A/N: Hello everyone, I hope you enjoy! I've been think you might like shorter, more frequent updates to longer, less frequent ones, but if I'm wrong you should tell me. I really would just like to thank you for all of your kind reviews, I really appreciate them.

Quinn began her job search the next day. While Paul had been perfectly pleasant and welcoming when she had met him that morning, she could tell he was hoping her stay wouldn't be an extended one. Finding a job was part of what she was inwardly referring to as "crossing the threshold." This time she didn't have being pregnant as an excuse to lean on Finn or Puck for support, in fact, she couldn't completely blame her father for her troubles, either. This time, she had chosen to walk out of that house and she had no plans to return to it while Russell was presiding there. She pulled on the most professional outfit she could manage out of the mishmash of clothes she had thrown together. She ended up in the black pants she had bought to wear backstage and a nice yellow blouse. She tried not to think about the fact that she had purchased both at Target, a store she now avoided. Being productive made it easier to not think about Rachel, and whether or not she should call her. Confronting the singer had previously been frightening because of the possibility of rejection. Now, Quinn found she was terrified because of opposite reasons. So she focused on the job hunt, walking through Lima Square Mall with purpose, eyes scanning the window displays for "now hiring" signs. There were several issues that Quinn still had not resolved, the biggest being that she was sixteen and unable to attain a residence unless she sued her parents for emancipation, a feat she considered particularly intimidating. The legal fees would be astronomical, and she was sure it would require some kind of compliance on her parents' part, which would prove difficult. Still, she was unable to rule it out completely, even as her search remained fruitless throughout the day. She steeled herself the same way she would before dealing with her father or Coach Sylvester, and drove back to the apartment commanding herself to remain motivated. As she got ready for bed that night, brushing her teeth in Jason's bathroom and arranging her pillow on his couch, she resolved that she would not live out her high school days as a nomad.

The next day brought the return of the show, and Quinn and Jason carpooled to the theatre. He must have told someone that she was living with him, because everyone was being extra nice to her. Rachel, who was always at least thirty minutes early to everything, showed up uncharacteristically right at call time. She managed to avoid Quinn while simultaneously watching her like a hawk. Quinn wasn't sure whether she should tell her what Jason had told her, try to apologize again, or act like nothing had happened, so she just let Rachel watch her from afar. It wasn't until Rachel's quick change that the two of them came within three feet of each other. Rachel's eyes seemed to bore into her as she stood there in her bra and panties while Quinn slid the dress over her head. In the couple of seconds they had to spare before Rachel went back on, Quinn leaned forward and whispered, "Can we talk later?" Rachel's nod was quick and over her shoulder as she rushed to get onstage.

Quinn was performing her post-show duties when Jason found her after the show.

"Can I ask you a favor?" he was grinning, and Quinn nodded apprehensively. "Will you lock up for me? I'm going out, one of my friends from school was in the audience tonight and he can drive me home." Quinn raised an eyebrow playfully and took the keys from him. After all of her work was done, she sat at the edge of the stage while actors and technicians left the theatre, most of them going home to sleep before they had to get up and go to their day jobs. Rachel appeared, wearing one of her little skirts and a polka-dotted blouse. She took a tentative seat beside Quinn, who waited until the theatre had been quiet and still for a few moments before she looked at the shorter girl beside her. Rachel was staring at her, looking concerned.

"What happened with your dad?" she asked, "I heard you're staying with Jason. Did he kick you out again?"

Quinn shook her head, "I left."

"That's really brave," Rachel said, "I wouldn't be able to do that."

"No, but you go to school and get hell every day." Quinn responded, looking at her out of the corner of her eye as she left off the "from me" that she felt should have been attached to the end of that sentence.

"Well, now you know what that's like," Rachel said. Her hand was right next to Quinn's on the stage. Quinn stared at it, willing her own hand to cover it.

"You were right about me, I'm sorry," she said finally. Rachel shook her head.

"I shouldn't have said it, though. Everyone uses people in some way," after a pause, Rachel continued, "I used Finn the other day. I was upset after our fight and I went there because I knew he still has feelings for me."

Quinn shook her head, "Finn doesn't know what his feelings are."

There was a long pause, and then Rachel's voice sounded tiny, "Do you?"

It took Quinn awhile to look at Rachel, and when she did the hope, fear, and expectancy she found there panicked her. She took a breath, then another.

"I know I like you," she said, and looked at their hands again, side by side, "And as more than a friend." That same fear, of acceptance and rejection, wouldn't allow her to raise her eyes. She sat, paralyzed, as Rachel's hand closed over hers.

"I suppose you already know how I feel about you, Quinn."

It was the sound of her name that seemed to break the spell, and this time it was Quinn's lips who found Rachel's, her hands fumbling nervously against the brunette's face, neck, waist. Rachel gently placed one hand on Quinn's cheek, let it fall to her neck, and Quinn's movements became quieter, less frantic, as their lips moved against each other. Quinn's tongue explored Rachel's mouth, tentatively at first, and then a sound of pure longing freed itself from the brunette's throat and Quinn felt it travel through her, setting her nerves on fire. She leaned forward, feeling Rachel's hands on her waist, moving upwards until they rested hesitantly just below her breasts, before they were cupping her through her shirt. Quinn felt her body turn to liquid, the way she knew it should have with Finn and Puck. The implications of that realization made her pull away, panting slightly.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "I still need to..." she trailed off, unsure of what it was she still needed to do.

Rachel's eyes were hazy and dark, and after a moment of silence she turned toward the taller blonde, reaching for her, "Please don't…go away, like you did the last time."

Quinn turned toward her again, putting her hand in the one Rachel extended towards her. The fear and vulnerability in Rachel's face nearly broke her heart.

"No, I won't."