A/N: sorry for the somewhat wait... didn't have time to write anything. but here's the next one. Enjoy! Review!

Chapter 5: Sayin' Sorry

The sunlight and the city sounds flooded throughout the bedroom and slowly, Rachel rolled over and looked at her alarm clock. It was only a couple minutes before it was supposed to go off, so she quickly shut it off and threw the covers off of her. Sighing, she brought her hands up and rubbed her temples. She had a headache from crying last night, and she still couldn't shake off the shock of seeing the blonde again. She thought that is was a dream until she saw the coffee cup on her nightstand.

Groaning, Rachel stood up and walked over to her dresser, pulling a pair of slacks on and a green blouse. After she got dressed and ready for the day, she decided to go get some coffee from the shop near the theatre, and then go run through her lines at the theatre. She wasn't sure if she could remember them from last night.

Walking down the damp streets, Rachel looked around and spotted the street where she found the blonde last night. She paused and stared at the women that were there this early in the day. She wasn't aware that she was crying until she felt something wet on her cheek and her vision began to blur together. Biting her lip, she shook her head and wiped away the tears on her cheeks. She then continued her walk towards the theatre.

Rachel reached the building and walked through the backdoor, she stopped in her tracks as she saw who was sleeping against the door to get in. Not sure of how to wake the blonde up, she bent down and tapped her shoulder gently. "Quinn, wake up," she said.

Upon hearing the brunette's soft words, Quinn shot her eyes open. Seeing the worried expression on her face, Quinn immediately felt tears welling in her own eyes. She stared into her soft, sad brown eyes and Quinn's voice was caught in her throat. Shaking her head, Quinn looked away from the smaller girl. "Quinn, are you alright? Did something happen?" Rachel asked. Quinn got to her feet and looked around at her surroundings.

What got to Quinn was that Rachel was still concerned about her, even though she practically called her a liar last night at the café. Looking back to the star, Quinn said; her voice raw from all the crying she did last night, "Rachel. Rachel Berry; how could I have forgotten?" She turned away and began to once again fiddle with the ring.

"Quinn, do you remember what happened?" Rachel stood up and searched her eyes. There was something in them that caused her heart to well, it had never left her own gaze: love. The love which they had shared that year.

"I'm so sorry." Quinn couldn't hold the tears back anymore; they began to run down her face. Biting her lip, she wrapped her arms around her, seeking comfort. Rachel seeing her distress dropped her coffee and took the girl into her arms, holding her close. "God, Rachel, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry." She cried into the girl's jacket.

Shaking her head, Rachel whispered softly, "Don't sweat it. Shh, it's all going to be alright, I promise. Shh. It's okay. I'm here and I'm never going to leave you ever again. Shh." Rachel rubbed soothing circles into her back and breathed in her scent.

Rachel simply held Quinn for a good fifteen minutes, until Quinn pulled away looking slightly embarrassed. Rachel gently cupped her face and wiped the tears away with her thumbs. "Aren't you supposed to be dead?" Quinn asked.

Chuckling softly, Rachel smiled at the taller girl. "After all these years, you ask me if I was supposed to be dead. Typical Quinn." Quinn smiled softly at the brunette. Looking around, Rachel picked up her duffel bag and moved her hand into Quinn's.

Rachel then began to lead the blonde back to her apartment. Opening the door, Rachel waited until Quinn walked in first then followed her; closing the door behind her. She placed the duffel bag on the ground by the sofa, and then smiled softly at the blonde. "I suppose we should talk at some point." Quinn nodded. "Um… perhaps a tour first?"

"That sounds good." Quinn returned the smile.

"So this is the living room slash kitchen area." She motioned to the room they were in then she looked at Quinn and offered her hand; it was then covered with the blondes. Walking across the room, Rachel opened the door and revealed a perfectly clean kept bedroom. "This is my bedroom, and the bath is right through that door." She pointed to the closed door across the room.

Quinn released her hand and ventured further into the bedroom. She looked around at all the cast signed posters of plays that she participated in. Standing in front of the mirror, she saw pictures of Rachel, a Latina and another blonde. Taking it off the mirror, she examined the photo. She smiled at the picture, seeing that Rachel looked happy with these girls. "Santana and Brittany?" Quinn asked as she looked up and over at Rachel, whom remained at the doorway watching her.

