For once, Rachel was sick of the drama.

She had way too much going on in her life as it was. She had solos to rehearse, dance moves to practice, and stacks of headshots to autograph (you know, just in case her big break came along).

Rachel did not have the time or energy to deal with Puck's current mess.

If Rachel was being honest, she would have to admit that she was trying to avoid the situation because it left her totally confused. Even though she had an emotional maturity that exceeded well beyond her young years, Rachel wasn't too keen on blowing up this secret at all, let alone with Sectionals coming up. The other glee members were already distracted by the littlest things (food, technology, shiny objects). She didn't know what they would do with the info she now possessed or how it would affect the groups' dynamic, especially between Puck and Finn.

Rachel thought back a few hours to when Puck had told her the truth. He had seemed relieved that she knew, but then he begged her not to tell anyone else.

Keeping silent was not in Rachel's nature however; she even talked in her sleep. The more Rachel analyzed the situation, the more she realized that she couldn't sit idly by while Finn was being lied to, Puck was miserable, and Quinn was manipulating everyone.

Approaching the door that she had been standing in front of for the past five minutes, Rachel justified her actions by thinking, "It's better this way."

Rachel knocked three times before the door swung open.

A pleasant looking woman in her early forties answered. "Can I help you?"

Rachel plastered a smile on her face and stuck her hand out for a handshake. "Hi Mrs. Hudson. I'm friends with your son, he and I are in glee club together…well not by ourselves…there are ten other members…but he and I do a lot of the lead parts…he's a very talented singer for someone who has only recently started honing their craft. Anyway, I was just wondering if he was home, and if so, would it be alright if I spoke to him for a little while?"

Finn's mom felt like she had been physically assaulted with words. She grasped Rachel's hand and shook it. "You must be Rachel," she observed.

"How do you know my name?" Rachel questioned.

"Finn may have mentioned you a time or two." Mrs. Hudson held the door wide open. "Finn is supposed to be upstairs studying, which means he's probably playing video games. If you want to wait a minute, I'll call him down for you."

"Thanks." Rachel followed Finn's mom inside the house. She went upstairs to get Finn while Rachel looked around. The furniture in the living room looked worn but comfortable. The only reading material on the coffee table was the latest TV Guide and a romance novel that had a bare-chested, kilt-wearing Scottish man holding a buxom blonde in a see-through nightgown near the edge of a cliff. Rachel sincerely hoped the book wasn't Finns'.

As she finished her quick perusal, Rachel heard Mrs. Finn knock loudly on a door on the second floor.

"What do you want Ma?" Rachel could barely make out Finn's voice.

"Can you come downstairs please?" his mom said.

"Can't it wait? I'm almost done with this level. All I have to do is get the bat to fly through the maze and have him take me to the antechamber in the cave. Then I can receive the gold medallion."

"It can't wait."

"Why?" Finn whined.

"A girl named Rachel is downstairs, that's why."

Rachel heard a loud thud (presumably the sound of some kind of controller hitting the ground) before she saw Finn racing down the stairs. By the time he reached the bottom, he was a little out of breath.

"Oh hey Rachel," Finn said smoothly. "My mom just told me that you dropped by."

"Yeah. I hope I'm not bothering you."

"You're not. We weren't supposed to meet up for something were we?"

Rachel shook her head. "No. I just needed to get out of my house for awhile."

Finn understood. "You wanna watch TV or something?"

Rachel decided to ease into the situation very gently. The last thing she wanted to do was to blurt out Quinn's secret without giving Finn a chance to figure it out for himself first.

"Do you mind if we just sit and talk?"

"Sure." Finn gestured to the dining room table and Rachel sat down.

Here goes nothing, she thought.

"Sorry to bother you again, I'm just really stressed about learning our new songs. This morning, I thought I felt a tickle in my throat and I'm afraid I might be getting sick. That is unacceptable. Plus, I have this huge Biology test coming up that I need to study for."

"Science can be tricky," Finn stated.

Rachel shifted in her seat. "Yeah, there's so much to learn about in terms of anatomy, genetics, and physiology." Rachel thought about Finn's tryst with Quinn in the hot tub and tried to be specific. "Did you know," she said slowly, "that proteins denature at very high temperatures?"

Finn had a glazed look on his face. "Oh, that's interesting."

Rachel clearly needed to spell things out more. "It is interesting. Actually, right now in class we're talking about conception. It's amazing to think that out of the thousands of sperm that are released into the female during intercourse, only a small percentage ever make it to the egg to even attempt fertilization. The distance they have to travel plays a large factor. So, being far away from the other person is a deterrent."

