Chapter 8
Their first kiss was magical, Rachel knew. It was picture perfect and the kind of thing one sees in movies. It helped tremendously that Quinn was an excellent kisser. Their physical chemistry was through the roof but getting along as people was going to be a challenge. Rachel was stubborn and drifted between being fiercely independent and fairly dependent. Quinn was ruthless and could go from zero to bitch in no time flat and was also rather hard-headed.

Rachel was determined that she wasn't going to change. She hadn't for anyone else and she wasn't going to for Quinn. She needed to know how Quinn worked, though. The brunette spent a good hour and a half working on a questionnaire one late night and, satisfied she would receive sufficient information, she tiptoed into the blonde's bedroom.

"Hey you," Quinn smiled up from filing her nails. She tossed the emery board on the nightstand and beckoned Rachel forward. The brunette obliged immediately. The notebook in her hands was almost forgotten after a few heated kisses and Quinn's hands trailing up her sides and urging her back to lie down. Ever the determined one, Rachel wasn't going to be distracted and she pulled away with the notebook in her hands and smiled.

"If we're to become an item," Rachel started, "there are things I must know about you."

Quinn arched her (perfectly sculpted, Rachel noted) eyebrow. "Okay."

Rachel pulled the pen from behind her ear and opened her notebook. "Favorite color?"

"Pink."

Rachel grinned. "That works out quite nicely. Pink and yellow go very well together."

"Rachel is this like…an interview?"

"We should know these things, Quinn. For instance, if I were to purchase you a sweater I now know that pink is a safe choice for said sweater. Now, I've heard that your favorite food is bacon. Is this accurate?"

"I…not really. I mean, I craved it all the time when I was pregnant but it's not my favorite. Strawberry ice cream is my favorite. I actually would put bacon on it…it wasn't bad. Why do we have to know everything about each other right now?"

"I told you," Rachel said, exasperated, "it ensures we know basic facts about each other."

"Shouldn't we learn that stuff on the way…so we have things to talk about?"

"We'll have plenty of things to talk about. These are just basic facts to get us started. Because, say I wanted to take you on a date, if I took you to a Mexican restaurant but you hate Mexican food then-"

"We could go to a different restaurant. This isn't rocket science."

Rachel growled. "I want to get to know you on a level other than your tongue in my mouth. Which, of course I don't mind because you're a rather wonderful kisser, but knowing each other on a more intimate level is important. We need to make sure we can carry on conversation."

"We have plenty of conversations. We talked for an hour yesterday about infomercials and before that we talked for half an hour about how much crap Mr. Schuester puts in his hair."

Rachel searched her brain to find an argument but there really wasn't one. They did have plenty of conversations and they were about a wide array of topics. She smiled at the realization that dating a girl was going to be a little easier in that department compared to Finn or Puck or even Jesse for that matter. Yes, musical theater was an extremely big topic of interest for Rachel, but Jesse took it overboard. So, trusting Quinn, Rachel closed her notebook and dropped her pen. Quinn smiled.

"Ask me anything you want," Quinn said, "but it doesn't have to be right now or all at once."

Rachel nodded. It fell out of her mouth before she could help it. It was something she'd wondered since the first time Quinn ever hurled an insult at her. She'd lay awake at night and think about it. If Quinn ever told her she had one question to ask, this was it.

"Why did you hate me?"

Quinn squeaked.

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry, Quinn. You don't have to answer that." Rachel chewed on her lower lip and wrung her hands as Quinn shook her head.

"No…no it's…" Quinn looked down at her lap and threaded her fingers through blonde locks. Rachel reached forward to put a hand on Quinn's knee as she took a few deep breaths. "I was jealous. I know it's like, the most cliché thing ever, but it's true. You have your dads and this life where you could be whoever you wanted and I couldn't. I had to be head Cheerio and president of the Celibacy Club."

"You think I wasn't jealous? You had everything. You were popular and you had Finn and…friends."

"I had people I had to be perfect for."

"Would you rather be on the bottom of the social ladder, an invisible untouchable, or on top of the world?"

That got Quinn to look up and into Rachel's eyes.

"I don't know." The words were whispered and hoarse and Rachel reached up to brush away the tears that escaped Quinn's eyes. "I don't want to be invisible. But I can't…I can't keep this up. It's so hard to be perfect for everyone all the time…it's tiring."

