A/N: Unlike theatre, I don't know anything about how law offices work. I've done a little bit of research into Ohio family laws and the Ohio Bar, but to be perfectly honest I'm not committed enough to learn everything there is to know, so I hope any of you with a working knowledge of the Ohio legal system will not be insulted! :)
As it turned out, Alexandra Levine had an opening the next day, and Quinn had a hard time convincing Rachel not to go with her.
"But she's like my aunt! I've known her my whole life. I just want to be there for you," Rachel said, laying a hand on Quinn's shoulder.
Quinn remained silent, partly because she didn't know how to tell Rachel that this was something she wanted to do alone, and partly because those words made her question, again, exactly what the two of them were to each other. The truth was, though, that Quinn was terrified to go to the lawyer's office, and as she looked at Rachel, she realized the shorter girl could read her fears as easily as she could read music, and that was why Rachel was pushing so hard to accompany her.
"I'll introduce the two of you and then stay in the waiting room. I thought you might appreciate the support," Rachel looked hopeful.
"Alright," Quinn said after a moment, "You can come and introduce us."
Rachel's relieved smile was infectious, and Quinn was grinning along with her right up until they got into the car, when her nerves kicked in once again.
"You're very quiet," Rachel remarked. Quinn only shrugged, feeling the shorter girl looking at her from the passenger seat. Rachel reached across the center console and grabbed Quinn's free hand. "Remember, you're going to speak with her, and learn about your rights. You're not committing to anything. You can relax."
Quinn nodded, and did feel a little better as they pulled up to one of the few tall office buildings in downtown Lima. It wasn't far from where her father worked, and Quinn had always been impressed by the buildings when she was little, before she had travelled so many places with the Cheerios. Still, Quinn was once again glad that she had brought Rachel with her because the shorter girl knew exactly where she was going once they got inside the building, whereas Quinn would have had to wander through the winding hallways full of identical doors with identical placards beside them, declaring the businesses within.
A short elevator ride and several twists and turns later, Rachel was opening one of these doors besides which a placard stated "Law Offices of Barker & Levine." Quinn took a deep breath and followed Rachel through the door.
There sat who must have been Amber, behind a nice-looking wooden desk with a hands-free phone headset perched atop her dark hair. She looked up when they entered the small, modestly decorated waiting room.
"You must be Quinn," she remarked after glancing at the appointment book in front of her. She looked about the same age as the two of them. She was chewing gum and had on the bitchiest face Quinn had ever seen, and this after spending two years on the Cheerios with Santana. Rachel rolled her eyes.
"Yes, she is. Is Mrs. Levine in her office?" Rachel started toward a wooden door on the left.
"Hang on, you can't just go-" Amber began, but Rachel was already opening the door. Quinn didn't know whether to be embarrassed or grateful that she apparently wouldn't have to stay with Amber any longer. She followed Rachel into her "aunt's" office.
Quinn saw at once that her previous imaginings of what Alexandra Levine and her office looked like were pretty much spot-on. She looked around at the tall, imposing bookcases, the huge desk, and the plush rug beneath her feet. And then there was Alexandra herself, who was indeed wearing a grey power suit with slacks and had her blonde hair pulled back, fashionable square glasses perched on her nose. She was, at present, sitting behind the desk with her cell phone to her ear, but she looked up and grinned when she saw Rachel.
"Okay honey, I have to let you go," she was saying, "my next appointment just came in. I love you. Yes. Okay. Okay, bye."
She stood to hug Rachel, who ran around the desk to greet her.
"Was that Angie?" Rachel asked, "How is Elijah?"
"Yes, and fine, we're all fine," the lawyer chuckled, then looked at Quinn.
"Oh, yes," Rachel said, remembering herself, "Quinn, this is Alexandra Levine, Aunt Lexie, this is my…Quinn."
Quinn wasn't sure what Rachel had barely kept herself from calling her. Her what? Fellow Glee clubber? Friend? ...Girlfriend? Whatever the case, she was blushing and Alexandra was extending her hand to Quinn with an eyebrow raised.
"Nice to meet you, Rachel's Quinn. Please call me Lexie. I'm sorry if I seemed a little abrupt on the phone the other day, but I had a client in my office."
Quinn shook her hand gently, "That's okay, it's nice to meet you, I'm Quinn."
