A/N - So I am glad that you're all still enjoying the story and thanks for the suggestions as to who should make the first move. It is still a bit away (any guesses which chapter?) but we are going to get there. Thanks to JoDi for suggesting a bit more back story as to why Quinn feels guilty and Rachel hates High School and anything that reminds her of it. Just don't hate Quinn too much :)

My Future in Your Hands

Something has changed within me, something is not the same.

I'm through with playing by the rules of someone else's game….

Wicked

She feels invisible which in hindsight, is probably a good thing although she misses the feel of being invincible. Walking the halls of McKinley High had always been about her ability to turn heads and to reinforce the fact that she was admired and feared in equal measure. Now it was about being under the radar, trying to get by each day without getting slushied or noticed. So many changes in her sixteen years that she can barely keep up. She's homeless and almost friendless; Brittany and Santana already bowing under Couch Sylvester's pressure to ostracize her. She does not want to admit that Glee practice is her one refuge, a place where she's accepted despite her pregnancy or the fact that in the past, she had bullied most of the members.

The weight of the baby hangs low in her abdomen as her hands automatically curls around her stomach. She's aced enough of her AP science classes to know that the fetus is still too small for her to feel its movement although late at night in Finn's basement, she thinks she can feel it moving, if she concentrates hard enough.

The assignment Mr. Schue had given them this week was to find a song that expressed their wish for their future and all she could come up with so far are songs filled with pain and despair. She knows that she has to stay optimistic, that her current predicament is temporary and soon, she can start her way to regaining her position in school.

She wants to try and go through the song books kept in the practice room and hopes that by coming early; she will not run into anyone else.

#$#$#$

Rachel knows Jacob is only interviewing her because he wants to kiss her or at least feel her up. Two things she's very sure she does not want to happen but he's promised her front page in the school newspaper and god knows Glee Club needs the publicity.

He's sitting too close to her, their knees occasionally touching and all she can think of is that she wishes it were Finn or even Puck. "So what's your next question? I do have an extensive knowledge of show tunes and a great idea for our invitational set list if only Mr. Scheuster will listen to me and perhaps by your write up, I will be able to show him that the student body also supports my plans for Glee Club." She shifts uncomfortably when she feels Jacob's thigh press against her. "So, do you want my set list?"

"Listen Rachel, I'll print whatever you want but my readers demand more. They want the dirt, they want the sex, drugs and rock and roll behind all your glee…"Jacob places his hand on Rachel's knee.

"There is no dirt. We're a team, brought together by our love of music and the need to win Regionals and then to take Nationals from Vocal Adrenaline." She still does not feel like part of the club despite her herculean efforts to fit in and make them winners. Even Kurt and Mercedes who were as low on the high school totem pole as she was, still felt that they were better. But she won't give Jacob any of this information, not about Tina's budding romance with Artie or Puck's need to hit on anything with a skirt especially after glee practice. She's definitely not going to tell him that she thinks Ms Pillsbury has more than a crush on Mr. Schue or that Quinn's been so sad lately.

"There's always dirt. What about Quinn Fabray, from Ice Quinn to Quinn of the Outcasts. Don't you pity her or are you happy that there are more targets now for slushie facials?" Jacob's nasal voice grates but Rachel's smile does not falter as she tells herself that it's practice for her future when the interviews come rushing in. So she actually thinks about the question, as she repeats his words out loud.

"Pity Quinn Fabray…"

#$#$#$#

She pushes open the door slowly, only to hear Rachel's clear voice, the words, flowing over her, causing her intake of breath as her anger rises up. Rachel Man Hands Berry had no right to pity her. She was still Quinn Fabray and despite everything, she did not want any pity because she was going to overcome all of it. She quickly turns and walks away not wanting to hear anymore of Rachel's words. Her head is down as she turns the corner and does not see Dave Karofsky until she bumps in to him.

"Hey, watch it, bitc..." His voice is rough as his hands brush her off, the derogatory word dying on his lips when he sees that it's Quinn."Don't think I won't hit a pregnant lady." He sneers.

"Why hit me when you can go after the girl who's telling everyone, and I quote, that you're bullying tendencies are a latent need to express your homosexual love for Azimio." She sees Dave's face turn red as she takes a step back only to have him grab her hand.

"What? Who's saying that? It ain't true and I'm going to have a good time pounding that fact into… What's her name?"

"Rachel Berry."

#$#$#$

"Listen here Jacob Ben Israel, I don't pity Quinn. I think she's brave to stick to her convictions and her decision. It can't be easy to be her right now and you're not going to write about her and make it worse, got it." She can be intimidating if she tried and she knows Jacob is a push over. She just hopes that he won't ask her for anymore of her underwear.

#$#$#$

Quinn begins to feel guilty at third period, not knowing if her hormones were causing her to behave so badly but she knows that she needs to stop whatever that's going to happen because she's mean but she's never been vindictive. It's a fine line but deep down, she knows there is a difference.

"Puck." She sees Noah lean towards her, his eyes questioning.

