Chapter 5
Down
It was an awkward situation to say the least. Neither one knew how to interact with the other in such a strange and new environment between them. Quinn lived in a condominium that appeared far too extravagant for a police officer, no matter how high in the ranks they were. Rachel had been in awe of the beautiful, profligate, and spacious condominium that Quinn was residing in and she was still in a bit of awe now as she sat down on one of her decadent living room loveseats. The entrance had been wonderfully made with magnificent designs covering it in splendor. There were intricate designs surrounding the entrance that had Rachel wondering just how Quinn could possibly afford such an extravagant living space meant for someone with great wealth. She was especially curious because she knew that Quinn's salary could not be so great that she was able to afford such decadent housing such as this.
There was an amazing entertainment system in the middle of the living room with a flat screen TV, surround sound speakers, a few game systems, and a generous collection of DVDs, CDs, and games that had Rachel's eyes threatening to leave their socket upon discovery. She had never seen such a beautifully decorated and expensive looking abode before. Her family was by no means poor, her fathers were a doctor and lawyer respectively after all, but for someone to live in a condominium like this with a policewoman's salary? It seemed to be entirely impossible. It was like seeing someone who looked homeless living in a mansion. Despite the extravagant feel to the room there was a homey, lived in feel to it. It felt like an actual home to her somehow despite its appearance.
Rachel walked further into the spacious condominium to see a magnificently made kitchen full of beautiful wood for cabinets and countertops a brilliant shade of bright green that really brought out Quinn's eye color. As she looked between the countertop and Quinn's eyes she couldn't help but feel a little mesmerized by how they drew attention to the gorgeous hazel of Quinn's irises. There was no wall serving as a barrier between the kitchen and living room and in the space separating the two rooms there was a medium sized dining table with enough chairs to accommodate eight people total. There was even an island in the middle of the kitchen with stools surrounding it so there were plenty of places for guests to sit and relax and enjoy whatever host Quinn cooked. There was so much to this sizable condominium that Rachel's head was spinning from just seeing all of this beautifully decorated space.
When Rachel finally managed to close her open mouthed awe and manage speech again she spoke to Quinn in a soft tone bordering a whisper, "this is … just absolutely incredible Quinn." Rachel let out in awe. "How can you possibly afford living in such a high end area? I know that your salary as a policewoman is not nearly enough to cover the cost of even a quarter of this room so how are you living in this place Quinn?" Rachel was more than a little shell shocked to see such an extravagant living space for her partner.
Quinn merely shrugged before responding with a nonchalant tone of voice, "I had a scholarship to go to college so whatever money my parents had set aside for me when I was first born went to pay for this. They honestly had been expecting to pay for several hundred thousand dollars for my education so they set aside somewhere around $300, 000 or so for me. So here I am, living in a condominium for rich snobby people." Quinn said it in a tone that left Rachel wondering if she resented herself. There was barely any intonation but there was enough, despite how slight and nearly unnoticeable it was, there to suggest such a thing but no absolute proof of it. Rachel decided to file that bit of information away just in case she needed it for whatever reason in the future. "Well … um, are you hungry or anything? I can cook you something if you want?" Quinn said to break up the awkward silence that had befallen them.
Rachel hesitated for a moment over Quinn's offer before she asked meekly, "do you have any vegan friendly food in your house? I mean it's perfectly fine if you don't because I'm sure I can manage somehow if you don't." Rachel added the last part quickly when Quinn's eyebrow rose in what appeared to be thoughtfulness.
"Well I'm sure I can make some vegan friendly salad since I do eat vegetarian friendly dishes on occasion and I just happen to have some ingredients for that kind of dish now. I'll go make you a salad. Do you like any particular kind of dressing with your salad?" Quinn asked Rachel as she got to her feet elegantly despite her exhausted frame.
Rachel thought it over for a moment before she answered, "I do like Italian dressing quite a bit if you happen to have that?" Rachel asked with a small smile, bordering on hopeful, on her face.