Finn cleared his throat to try and hide his discomfort.

Rachel noticed the bowl of fruit on the table, but quickly dismissed using a banana as a visual aid.

"When you really think about it, it's crazy that any one ever gets born." Rachel winced slightly at the oddity of that statement. Finn raised his eyebrows slightly, but did not comment.

"Uh huh. You want a soda?" Finn asked jumping up from his chair before Rachel could respond.

This was not going the way she had planned at all.

Rachel got up and followed Finn into the kitchen. He pulled out two cans of soda, and handed one to her.

"Thanks," Rachel said.

Finn leaned against the fridge. "Puck called me after school today. He wanted to know if I had talked to you. I thought that was kinda weird."

That mohawked sneak, Rachel thought angrily.

"We had a fight," Rachel confessed.

"I caught him looking at another girl," she fibbed.

"You want me to beat him up?" Finn said seriously.

Rachel was tempted to say yes. Maybe a few well placed blows would knock some sense through Pucks' thick skull.

"No," she stated reluctantly. "I can take care of myself. I just hate when people lie. What would you do if you found out someone was lying to you?"

Finn thought for a moment. "Depends on the type of lie. If it was a small lie, then I guess I could forgive and forget."

"What if it's a huge lie? A potentially life altering lie?" Rachel was growing more and more anxious.

Finn looked deep into Rachel's eyes, "Don't tell me that you've been lying to me…you're not really a man are you?" he joked.

Rachel smiled at him weakly. "I'm not the one who has been lying."

Finn kept his gaze steady. "Whatever it is Rachel, you can tell me. You're my friend, and I'll help you in any way I can."

"It's not my secret…"

Rachel started to say when Finn's mom entered the kitchen holding a large laundry basket filled with clothes.

"Sorry to interrupt honey, but could you fold these for me?"

Finn looked embarrassed that his mother still called him "honey."

"Sure mom," he mumbled.

"Thanks," she said as she handed him the basket and then left.

Finn grabbed a t-shirt and began folding. Rachel peered into the basket and saw a cute, green sweater.

"Trying a new look?" Rachel asked pointing toward the sweater.

Finn looked a little guilty. "That's Quinn's sweater."

"Why is your mom doing her laundry?"

"Because…Quinn is living here right now."

"What?!" Rachel yelped.

Finn took a defensive stance. "I kind of told her parents about the baby and they kicked her out."

"They actually kicked her out? Did they not get the memo that this is the twenty-first century, and that pregnant teens are not lepers and do not need to go into hiding to give birth."

Finn sighed. "What can I say, her dad's kind of a hardass. I told him that Quinn was having my baby, and he freaked out. He told Quinn that she was a disappointment and asked her to pack her stuff."

"That's awful." Rachel's concern was genuine. "Where is Quinn right now?"

"She's actually trying to talk to her mom. Her dad's supposed to be out of town for a few days and Quinn thought she could get her mom to see reason if he wasn't there."

Rachel looked Finn square in the eye. "Do you think Quinn can convince her mom to change her mind?"

Finn shook his head. "Realistically? No. Not while her dad is living there. But, maybe her mom can help out with money or something."

Rachel took a sip from her soda and thought. Clearly, this changed things. She couldn't tell Finn that the baby wasn't his if it meant that Quinn was going to be homeless.

She couldn't let it go though, not just yet.

Rachel tried a leading question. "Do we know anyone with normal parents?" She elaborated, "I mean I have two dads, you only have your mom, Quinn's dad is stuck in the past, and I bet half the kids at school have divorced parents."

"That's kind of depressing Rachel," Finn noted.

Rachel took another small sip. "Puck seems like he has a nice family. I haven't met his mom, but his sister is really cute."

"Emily is a little terror. She poured glue in my ear when I was over there once. To this day, I can't drive by an arts and crafts store." Finn tapped his left ear and shuddered in remembrance.

Rachel stifled a giggle. She thought back to the doll surgery and was glad that she and Puck had gotten off easy.

"Quinn's lucky that your mom is so cool," Rachel pointed out.

Finn let out a sigh of relief. "I know. I don't know what I would have done without her support."

"Have the three of you talked about Quinn's plans when the baby gets here?"

"Quinn wants the baby to be adopted. I've tried talking to her about alternatives, but she won't budge."

Rachel put her hand on Finn's shoulder in comfort.