Rachel moved even closer and gathered Quinn into her arms. She rubbed her hands up and down Quinn's back and hummed quietly until the blonde settled down. It wasn't something she'd ever really thought about, how hard Quinn had it. She assumed that being perfect just came naturally to the blonde. The fact that Quinn had to work so hard to achieve it…well, if it was anything close to how hard she had to work to keep up a confident façade after being slushied or insulted she was surprised Quinn hadn't ended up in a hospital somewhere for exhaustion.

"I don't want you to be anyone you don't want to be," Rachel finally whispered.

"I don't want you to hurt anymore."

Rachel stiffened at the response, not expecting it in the least. Quinn sat up and smiled a little; she dried her own tears and gently pushed Rachel's hair back.

"I'm so sorry, Rachel. I'm sorry I ever hurt you when all you've ever done is take care of me."

"Quinn…"

"You know it's true."

"I know. But I know that it wasn't you. This is you, isn't it?"

Quinn nodded; Rachel smiled. It felt like a huge risk, letting Quinn in like this, but Rachel had to trust her instincts. Her sixth sense said to go for it and so far, she'd never been wrong. Well…except about Jesse. But that disaster wasn't something to think about anymore.

"I think," Rachel said, reaching over to dry a few more of Quinn's tears, "that we should move on from the past. We learn from our mistakes and as long as we don't repeat those mistakes then we'll be alright, won't we?"

Once again, Quinn nodded. "I'd like that."

So it was settled. They kissed on it and maybe groped a little for good measure and Rachel smiled at the way she made Quinn gasp underneath her touch. She fell asleep breathing heavily and sure she'd just experienced one of the most intimate moments of her life thus far…and she was still fully clothed.

XXXXXXXXXX

Quinn knew it wasn't going to be easy to date Rachel. Rachel liked to talk and it had been made clear that Quinn had a little trouble with that. Quinn knew she'd have to work with it, especially talking about the negative, and when Rachel came in with her questionnaire and the conversation made the sharp detour…it was a start. Quinn, for once, didn't feel guilty about feeling bad, about crying, about admitting that she had a weakness. Rachel's arms around her were all she needed and she knew in that moment that there was something there. Something strong. It was amazing and petrifying all in one. The blonde also knew she'd have to confront her mother at some point and that was going to be interesting, to say the least.

Waking up with Rachel in her arms was amazing. The brunette's head was nestled on her chest and one leg was in between Quinn's and it was just perfect. It was cut a little short with a knock and Michael in the doorway with an unexpected look on his face. He wasn't angry at the situation but he looked a little…worried.

"There's uh…there's someone here. To see Rachel."

At the sound of her name, Rachel lifted her head from Quinn's chest. The blonde sat up with her girlfriend and rubbed her eyes. A deep voice carried into the bedroom and Quinn immediately sprang to her feet.

"What the hell is he doing here?"

"Dad…"

"He just showed up here, honey. There wasn't anything I could do."

Quinn saw red. Pure red. Red like the blood that was going to splatter the walls after she got through with Finn for even thinking about showing up, especially after she'd just cracked with Rachel and the pair had agreed to let go of the past. Pajamas and bed-head be damned, Quinn marched out into the common room and the first thing she did when Finn turned around was slap him across the face.

"How dare you even think about showing up here you lying sack of shit?"

"Quinn!" her mother shrieked. "That was uncalled for!"

"No it's not! He cheated on Rachel."

Finn turned bright red and looked at the ground and shuffled his feet. "I wanted to talk to her…"

"Stay away from her."

Quinn almost lunged forward to take the idiot in front of her down a few pegs when he dared to square his shoulders and open his mouth to say something but she stopped when a small hand touched her back. The blonde reached around to put a hand on Rachel's waist and pulled her in close.

"Finn," Rachel said with a nod. "I apologize that you came all this way but I meant what I said, it's over."

"That's bullsh-" Finn looked at the three adults still in the room. "I care about you," he said lowly. "Come on, Rach. I messed up, okay? It won't happen again, I swear. I came all this way to tell you that. I love you, you know that."

Quinn tensed a little as Rachel took a deep breath.

"It's over, Finn."

"Please, Rach." Finn stepped forward and reached out and the minute his hand touched Rachel's cheek, Quinn let go. She tore away from Rachel's side and planted her shoulder into Finn's stomach; he hadn't expected it and it resulted in the pair crashing to the floor. Quinn ended up with her hands on Finn's shoulders and her fingernails digging in as deep as she could get them.

"You keep your hands off my girlfriend. Got it?"