Quinn answered her with a silent nod before walking into the kitchen with a task in mind. She looked through her shiny, steel grey refrigerator for the fresh iceberg lettuce she had bought just the day before as well as some tomatoes, green peppers, onions, and cucumbers. She grabbed a lime after setting all of the other vegetables down from her arms, having had no room for them earlier. She came back into the living room to address Rachel, "are you okay with tomatoes, green peppers, onions, and cucumbers in your salad Rachel?" Her voice wasn't cold but neither was it warm. It made Rachel curious about her yet again but she didn't say anything about the thoughts invading her mind. Rachel nodded wordlessly much like Quinn had only moments earlier and Quinn went back to the kitchen to cut all of the vegetables up when Rachel indicated her approval.
Quinn was a bit of a chef from what Rachel could tell from hearing her cut up the vegetables. She was quick and efficient and once again Rachel's curiosity got the better of her and she went to watch Quinn at work. She saw that Quinn was cutting the cucumbers and they way she did it was so graceful and the presentation was magnificent for them. She could see that they were all wet from having been washed. Quinn had cut off small bits of the cucumber's skin in a pattern that made them look all the more appetizing and she cut a single line in the middle before cutting them into thin slices at a speed that showed that this was something she had done perhaps often and well in her youth. It seemed that Quinn was also a bit of a culinary genius as well and her portfolio just kept becoming more and more amazing. She was a child prodigy who seemed to excel in every aspect from what Rachel could see.
When Quinn was finished cutting the vegetables she threw them into a bowl in a way so that they weren't all in one spot and then moved on to a different vegetable. Rachel couldn't help standing where she was to watch this amazing woman work on what she believed would be a delicious salad. When she had finished cutting up all of the vegetables she cut the lime in half and then into quarters before taking one and squeezing it over large bowl of salad. She then walked over to a cupboard to get a grinder with pepper grounds inside and sprinkled them over the salad. It was simple looking but she was sure it would taste heavenly since Quinn appeared to be a high caliber chef from what Rachel saw of her only moments ago. When the blonde finally noticed the brunette her cheeks turned a little pink from having not realized that she was there until just that moment. "How long have you been standing there for, Rachel?" Rachel found it entirely endearing that the blonde was embarrassed by the fact that she had had an audience watching her make a meal.
"I've only been standing here since you started cutting cucumbers. Don't worry though … I … well I can cook but it appears to me that you must be a culinary genius along with everything else you are already extremely gifted with. Let's see … you are a child prodigy who graduated high school by the age of 14, you are a high caliber chef, you have a photographic and eidetic memory, you can sing … what is there that you can't do Quinn? Not to mention you also have a spotless looking condominium so that also makes you a very clean and neat person. I think I … well I should say I know instead of I think since it is something I know for certain. Anyway I know that you are someone I've come to have the utmost respect for as well as someone I like greatly. You are a bit of an enigma to me but all the same I like you as the person I'm slowly learning more and more about and I think that we are good partners. You aren't the easiest person to get close to but I trust you indefinitely and I respect you for everything you've done for this police station and for the people who have become a second family to you. I admire you for what you told me and for how you refuse to go to other, better offers in other cities and states. You really are … you're as close to perfect as I've ever seen in this world of imperfection, not that I'm trying to tell you you're perfect. Everyone has faults and you're no exception to that rule but you try your hardest and that's what makes you perfect to me." Rachel said passionately. Without even realizing it she had spoken an entire speech about Quinn's goodness and she had to wonder why that was.
Quinn was left speechless because what could she say to that? What could she possibly say in response to such open and honest words? Not very much but she would try to at least say something in reply to her. "You're being far too kind Rachel … I'm not someone to be admired by others. I'm difficult, hard to, to understand, I … I'm often cold, I'm apathetic, I can be so, so mean to others, it's not easy for me to open up to others. I'm hardly someone to look up to or admire Rachel, but thank you for the compliments." Quinn was speaking with an honesty that was rare. She was speaking with a voice that she never spoke with even with her best of friends. She didn't talk to them about her problems because she feared they would see the truth in her words but here she was divulging these secret thoughts to someone she had known for all of two weeks.
