Quinn's confident step faltered after she made it ten steps into Rachel's house. The hammering and yelling from the front yard crowded her brain and snapped her attention to the fact that she was about to tell Rachel… everything.

"Quinn?" Rachel asked, turning back to the blond. "Are you coming?" Quinn stared blankly back at Rachel, creeping the brunette out. "You're acting like you were the one that got hit with a brick. Come on," she stated, walking back and lacing her fingers through Quinn's. "It's just me."

Quinn allowed Rachel to pull her upstairs and back into her bedroom. Memories of the night before came rushing back and Quinn actually smiled. "You know, last night didn't go as bad as I thought it would."

Rachel's eyes rolled upwards and then back to Quinn. Quinn smiled lightly before closing her eyes and shaking her head, "Minus the attack. Before… the attack, I mean. Before."

Rachel moved to her dresser and began looking for a clean pair of sweatpants. "If I recall, I was attempting to throw you out in a panic before we were interrupted."

Quinn chuckled as she plucked at the hem of her borrowed shirt, "Yep. And I was refusing. You were freaking out pretty bad…" she trailed off as she watched Rachel pull out a gold tank top, "but you seem calm now. I, on the other hand, am not calm anymore."

Rachel sighed as she closed the drawer, "Is this what you wanted to talk to me about, Quinn? While I don't mind actually discussing these feelings between us, I'd have to insist that-"

"I love you, Rachel." Quinn closed her eyes because God, how cliché was that? She took Rachel's silence with a grain of salt as she continued talking. "I don't know how much, or if it's real, because I've never been in love with anyone before. All I know is that I keep caring about you, a lot, and I have never been able to figure out why. Then I just really loved spending time with you even though the whole time I was trying to think of excuses why. And then when we kissed it just… that was it. I was lost."

She opened one eye to try to gauge Rachel's reaction. The brunette had moved to sit on the edge of her bed, and her white knuckles were just about pulling the tank top in her hands apart. Quinn opened her other eye and moved to sit down next to Rachel. She almost smiled at how it perfectly resembled when Rachel had come to talk to her after babygate had exploded in her face.

"Everyone has seen it but me, apparently. And when I was in the kitchen with Santana today we basically just… forced the other to tell you guys that we loved you. I'm so sick of you getting hurt, and I don't want to be the cause for it anymore, Rachel."

Rachel finally met Quinn's eyes. "You think you love me? Quinn, just because you care greatly about your former enemy does not mean that you love me."

Quinn arched an eyebrow, "Excuse me? I'm not an idiot, Rachel, and you're seriously ruining the moment."

Rachel scoffed and shook her head, "I'm sorry, the moment? I just… Quinn, I think you should leave. I just need time to process things."

Quinn gapped at Rachel as she watched her get up and move towards her bathroom. As the door clicked without another word from Rachel, Quinn's shocked gaze moved to her feet as she forced herself to stand up. She made her way out into the hallway and bumped into a resisting force.

"What the hell are you doing, Quinn?"

Quinn's brow furrowed as she looked up into Finn's face. "What the hell are you doing in here, Finn? Rachel and I were having a private conversation. Were you listening in?"

Finn laughed as he leaned against the wall, "Seriously? You think you can sort of become her friend, take care of her a few times, and expect her to be in love with you? I cannot believe you think you love her. You don't know what it's like to be in love with her."

Quinn glanced back at Rachel's bedroom door, "Oh I'm sorry, did I not meet a requirement? Let me go back in there and punch her in the face, then we'll talk."

Finn balled his fist at his sides. "Where is she, anyway? I want to talk to her. Her and me had something before you came along and ruined everything, you know. I actually had a chance with her before you."

"Was that before or after you were cheating on me with her? Oh wait, that was during."

Finn glared daggers as he spat out, "Oh, kind of like how you screwed my best friend behind my back, gave me hell for not taking care of a baby that wasn't mine, and then stole the girl I was in love with from under my nose?"