Finn stopped struggling against the grip and Quinn glared down at him, baring her teeth, and she growled.

"Do you understand me, moron? Or is that pea brain of yours still in Santana's bedroom?"

It was difficult to figure out who spoke first but three voices echoed through the room at the exact same time and all three of them made Quinn's stomach turn and head hurt just a little.

"You knew this whole time?"

"Rachel…you?"

"Quinnie…you're gay? You hate flannel…"

Quinn released her grip and stood, backing away from Finn who reluctantly sat up. Her eyes darted to Rachel whose eyes were wide with a hurt shock. Reluctantly, Quinn looked to her mother; Judy's eyes were wide with a different kind of shock. She backed until her knees hit the edge of a chair and she dropped down into it.

"I'm sorry," Quinn mumbled as she buried her face in her hands. She wasn't sure which one it was directed to but it seemed like the best thing to say at the time.

"Finn," Rachel said, "I think we need to talk and let Quinn discuss some things with her mother."

Quinn heard two sets of footsteps leave the room and one come toward her, stop momentarily to put a hand on her shoulder, and then head to the Fabray side of the cabin. Quinn took a deep breath and followed her mother.

"Mom, I wanted to tell you, I wanted to tell you so many times." Quinn finally looked up to meet her mother's gaze. Her heart almost stopped when her mother sighed and sat down on the bed. "I'm so sorry, Mom…please don't be mad. Please…"

"I'm not mad…I'm a little upset that you didn't tell me sooner, of course. Come here, sweetie." Judy patted the bed next to her and Quinn sat down and folded her hands in her lap. She stared at the floor and jumped a little when her mother brushed her hair back. "Are you happy, Quinn?"

Quinn nodded. "Yeah."

"That's all I've ever wanted for you, sweetie. If Rachel makes you happy then that's all that matters to me. I…I can't say it will be something I'll get used to overnight but I promise you, honey, I promise that I won't ever abandon you again. I love you, Quinnie. I love you more than you can imagine."

Quinn reached up and dried her tears and sniffled a few times before smiling. "I love you, too. God, Rachel's going to kill me. I should've told her but…but I couldn't. I didn't want to hurt her like that…I didn't want to see that look on her face."

"You need to tell her that, not me."

"I know," Quinn sighed. There was a moment of silence before her mother spoke again.

"So you're sure about this? You're…you're sure?"

"Pretty sure, yeah."

"Do we need to buy more plaid? Would you like to join a softball league? I…there are parades, right? We can go to parades if you like."

Quinn choked out a laugh and threw her arms around her mother. "It's fine, Mom. Thanks. I don't think I'm up for a pride parade just yet. And like…if you have questions or something you can ask me. You don't have to ask Rachel's dads."

Judy nodded and hugged her daughter once more. Maybe the hugging wasn't so bad. A loud door slam pulled Quinn from the bubble she was currently in and she took a deep breath, knowing she was about to face much louder and probably less pleasant music. Her mother hugged her one last time before leaving the room and shortly after a very angry looking brunette appeared in the doorway.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Why are you here?" Rachel asked softly as she shut her bedroom door. She looked up to see Finn rubbing his shoulders with a grimace.

"I wanted to work stuff out."

"Why would I want to do that, Finn? Why would I want to trust you?"

Finn rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. "'Cause I love you."

"You cheated on me. With Santana, apparently."

"I missed you. I thought abou-"

"Save it," Rachel hissed. "You've hurt me time after time, Finn. You're nothing but a liar and you clearly value sex more than honesty and fidelity. How do I know what else you've lied to me about? How many times have you slept with her?"

Finn mumbled a response and Rachel was sure she had heard incorrectly.

"Excuse me?"

"Three. It…you were dating Jesse and you said you slept with him so I…"

Rachel shrieked. "You lied to me then, too? I…You…I gave myself to you, Finn, and I thought it was mutual. How could you do this to me?"

"It didn't mean anything! And you lied to me, too!"

"I never lied to you, I told you that it wasn't a big deal and it wasn't because nothing happened and you knew that because I told you before we did it! You seemed to be perfectly fine with it then. You…You know what, I don't care. It…it's over. I'm finished."

"What about Quinn, huh? She's a bitch to you!"

"That doesn't concern you."

Finn started pacing and Rachel backed off a few steps to give him room to throw his tantrum.

"That's bull! Sh-she lied to you! She knew! Did you hear what she said? She knew and didn't tell you."