Rachel was incredulous that she was saying such things and she was quick to interrupt her self-deprecating speech. "Quinn, Quinn, Quinn … no, just no. You are someone who is quite worth admiration without a single doubt in my mind. You aren't difficult or cold and everyone has it in them to be mean but you're not. Being tough and being mean are two completely different things, Quinn. The Quinn I see and have come to know little by little is worth the approbation of others. You are strong, not to be mistaken for someone infallible, intelligent, a genius really, brave, kind, generous, and so worth the trouble of figuring and getting to know. Yes you are hard to understand but only because there are so many layers to you, so much to learn and get to know. It's just that … well you're like an onion; there are many layers to you but you're worth the effort to peel … at least that's what I think. I hope you know that. If someone doesn't think you're worth the effort to get to know then they forget them and just know that you will find someone who wants to peel all of the layers. We may just be partners and we may have only known you for two weeks but … I know I'm definitely one of the people who want to peel all of those layers to find the real Quinn underneath all of them. You're very pretty Quinn, the prettiest woman I've ever met … but you're a lot more than that, Quinn … you're definitely more than that, so much more."
Quinn had never heard something so sweet coming from anyone in her life. Brittany was sweet but she wasn't quite this articulate about most things in her life and Santana showed her soft side to Brittany more than she did to Quinn, not to say she never showed it to Quinn at all. Santana was typically a tough woman who only showed her soft side to Brittany and Quinn in private but there were rare times she let herself show it under serendipitous circumstances, usually ones that caused Brittany or Quinn terrible sorrow. Santana became the ultimate comfort during those times but shy of those rare exceptions for the bubbly blonde Brittany and the usually stoic Quinn it was as if Santana had the emotional capacity of a brick wall, not unlike Quinn herself. There was only one exception to that though and her name was Rachel Berry. She affected the two best friends in different ways. With Quinn she found herself being inexplicitly drawn to the brunette but often mistakes some of it as annoyance or something negative. Santana however was openly annoyed by the tiny, Jewish woman and often found herself butting heads with the brunette in the short time they had known each other.
She was silent for a few moments too long though because Rachel had cleared her throat and called out to Quinn several times in order to get her attention. "I'm sorry I was just … lost in my thoughts. It's just …" swallowed hard before she took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "you really think that highly of me? I … I've never heard anything so … so sweet and kind from anyone before in my life Rachel."
Rachel looked shocked upon hearing such a thing. "I don't see why no one has ever told you such things or similar things before because you're amazing to me. You have never ceased to amaze me since the first day I met you. You're like a dream come true, someone who's so perfect I wonder how you can actually exist … how you can be real." Rachel paused and looked at the interesting tile patterns of the kitchen. "I have to remind myself sometimes that you really are in front of me and that you are real and that I can touch you and you won't disappear into thin air." Rachel's voice was soft at the awed admission. Rachel herself wasn't sure why she was saying half of the things she had been saying, least of all to Quinn's face. She had never let anyone else in the past know if she revered them as much as she was telling Quinn now because she couldn't stand letting others know how much she did see in them. It was like admitting to them that they were better in some way and she didn't like doing that but now … perhaps she had changed her ways in some capacity now that she was older.
Quinn gritted her teeth together for a moment at the sudden reminder of her life while living under her parent's roof but she quickly got herself under control. She took a quiet deep breath before letting it out softly and responding to Rachel in the same breath, "perhaps because I'm not worthy of such praise. I think … well I'm certain that most aren't nearly as kind as you are Rachel. I have never met a kinder person than Brittany and you in my life. You both show your kindness in different ways: Brittany shows it with affection and you show it with words openly. I've never met kinder people in my life than the family I've come to know in the Lima Police Department of the state of Ohio. Everyone is kind in their own way but you and Brittany have both shown me exceptional kindness. Brittany might not always know what to say but she always knows when I need comfort and she's always a single heartbeat away. She hugs me when I need it without having to say a word. And then … there's you," Quinn's voice grew even softer while addressing Rachel. "You're always around when I'm at my most vulnerable somehow and you know just what to say to make me feel better without me ever voicing what was bothering me in the first place. It amazes me how you just showed up out of nowhere and though … I'll admit I didn't like you entirely at first but that's changed since. I admire the way you never back down from anything and you somehow have a kind word for everyone no matter who they are and what they've potentially done." Quinn was silent for a moment before she added in a barely audible whisper, "I could never be that way."