"What's up, baby mama. Need some Puckasuarus lovin..." He wiggles his eyebrows trying to make her smile. He hasn't seen a true blown Quinn smile in a week and he didn't like it.

"Can you..." Quinn closes her eyes as she recalls Dave's face, "You need to help Rachel."

"What? What has Berry done now? And why do you care?" Noah Puckerman doesn't understand girls. He likes them and loves them on occasion but in general, he does not understand them always assuming that he does not need to because he was a stud and most of the time, talking was not required. So, he waits for Quinn to explain.

"Karofsky's going to do something. Please just check up on her today. Please." She doesn't want to ask him for anything and she can see that he knows this is hard for her. So her relief at his nod is palpable such that she grabs his hand to pull him close and kisses him on his cheek.

#$#$#$

It's only after last period that she hears the commotion in the hall. Someone being pushed against the lockers and a high pitch cry. She pushes past the students milling about, hoping that it's not Rachel although she can recognize her voice due to all those glee practices.

She sees Santana standing there, holding Brittany back as she finally gets a view of what she had done. Dave Karofsky's pressing himself against Rachel as his hands hold hers down, his mouth whispering in her ear, as she squeezes her eyes shut, her face going pale.

Brittany breaks free of Santana's grasp as Quinn steps forward, but it's Puck whose fastest as he grabs the back of Karofsky's jacket, hauling him off Rachel before flinging him across the hall."Get off her, you asshole."

Quinn wants to cry as she sees Rachel crumple to the ground, her breath coming out in harsh sobs as she curls on the floor, her head buried in her hands as she tries so hard to muffle her cries. She wants to do something but cannot bring herself to move. So she stands there like a sentinel as Tina and Brittany go to Rachel to comfort and hold her.

#$#$#$#

Rachel does not know how it turned into a ritual but the daily morning texts from Quinn and her subsequent replies had morphed into a dialogue of sorts. Twenty to thirty words or so back and forth, throughout the day. Updates on how her day was going; mostly little rants about day time television or the lack thereof and sometimes snippets of songs that would pop in her head. Classics and some new ones and definitely a lot of Broadway, some of which they had sung for glee club but most because she loved them and felt the need to share.

Quinn would answer back with the title almost immediately except when she was in surgery. In return, she would give Rachel words of encouragement in her continued vow of silence and snippets of her day; never bad news although Rachel with her sixth sense can feel when it does occur.

Eight days of getting to know Quinn only to have the illusion destroyed when she hears her phone ring. She recognizes the number as Quinn's and reality hits as she realizes that the only reason the doctor would call would be to give her the results of the test that was run. She feels Marcie's hand on her shoulder and grabs onto it like a life line before handing her the phone, her head bowed because she's ashamed of not having the strength to answer the phone and hear her prognosis.

Marcie sees Quinn's name on the phone and answers, "Hi Dr Fabray, yes, this is Marcie. Yeah, Rachel is with me, I'll um, put you on speaker." She sits next to her star as Rachel grabs her hand.

"Hi Rachel, I have the test results of your Fine Needle Aspiration biopsy I did." Quinn's sitting in her office, looking out the window, trying her best to sound normal even though she is anything but. She's done this so many times, giving bad news was part of her job and every time, she managed to do it without feeling so devastated. She's always been invested in all her patients but this was a new feeling. "I'm sorry but it is lymphoma."

She strains to hear the soft gasp in the background. "It's just stage one and you shouldn't need surgery. There's a myriad of research available for different treatments, both chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Rachel, remember my promise, please." She hears a muffled cry that fades. "Marcie?"

Rachel tries not to make a sound as she bites down on her fist, holding back the sob building up. Truth be told, she was expecting the worse but hearing it was still devastating. She hears Quinn's voice and her promise but her fear takes over as she collapses on the floor, trying not to make a sound as her sobs rip through her body.

"Marcie, is Rachel ok, tell me she's ok?" Quinn's voice is borderline frantic as she grips the phone in her hand.

Marcie cannot forget the first time she met Rachel. It was in a deli off Broadway. She was the PA to a second rate agent and Rachel was starring in an off, off, off Broadway production of Into the Woods. She had known even then that Rachel was special, different from the rest. Her drive and ambition tempered by her good heart. They had kept in touch and when Rachel got her first big break, she had asked Marcie to represent her. Rachel had been her first client, the first person to recognize that she was agent material. So seeing her like this, broken and sad, it hurt her physically. "She's not ok, please make her ok, please…."

Quinn feels her heart clench at Marcie's plea. She can hear the Rachel in the background and intrinsically knows that she has to do something. "Give me the address; I'll be there as soon as I can." She scribbles down the address, grabs what she can and runs out of her office, not even bothering to take off her white coat.

End Pt 6

So hopefully you liked this chapter and it has been raised that I should not end the chapters with "The End" because it's not really. I am enjoying writing this serial so you can expect more chapters. Remember to review though (Definitely makes my day to read them).