"You are such a hypocrite! That issue is between Quinn and me, not us. If you have nothing more to discuss with me that pertains to you and me then I think it's best that you leave."

"Fine," Finn growled. He flung the bedroom door open and Rachel watched as he grabbed his bag and stormed out of the cabin. Rachel took a few calming breaths and went into the common room just as Judy walked out of the Fabray side of the cabin.

"Go easy on her, sweetie," the blonde woman said. "She cares about you a lot, you know?"

Rachel nodded but it didn't stop her from being a little angry and hurt that Quinn had withheld information from her. Granted, it wasn't something like her virginity status, but it still hurt. She stood in the bedroom doorway with her arms crossed over her chest and looked for a minute at the sniffling blonde on the bed.

"Quinn."

"Rach…I'm so sorry."

Rachel took a deep breath as Quinn buried her head in her hands. She crossed the floor and dropped to the bed next to her distraught girlfriend and gently put a hand on Quinn's back.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to hurt you. I just keep screwing things up, don't I?"

"I don't understand why you would be worried about such a thing. You didn't hurt me."

Quinn sighed and Rachel tried to look as optimistic as she could when the blonde lifted her head and reached out to brush her thumb against Rachel's cheek.

"You get this look when you hurt…it's like…I never really noticed it until that night when we…when I said…But I'd seen it so much, I didn't want to see it again. It kills me every time I think about it. I didn't want you to hurt anymore, I told you."

Rachel nodded. "I understand, I really do, but you can't do this, Quinn. You can't withhold information from me simply because you fear the reaction. I care about a great deal and I assure you that we can talk through these things. I just ask that you remain faithful and don't ever physically, emotionally, or verbally assault me."

"Can I still make fun of your height?" Quinn grinned.

Rachel let out a dramatic sigh. "If you must," she said with a giggle and an eyeroll.

"I care about you, too," Quinn whispered.

Rachel leaned forward and brushed her lips against Quinn's; a gentle kiss became two and then three and then tongues met in the middle and Rachel smiled a little. She almost had the urge to tell Quinn that she loved her but it was a little too soon and she was really, really determined not to create any tension when they'd already had so much of it. So, instead, she threaded her fingers through Quinn's hair and tugged her a little closer until the blonde pulled away with a smile.

"We should stop," Quinn panted. "This…this is my mom's bed. It's just wrong."

Rachel nodded. "Do you think we should at least offer Finn a place to stay for the night? I'm clueless as to how he got here or how he's getting home."

"He has legs; he can walk."

"Quinn, I take every opportunity to improve my karma. I may have dismissed him and informed him that we're no longer a couple and most likely never will be again but he is the lead male in glee club. What if something were to happen to him that devastated our chances at competition and, essentially, my budding career?"

Quinn shrugged and Rachel stood to pull her up from the bed and the pair adjourned to the common room where, shockingly, they saw Finn standing with his backpack staring at the floor while Bruce had him cornered and was speaking very, very lowly.

"Dad," Rachel led Quinn to the kitchen where Michael was slicing bananas and Judy was flipping pancakes. "What's going on?"

"We figured that he had nowhere else to go and your daddy is giving him a talk on how to properly treat a lady. I have a feeling it's also going something along the lines of 'you're lucky it was Quinn who took first action because you'd be in the hospital if it were me'. That's just a guess, though. And possibly cleaned up quite a bit."

Rachel glanced over to Quinn and saw the corners of the blonde's mouth twitch. They both looked up in time to see Finn walk out of the cabin yet again; Bruce joined the others in the kitchen and grabbed a knife to help his husband.

"Finn has opted to take a cab into town and stay there until he can get a bus home and he won't be in a six foot radius of Rachel unless it's required for a school activity."

Quinn's mouth turned into a full smile and Rachel arched an eyebrow.

"You're putting a restraining order on him, Daddy?"

"Better. I put the fear of a hurt little girl's father into him."

"That is so awesome," Quinn said with a laugh. She reached over the island and high fived Bruce, putting a smile back on the man's face.

"Daddy, I'm over it. You didn't need to threaten him."

"Breakfast is finished," Judy said with a smile as she turned around with a plate stacked high with pancakes. It ended the conversation and Rachel rolled her eyes as she took the plates and helped Quinn set the dining room table for breakfast.

Rachel breathed almost a sigh of relief when, for the first time, she could take Quinn's hand at the table and smile at the blonde adoringly and not have to worry about any consequences.