Rachel felt her heart going out to this woman who seemed to have been given the short end of the stick in life. Quinn hardly talked about her own family and often referred to the police department as her family. What must that mean when it came to her blood family? Rachel's curiosity always got the better of her and she found herself asking Quinn about this rather puzzling part of her. "Quinn … I'm not sure if you've noticed this yourself but you haven't mentioned your family once in the last two weeks I have known you and you've only ever referred to your colleagues as your family thus far. I am … curious as to why that is but if you'd prefer not to say anything then you don't need to at all!" Rachel was quick to add the last part lest she upset her host in any way, which she really didn't want to do considering the blonde had already generously offered to allow her to stay there as it was.
Quinn had become a brick wall in the span of several seconds after Rachel mentioned her lack of mentioning her family. Her face was emotionless and yet there was something frightening about that look. Well not frightening so much as disconcerting but in a way it was a bit on the scary side to see that someone had the ability to completely wipe out any and all emotion from their face that quickly. Rachel felt highly unnerved by such an impossibly fast change in the blonde's demeanor. She no longer had a warm disposition to her, instead a cold, apathetic Quinn was standing before her in what she could see was a defense mechanism for the tall blonde.
There was an almost intense silence that followed where they both just stood looking at each other. A few emotions played across Rachel's face but not enough for there to be an entirely intense silence. Quinn finally spoke and she moved so that her back was now turned to the brunette, who for her part felt like she had just broken all progress she had with the now stoic blonde in a single moment. "We should eat," Quinn's soft voice barely filtered over the many thoughts going on in the brunette's mind. She managed to break herself away from her analyzing mind long enough to see that Quinn had set up the island as their dining area, making this a more informal affair from what Rachel gathered in the instant their eyes met. Quinn's entire demeanor spoke to Rachel and told her that Quinn was trying to distance herself from her and that just made Rachel worry all the more. What could have happened with her family that made her so unwilling, downright avoid, the topic of family? She wanted to know more; she wanted to learn what it was that made it so impossible for Quinn to open up about certain topics … well just the topic of family.
Dinner had been a quiet affair despite Rachel's best efforts to dispel the awkward and tense silence between them. She had no one but herself to blame for that though and she knew as much. They had finished eating already and, the food had been as spectacular as she had anticipated, now they were sitting in the living room, Quinn having cleared the dishes and washed them already. The plush loveseat felt wonderful for Rachel's overworked body but what made her more uncomfortable than anything was the fact that Quinn hadn't spoken since she suggested they eat. There had been complete silence from the blonde since. When Rachel had tried to strike conversation the blonde had made noncommittal noises in response to each and every inquiry. The blonde suddenly stood up and without a single word left the room leaving Rachel to sit in the silence she had created.
Nice going me. I definitely had to open my big mouth and ruin things … again. Well at least she's not making this entirely unbearable … not! Why did I have to go and open my mouth and ask her about her damn family? There had never been any indication from her that she liked, least of all wanted, to ever talk about her family. This is why I'm not a therapist though I guess. Her thoughts were broken abruptly by something landing softly against her lap and she had to wonder what it was. She briefly looked down at the offending object to see that it was a brand new, never opened toothbrush and when she looked up Quinn was standing in front of her holding a tube of Colgate with Fresh Breath Mints!, out to her in a patient manner. She wasn't smiling but she wasn't looking at her like she was evil either so that was a plus.