Quinn's eyes were wide in shock as she wavered on her feet. Her hands clutched at her baby bump as she leaned against a wall. "I took care of her, okay? I didn't steal her from you, I protected her from you."

"And who in the hell is going to protect her from you, Quinn? You really think you won't, and haven't, been hurting her worse than I ever did?"

Quinn froze. She tried to make her mouth work but no sound would come out as Finn's words sunk in. He's right.

"Finn, Quinn," Rachel's quiet voice said from behind them, "stop."

Quinn spun around with a guilty look on her face and Finn cringed. He tried to move past Quinn to put a hand on Rachel's shoulder, but Quinn held a hand out to stop him. "Rachel," the boy stuttered, "I didn't… we didn't…"

Quinn's eyes traced Rachel's face as Rachel grew more and more stoic. Quinn sighed as she realized Finn was only making things worse. "Finn," Quinn snapped, "we did. We meant everything we just said." She kept her eyes on Rachel's as the brown ones met hers. "There is an incredible amount of unresolved issues right here, between the three of us. We need to get it resolved, together…" she trailed off, giving Rachel a pointed look, "and separately."

Rachel glanced past Quinn, to Finn, as she held out her hand for the boy to take. Quinn's gaze dropped as Finn brushed past Quinn and into Rachel's room with the brunette. "I'll just wait out here, then…" Quinn said quietly as the door clicked closed.

Twenty minutes had gone by when Puck came in. He found Quinn on the floor, her back against the wall, across the hallway from Rachel's door. He paused momentarily. "Mind if I sit?"

Quinn looked up to him with sad eyes and shrugged. "Not my house."

Puck shook his head with a small grin as he sat down next to her. "We didn't end so well, did we Q?"

Quinn sighed as she moved her gaze from the wooden door to the pair of hazel eyes that she once trusted. "No, Puck… we didn't."

They sat in comfortable silence for a couple minutes before Puck spoke again. "I was really hurt that you didn't want to be with me. I'm not… used to that, you know? Chicks dig me, and they're usually ripping each other's hair out to get me," Puck started, ignoring Quinn's scoff of laughter, "but the one girl that I thought I wanted, didn't want me back. That sucked."

Quinn moved her gaze back to the doorway. "I get that." Puck raised an eyebrow at her profile as she continued, "I didn't before. I thought you were just… being Puck. Claiming your property or, whatever. Now I know that… well, you really liked me."

Puck moved his gaze from her face to the wall. "I thought I loved you. I realize what a mistake that would've been. I'm not good for you, Q, but Rachel? Rachel is."

Quinn started, "What?"

Puck rubbed his mohawk and chuckled. "Don't be dumb. We all know you love her, and that she loves you. We've all been trying to figure out when it happened, but whatever. It's cool, okay?" he said seriously, nudging her in the shoulder, "Don't worry about me, I'm actually really cool with it."

Quinn blinked back the tears in her eyes as she wrapped the boy in a hug as best as she could while sitting on the floor next to him. "Thank you, Puck," she whispered.

He pulled back and rested a hand on her baby bump. "It's the least I could do for my baby mama. How long have they been in there?"

Quinn shrugged. "Like, twenty five minutes, I guess. I don't know what they're saying, but if Finn…"

"I'll handle it," Puck said seriously, putting an end to her unspoken doubt.

Ten minutes after that, Rachel's doorway opened. Rachel came out first and hesitated in surprise as she saw Quinn and Puck sitting across the hall.

It was then that Finn brushed past Rachel, stopping in front of Puck and Quinn. Puck raised an eyebrow, but helped himself and then Quinn up. "You okay, dude?"

Finn gulped. He looked like he'd been crying. "Yeah, uhm, let's just go outside and finish the work out there so we can head home, okay?"