Finn's eyes got misty. "I know in my head it's the right thing to do, but in here," he tapped his chest, "I'm having a hard time. I have dreams about it. In one of them, it's twenty years in the future, and a pretty girl with blonde hair approaches me and says she's my daughter. Then she asks why I didn't want her." Finn sniffled. "How can I know for sure that the adoptive parents are good people? What if they neglect her or forget to feed her or treat her differently because she's not really theirs?"

Rachel went from feeling sorry for Quinn to hating her. Quinn was forcing Finn to agonize over a child that wasn't even his. Rachel could put a stop to the lies right now.

Rachel felt a renewed sense of determination in her gut. The words "You're not the father" rose up the back of her throat, to the middle of her mouth, until they reached the tip of her tongue. The words were there, waiting to be spoken.

Rachel opened her mouth.

SLAM!!!

Rachel heard a loud noise that sounded like a door being opened and shut forcefully.

"Finn?" a watery voice called. "I need you. Where are you?"

Finn hastily wiped the moisture away from his eyes. "I'm in the kitchen," he called back.

Rachel barely had time to take a few steps away from Finn and retreat to the sink before Quinn entered the kitchen.

Quinn's eyes were red and swollen. She had been doing some crying of her own. Quinn snuck a quick glance at Rachel before she launched herself into Finn's arms.

Finn rubbed Quinn's back in small circles. "It's okay baby," he soothed. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"It was awful," Quinn hiccupped. "I thought I was making some progress with my mom, but then he showed up."

"Your dad?" Finn asked.

"Yes. I tried to talk to him, but he wouldn't listen. He just pointed at the door and told me that I had made my choice."

"Did you tell him what we talked about before…you know…about how Jesus preached forgiveness and stuff."

Quinn pushed some wet strands of hair off her face. "I did say that. You know what he replied?" Quinn asked bitterly. "He said that Jesus never had to deal with a slutty daughter."

Rachel winced. That statement was harsh. Once again, Rachel felt a tiny bit sorry for Quinn. Rachel was beginning to feel emotionally drained. This visit to Finn's house had more ups and downs than a Whitney Houston song.

With Quinn's dramatic entrance, Rachel knew that her opportunity to tell Finn had passed. That didn't mean she couldn't let Quinn know that she knew.

"It's really too bad," Rachel spoke up.

While still in Finn's arms, Quinn's eyes narrowed. "What's too bad?"

Rachel's gaze traveled from Quinn's eyes to her stomach and then back to her face. "It's too bad that we can't choose who our parents are."

Quinn's whole body tensed as Rachel continued. "I mean, mistakes happen. People sometimes end up with the wrong people. Wouldn't it be great if a person could just wipe the slate clean? Of course, the only way to do that now would be to lie. You can't change biology, it is what it is."

Realization dawned in Quinn's eyes. Somehow, Rachel had learned the truth about the baby's paternity.

Quinn stepped back from Finn and looked at Rachel. This was between them.

"Some people aren't meant to be parents," Quinn stated.

Rachel took a step closer to her. "It may appear that way on the outside. But, some people deserve the chance to prove themselves."

Quinn inched forward. "Maybe said person was given a chance and he failed."

Rachel advanced further. "What about giving a second or third chance just to make sure? Lying is wrong no matter how you justify it."

Quinn took another step. "Sometimes, lying is necessary," she hissed.

They were now nose against nose. "Lies can't last forever," Rachel asserted.

"They can if people keep their mouths shut," Quinn threatened.

"Excuse me," Finn interrupted, "But are you speaking in some kind of Girl Code? I have no idea what you're talking about."

Quinn kept her eyes locked with Rachel's. "We're done talking."

Rachel held her ground. "For now," she vowed.

Quinn backed away first and went next to Finn.

Rachel tried not to show that she was a bit flustered. "I should get going. I'll see you both in school tomorrow."

Rachel practically fled out of the kitchen and into the dining room to retrieve her coat. She was peeved that she had failed to do what she had set out to do. Finn was still being duped and Quinn was still being deceitful and Puck...and Puck…Rachel still didn't know what to think about Puck.

Part of Rachel had always sensed that Puck was struggling with something, especially in the last few days. But, Rachel reasoned, what teenaged guy wouldn't be at least a little bit relieved that he didn't have to take care of a kid—no child support payments, no crying, no changing dirty diapers. Then again, Puck had told her the truth. He had trusted Rachel. Did that mean he had genuine feelings for her, or that he was just relieving a guilty conscience?

Rachel acknowledged as she walked out the front door, that she was leaving Finn's house more confused than when she had come in.

Until Rachel sorted everything out, she was going to remain silent.

She would keep Quinn's secret.

For now.