"Thank you Quinn …" Rachel wanted to apologize but she wasn't sure how to phrase her apology and so she was stuck. What do I apologize for? Offending her? Bringing something up she obviously didn't want to talk about? Thoughts raced into her mind before she spoke up without giving herself a chance to think any further about it. "I'm sorry for asking about your family!" She burst out in a split second decision. She then gasped at hearing what she hadn't even decided to say and raised her hand up to her mouth in shock at having said what she did out loud. Quinn's face almost remained completely impassive but the quirk of her eyebrows in what Rachel had come to recognize and refer to as the infamous Fabray eyebrow raise. It was as if with that single raised eyebrow was speaking to her without Quinn having said a single thing.
"Follow me, I'll show you to where you will be sleeping tonight." Without another word Quinn walked down the hallway leading to several bedrooms in the condominium. Rachel quickly got up from where she had been sitting on the loveseat to follow after the blonde's retreating form. Rachel was quick to catch up to the blonde and she saw that there were four doors along the long hallway. She wondered what was behind each door and wall hiding what was hidden behind a shield of plaster and paint. Quinn stopped in front of a door that actually looked just as magnificent as the rest of the condominium. It was decorated with a beautifully painted scene illustrating winter, Rachel's personal favorite season. She hadn't taken notice of any of the rooms before this moment but now that she was looking she could see that each door depicted a different season. "There is a bathroom in this room and there are already towels and such inside. There … well there's clothing too but the clothing belongs to both Brittany and Santana so I wouldn't … uh I wouldn't wear anything of theirs." There was a pause as Quinn recovered from her slight embarrassment, for what Rachel wasn't sure. "You can … you can borrow some of my clothes if you'd like … I don't think you'd want to wear anything that belongs to either of them without their permission since you are a rather honest and proper person." She wasn't looking at Rachel while she said this, the nails on her right hand being so much more interesting at the moment. Quinn then looked over at the door furthest down the hall and pointed to it, "that room is my room … so when you're ready you can get my attention and I'll get you some clothes to sleep in." With that said Quinn turned on her heel and walked off to her room.
Rachel was standing before the door nervously. She wasn't quite sure where her nerves were coming from but she knew they were present as she stood in front of the door to one Quinn Fabray's room. She took a deep breath in and let it out slowly before she attempted to knock on the door only to stop. She had been doing this for several moments now and she had no idea what was wrong with her, why she was so nervous. It was strange because she couldn't recall ever being this nervous about anything in her life and she had to ponder why that was. She recalled times when she had been nervous in her life: when she sang for the school talent show for the first time, the first dance class she had ever had, her first dance recital … nothing compared to this moment now standing before Quinn Fabray's bedroom door. She was a bit frustrated with herself for her struggle but she knew no good what come if it right now and so without wasting any more time standing in front of the door decorated with a painted autumn scene she knocked. Almost instantly the door was opened, almost as if the occupant of the bedroom had been anticipating it.
Quinn had a smirk on her face and it was the first bit of emotion she had allowed to pass over her face since Rachel's slip up earlier. "I was wondering when you'd finally knock on the door. I saw your shadow under the door about five minutes ago but you didn't knock and so I stood by the door waiting for you until you knocked. I … I was sure you had been thinking about something and I didn't want to intrude upon your thoughts so I just waited. I personally dislike it greatly if someone interrupts me from my thinking and so … I didn't want to do that to you." Quinn took a moment to pause as she looked at Rachel before she stepped further into the room, "you can come in you know?" Without another word Quinn had walked further into the room and Rachel followed in.
Quinn wordlessly walked over to a dresser, where shorts and a tank top could be seen, and picked up the clothes sitting there and handed them to Rachel. "Thank you … for everything Quinn. I … I really appreciate this so much," Rachel was conveying as much as she could with her eyes and Quinn was looking right back. Their eyes were locked with such intensity, an intensity that Rachel had never felt before in all of her 23, nearly 24, years of life. Rachel was the first to look away, "I'll … I'll go ahead and get changed now. Thank you for everything you've done for me Quinn. This means so much to me," and she murmured the next words, "more than you'll ever know." She left the room without waiting for any response because the blonde had left her feeling confused and a little breathless for some reason she could not understand.