Puck nodded and threw a glance to Rachel. The brunette nodded to let him know everything was all right. Finn paused, however, and turned back to Quinn. He took a deep breath and shuffled his feet before mumbling, "Everything's going to be okay, all right?" He waited for her to nod before he nodded himself and started down the hall.

The boys walked down the stairs and Quinn turned to Rachel. Rachel stood in the doorway, staring hard at Quinn. Quinn stared back.

"Are you and Finn…?" Quinn began eventually, resting her hands on her stomach and furrowing her brows together in worry. "You know," she urged, clearing her throat as Rachel made no move to speak, "together… now?"

Rachel's face showed no emotion as she took in a breath. "How can you honestly think that you love me? I thought you were supposed to be smart, Quinn."

Quinn gaped as her eyebrows shot up. "Excuse me? Why is it so hard for you to realize that someone may actually love you? Do you believe that Finn does?"

Rachel didn't hesitate. "Yes."

"Oh, he does, but I can't?"

Rachel shrugged, "I don't think so, no. I don't think you can love anybody, Quinn. You don't know your own heart well enough to know what it's like to give it away."

The blond was rendered speechless, so Rachel continued. "All I'm saying, Quinn, is that I'm the first person you've ever… shall we say, softened up for. Maybe aside from Puck… but still. I don't think you know what it's like to love someone because you don't even love yourself."

Quinn completely tensed up as her rage bubbled out. "No. No, you don't get to just sit here and tell me that I don't know what love is. Have you ever even told anyone that you loved them? Jesse? Finn? Puck? Anyone? You, all high and mighty on your throne above everyone else in this town, you're a liar. You may think that I've never softened up to anybody, and hell, maybe that's true, but it does not mean that I don't know what love is. I haven't kept my heart on lockdown because I don't know how to love, Rachel, I've kept it guarded because I haven't met anyone worth giving it to. Until now.

"You, on the other hand, are the opposite. You've tried everything to get acceptance and love from everyone, anyone, really. And you've been shot down every single time. So maybe, maybe I'm too cold to love. But you, you're too jaded to."

"We hated each other," Rachel said quietly.

Quinn threw her hands up, assuming that Rachel heard nothing of what she just said. "Yeah, we did. We probably still do."

"We would never work," Rachel stated, shaking her head while deep in thought.

"We have been so far. As long as I don't, you know, run away or get scared."

"We haven't even been close, Quinn, how can you love me?"

Quinn bit her lip. "I just do, okay? I can't explain it, and I wish I could. But you know-"

"That you can't ever explain anything when it comes to me," Rachel finished, earning a smile from Quinn.

"Exactly. If you don't love me, Rachel, or at least don't think that you ever could, tell me now. Because if you don't tell me that, I'm not leaving."

Rachel's head shot up and she winced, putting her hand on her wound. "Is that a threat?"

A blond eyebrow arched. "You bet your ass it is, Berry. I'll be downstairs when you're ready to answer me."

Rachel held her hand out to stop Quinn, but she only grasped air as the blond headed down the stairs. The diva sighed. I've made out with Quinn, been the victim of a hate crime, gone to the hospital, broken up with Jesse, told Finn that I didn't love him, and gotten a love confession from one Quinn Fabray… she thought as she made her way into her room, who does this? Rachel Berry, when did you become such a hot commodity?

Rachel sat down on the edge of her bed and took in a deep breath. She didn't need to think about what Quinn said, and she didn't need to make any decisions. She hadn't loved Jesse, Finn, and certainly not Puck. Well… she loves Puck and Finn as friends but nothing more. But actually telling someone that she loved them? That was an entirely different ballgame.

"I don't think I can do this…" Rachel whispered to herself as she began to cry. Her head shot up when she heard a knock on her doorframe.

She quickly wiped her eyes and looked over to see Santana leaning in her doorway, looking less hostile than usual but still eerily determined. Santana stepped into the room and shut the door behind her. "We need to have a little talk. Don't try to escape out of the window; I have Puck guarding it already."