you to tell me why you dragged me into my house, being pregnant, after I had been assaulted, after we had made out in my bed all night. I expect you to tell me why you did that and why you watch my back in school and take care of me and invite me to dinner if there's nothing between us."

Quinn's desperate eyes searched Rachel's for any sign of reprieve, any chance to get out of this. She was only met with steeled determination, so she opened her mouth pointlessly, being cut off by Jesse St. Whatever standing in the doorway.

"Rachel, babe, are you okay?"

A small smile stretched across Quinn's lips as she watched Rachel's face fall, subtly, but not enough for Jesse to notice. She stood up from her spot next to Rachel and allowed Jesse to sit down in her place. She made it to the doorway before she turned back around to Rachel, who had her eyes on Quinn as Jesse animatedly talked about how the scars this would leave would taint her looks for Broadway.

Quinn's gaze fell to the floor by her feet before she sucked in a deep breath and met Rachel's eyes. She mouthed the words, "I'm terrified," to Rachel before nodding once for clarification, turning, and leaving the couple to talk. Break up, talk, same thing.