After Rachel had dressed into the snug clothing she lay on the generous full mattress in the room. She took the time to just relax since she hadn't been able to because of the strange air between Quinn and herself since they first met … and also because of her irresponsible questioning earlier. She should not have mentioned Quinn's family when it was so blatantly obvious that Quinn was uncomfortable with any mention of them. She couldn't help her curiosity though. What was it about the word family that had Quinn so spooked, so completely and frustratingly guarded like that? Rachel was still very much curious but she knew her curiosity would have to wait because she didn't like the idea that she had upset Quinn in any way and it was very apparent that she had. She disliked the idea so greatly that she even felt her heart throb a little at the thought that she had upset the blonde so in her own home no less. This was most likely the blonde's sanctuary, her escape from the problems that must plague her everyday life so. Rachel understood what it was like not to have that anymore, considering it had been ripped away from her only scant hours ago.
Rachel checked her phone and saw that it was already nearly ten and she needed to be up by six for work so she closed her eyes and willed her curiosity and thoughts away. One last thought struck her though before sleep claimed her entirely, why do I care about Quinn so much already when I've only known her for two weeks?
Quinn was in a similar situation to Rachel. She was lying in her Queen sized bed lost in thought. She had been contemplating the reasons for her not quite overreaction to Rachel's inquiry about her family. Rachel had asked the wrong questions at the wrong time and she couldn't help but wonder why she had such a strong and noticeable reaction to it. She was supposed to be a stoic, aloof Fabray, not an emotional wreck of a Fabray. Fabrays were supposed to keep their feelings locked up inside where no one could see them because that meant that they were strong. Showing emotions that were negative was the same as showing weakness and Fabrays weren't weak … at least they weren't supposed to be. Quinn didn't know what it was about Rachel that made it so that she wasn't the perfect Fabray anymore. She could so easily take all of her emotions and store them away and yet … whenever the tiny Jewish brunette was around she somehow couldn't control herself, her emotions, as well. It was like her walls were crumbling around her when they had never crumbled around anyone before. Sure there were times when she couldn't help but show some emotion because something hurt her terribly but those occasions were scarce. Those rare times were usually when she had some form of contact with her family because it always ended badly in some way.
Quinn sighed. She was sure she wasn't going to sleep again tonight. For as long as half of her life she had been an insomniac. Sometimes she would sleep for a few hours but her sleep schedule was very inconsistent. Some nights she would be awake for 30 or 40 hours and some weeks she was actually able to sleep for a few hours every day but it was always dependent on her defect. She was depressed, terribly so, and no therapist she had seen in the past had ever been able to help her. It was hard to open up to people who had never met before and she had seen many of them when she was in college but … for her to open up at all to someone like Rachel in so little time? It was strange, an entirely foreign concept for her.
She looked at her clock and saw that it was already 11:23 and she buried her face under the cover of her soft, silky blanket, a gift from Tina and Mike, with beautiful flower designs upon the silky ends of it. She buried herself into her pillow and reasoned that she wouldn't be as tired as long as she rested her eyes at least. As she lay where she did she heard a soft noise, one that almost sounded like a knock but it was so soft she couldn't be sure and so she waited. After a few more moments she heard it again and so she was sure that someone was indeed knocking softly at her door. "Come in," she spoke just loud enough for it to be heard passed the door and only a few seconds later Rachel's head could be seen peeking in through the door's slightly ajar frame.