"Yeah. They missed you a lot too, Quinn. I think that's why they kept hanging out with me; they knew how much we loved each other, and they didn't want to disrespect your memory or something. I don't know. It's been hard on them; you guys were like sisters then one night you disappeared. Santana would get drunk then, she'd yell at me for not protecting you from them… It wasn't like she was wrong. It was my fault, I couldn't save you…" Rachel bit her lip, trying to contain the tears that were heavy in her brown eyes. "I searched everywhere for you, Quinn. Day and night, but I couldn't find you. I'm sorry I couldn't stop them…"

Quinn shook away her tears, and placed the photo back on the mirror and walked over to the girl. "It was never your fault Rachel. You tried and they shot you, you couldn't have stopped them even if you didn't get shot. Besides, I remember that I was the one who was trying to protect you." Rachel nodded and hugged the blonde before her.

"I've missed you so much, Quinn," Rachel cried into her shirt.

"I know. But I'm here now aren't I? You did find me, and that's all that matters."

"What did they do to you, Quinn?" Rachel asked. Quinn knew it was only a matter of time before she asked that. Quinn walked away and ended up besides her nightstand.

"I'd really rather not remember that." Quinn whispered. That was definitely the one thing that Quinn could never forget; the taunting, the high amounts of drugs they shoved into her body, the forced sex, everything was branded into her mind.

Looking down, Quinn saw the framed picture and smiled at it when she picked it up and stared at the kiss. Rachel walked up behind her and looked at it with her. "You never did forget, did you?" Quinn asked softly.

"Not for one second." Rachel smiled, as Quinn turned around and looked deeply into her eyes. "Quinn, can I take you out tonight? We could talk some more? Catch up? Please?"

Quinn stared at the brunette before her and nodded softly. "I'd really like that Rachel."

They shared a smile, and then Rachel remembered the duffel bag in the living room. "I guess you escaped him then?"

At the mention of Henry, Quinn froze up and looked away. "Yeah. I, uh… I remembered, and I had to leave, so I left when he went to sleep… I guess I should look for an apartment…"

Shaking her head, Rachel gently lifted her chin and looked into her green eyes. She was still struggling and there was no way in hell that Rachel would let her go through this alone; not now that she's found her and has her back. "No. You're staying with me. I'm not going to let you be by yourself now, anything could happen to you; and I would kill myself if they found you and took you away from me again."

It's been five years since she heard Rachel talk like that. She smiled to herself at how much she missed it. She had forgotten how caring and selfless the brunette really was. Now, as she stared at her old girlfriend, she couldn't help but nod at her insistence. "Alright, I'll stay; but I'm sleeping on the couch."

"Not on my watch, Quinn Fabray. You've been through so much, and right now all you need is rest and I'd be damned if I allowed you to sleep on my crappy couch. Trust me, you can not get comfortable on that thing, and sleeping on it is out of the question."

Quinn looked at the girl and smiled softly, her right hand began to play with the ring on her chain as she eyed the soft queen-sized bed. "Would you mind if I lay down? I didn't get that much sleep last night, well with everything that happened…"

Rachel shook her head and said, "Of course not. Sleep as long as you would like. You have the whole day; it's not even nine yet." She grinned at her then began to walk towards the door. She stopped though when she heard her name.

"Could you stay with me?" Quinn felt nervous asking the girl to stay with her; but ever since last night and with everything she remembered, it was all she wanted: to feel safe in her arms again.

"Of course I will. Can you give me a minute?" Quinn nodded then Rachel left the bedroom, closing the door behind her. Sighing, she took out her cell phone and sat on the couch. Hitting the call button, she waited for the line to pick up.

"What is it Berry? Me and Britt were about to get it on." Santana said through the line. In the background she could hear Brittany saying something to Santana. "Brittany says "hi"."

Rachel couldn't help but smile. "Tell her "hi" back. Listen Santana I have something important to tell you…" She couldn't help hiding the excitement in her voice.

"What is it?"

"You're not going to believe me, but I found her… Santana, I found Quinn…" The line was silence for about ten seconds before she could hear sniffling coming through the line.

"Are you sure, it's her?"

"Yes, I'm positive. San, I have her back. We have her back." Rachel couldn't hold the tears back any longer and they ran down her face. "Look I can't get into everything right now, she's waiting for me; but I'll tell you everything soon, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. Hey, Rachel, will you give her a hug from us?"

"Course. Talk to you soon." They said goodbye, and she sat there for just a little while longer; still not quite believing that all of this is happening to her after the longest five years of her life.

Getting up, Rachel quietly made her way back to her bedroom and froze when she saw the blonde already in her bed asleep. Smiling, she walked over and slid into the other side and slowly wrapped her arm around her waist securely. "Don't worry about anything anymore, Quinn. I've got you; I finally got you." She then placed a diligent kiss on her right temple.

A/N: what do you think? how will San and Britt see Quinn for the first time in 5 yrs? Review! :)