"Lexie and her wife have an adorable baby boy named Elijah-" Rachel began, and Quinn felt her face lose its color at the word "baby." Rachel stopped talking immediately and turned bright red. "That is to say, they were married only a few years ago and I performed at their wedding, perhaps you saw the video of it on my MySpace profile." As she stopped to take a breath, she seemed to notice the bemused look on Lexie's face and Quinn's still-pale expression. "Anyway, um, I'll be in the waiting room," she finished as she edged toward the door.
"Rachel, please don't practice your vocal scales out there. We got complaints last time," Lexie called as the door closed behind the shorter brunette. The lawyer settled herself in behind her desk and motioned for Quinn to take a seat.
"So let's go over a few things here, Quinn. Give me some back story. Why don't you want to live with your parents?"
Quinn took a deep breath. "I got pregnant, and my dad kicked me out. I lived with my boyfriend, then the baby's father, and finally with a friend until my parents split up and I moved back in with my mom. The baby was adopted by Rachel's mom, and now my dad just showed up at my house again and I left." Saying it out loud made Quinn realize how insane the past year had been for her. She felt her throat beginning to close and took another deep breath as Lexie made some notes on a legal pad.
"Well, that's quite a complicated situation. Does your dad know about you and Rachel?"
Quinn felt her face go pale for a second time. "What about me and Rachel?"
Lexie looked at her for a long moment before shaking her head. "Nevermind. Like I said the other day, there is no law in Ohio that gives you the right to become legally emancipated, however the courts have been known to grant it in cases where the minor is already supporting themselves and the parents have let them live out of the house. Do you have a job?"
Quinn shook her head, "I've been looking, but I guess all the kids who came home from college for the summer got there first."
Lexie considered her for a moment. "I really want you to think about this, Quinn. If you decide to take your parents to court, you will probably not be able to repair your relationship with them. We would have to prove that they cannot provide a stable home. That may require airing some of their dirty laundry in court, which I'm sure they wouldn't appreciate. And if you aren't granted your rights, you may be ordered to return home to them."
Quinn was silent for a moment. The thought of broadcasting her mother's drinking, her father's verbal abuse, and his absences, before a court full of strangers was frightening, but the thought of having to live with her parents after she had forced them through all that was absolutely terrifying.
"I will tell you, however, that if you do decide to proceed I will take your case on pro bono, which means I will not charge you for my services. You would still have to pay court fees, however."
"Thank you so much," Quinn said at once, but Lexie waved her off.
"The Ohio Bar Association recommends that I do a certain number of pro bono hours per year, plus I like to be able to do favors for Leroy and Hiram where I can."
Quinn nodded, but was unable to return Lexie's warm smile. This meeting was a lot to take in. She thanked the lawyer again and they shook hands over the desk. As Quinn turned to go, Lexie called out to her.
"You know Rachel is going to be asking you a lot of questions when you go out there, so be prepared." Quinn nodded. Lexie looked like she was about to say something, but seemed to think better of it. "Have a good one."
"You too," Quinn responded, opening the door and stepping out to ready herself for a deluge of questions from Rachel.
That night, Quinn lay sleepless on Jason's couch once again. Her thoughts flickered back and forth between needing to get off of this couch and out of Jason's apartment and the fears she had about going through with the lawsuit.
Her biggest fear was that she would be forced to live with Russell again, but there was also the fear of losing the case and still having nowhere to go. And even though she had seldom pitied her mother, wishing instead that Judy would take ownership of her alcoholism and get help, Quinn still felt pangs of guilt as she thought about leaving her mother with Russell, and about possibly using her addiction against her in court.
She felt so conflicted and uncertain, she pushed these thoughts away and instead focused on Rachel. She remembered how Rachel had taken her hand in the car, the feeling of Rachel's lips pressed against hers. Lexie's voice entered her head, does he know about you and Rachel? Nice to meet you, Rachel's Quinn.
Quinn didn't know if what she and Rachel were doing made her a different person, or made her gay, or made her a deviant. Her life leading up until now, her parents, her religion, her pastor, all told her yes, but she had learned a lot in the past year about what was wrong with the perfect picture of her previous life. Quinn wasn't sure if she could handle the uncertainty of trying to figure out if she really was gay on top of everything else, so as sleep finally claimed her, she settled in her mind on what Lexie had said earlier. She was Rachel's Quinn.