Rachel's soft voice filtered in through the quiet night, a rather ironic thing considering all of the crime that happened in this city, "um … I'm sorry to bother you but I just … I can't seem to sleep properly. I had been sleeping but I kept waking up and I … I'm just … well I'm just not used to sleeping by myself anymore and … I feel so uneasy." Quinn, for some reason unknown to her, felt her heartbeat pick up in speed at the prospect of what Rachel was suggesting. "I mean … well you don't have to but … I was wondering if … if it would be all right for me to sleep in here with you? We can each have our separate sides and everything if that would make you more comfortable … but again you don't, you don't have to let me … you know … sleep with you." Rachel's awkwardness was actually quite endearing and adorable and the blonde let out a soft chuckle.
The blonde's voice was just as soft and there was a fondness in her tone as she spoke, "I don't bite you know? I … well I suppose that if you can't sleep alone you can … you can sleep here if you really need to Rachel. I don't mind. I've always slept by myself but … that's because I don't trust Brittany and Santana to … abstain from certain activities at night if they were to sleep in the same room as me. I trust you not to do anything that would be anything … scandalous like Santana and Brittany would." Rachel turned red at hearing such a blunt thing from the blonde.
"No I would not." Rachel was so embarrassed that she was rooted to the spot in mortification. She wasn't sure if the blonde was being serious or joking around with her because her tone gave nothing away but she was sure it was just a joke. The blonde was being quite the tease, Rachel was coming to realize, in her own special way. Sometimes her teasing wasn't obvious because of her lack of emotion when she spoke most of the time so it was hard to judge.
There was a moment of silence, hazel and chestnut locked, before the blonde broke it, "so … are you coming over or not? I mean I don't mind if you stand over there all night but I thought you wanted to sleep?" There was the tiniest lilt to her voice that suggested she was joking and Rachel felt her embarrassment melt away and turn into happiness. Quinn Fabray, one of the most stoic people she had ever met, was joking around with her! She felt like she was falling down somewhere but she didn't quite know where down was or what lay there in wait. She just knew she had never felt this strongly about anyone so quickly before in her life and the blonde was really burying herself deep within Rachel's heart.
"Oh, um, yes!" And with that Rachel closed the door behind her and ran into the room like the hounds of hell were chasing after her heels and she managed to get to the right side of the bed, unoccupied by the blonde but occupied by a body pillow. She paused at the sight of it and she became slightly flustered, "may I … um may I move your body pillow?" And again Quinn felt herself chuckling a little bit to herself at how adorable she found the brunette.
"Am I really that scary Rachel Barbra Berry?" The blonde asked teasingly yet again. Rachel shook her head but in the darkness of the room and from her position on the bed she couldn't see it. "Rachel?" She asked uncertainly.
"Oh I'm sorry. I nodded but I suppose you couldn't see it from your arrangement on the bed. My apologies. You aren't scary at all Quinn … in fact I think you're warm and pleasant to be around when you let the tall walls you've built down so others can see the real you." There was a small pause before Rachel spoke again, "you really are … someone special Quinn. You make people care, more than they ever realized they could for someone else … at least that's the case with me. I've never cared for someone who is for, all intents and purposes, practically a stranger to me like this. You make me care about why you have these walls built up so high no one can fly over them. You make me care about the woman who seems to struggle so much with opening up. You make me care about you and who you are." Rachel's voice was soft but sure in everything she said to the insecure blonde.
They just lay in silence for a few moments longer, Rachel nodding along the edge of sleep, until Quinn broke the silence with softly uttered words, "good night Rachel … and thank you."
Rachel fell asleep with a smile on her face and slept better than she had ever in her nearly 24 years of life. Quinn even managed to sleep when she had been sure she wouldn't be able to before. Neither of them knew this but during the night the body pillow somehow found its way to the ground and Quinn was lying with Rachel in the safety of her arms.
I know, this took a long time and I'm sorry for that but I had a really long week. First there was the fact that I hurt myself walking my sister's dog and my foot was bloody for a while and then there was the fact that I recently just got a job. My updates my take a little longer than usual because I've got a part time job now but I promise I won't drop any of my stories and I hope this chapter was worth the wait!^^ Just so everyone knows I am my own beta and I usually send these chapters in rather raw so if there are any mistakes I apologize for them.
Please read, review, and enjoy this chapter everyone~!
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