A.N: So I suck. I got a new video game... And then didn't review. Bah. Oh well. Here is the next chapter. I do hope you aren't all terribly upset.

A.N2: Thank you to all of you who reviewed, read, alerted, and voted in the poll. Just to clarify to all of you who voted for Maureen... Quinn would not be Joanne... just so's you know.

Sunday February 28, 2010

3:40

Kurt had hoped that not having a crush on Finn would make a difference on the larger boy's reaction to their parents dating but it had not. The last couple of weeks had been uncomfortable. Finn had finally come around once he and Burt had had a talk but now Kurt was dealing with the fresh hurt of having his father ignore him in favor of Finn. If Carole had shown an interest in bonding with Kurt he might have felt better but the woman seemed standoffish with Kurt, it may have been that Kurt was very good friends with Quinn and Rachel now whom Carole had no love for.

His father had not even realized that Kurt was now in a semi-serious relationship with another boy, which is why it came as such a shock to Burt Hummel when he walked into his son's room to inform Kurt and his friends that he and Finn were on their way to a game and caught the two boys in the middle of a kiss.

Kurt jerked away from Jesse, "Dad!" His voice was little more than a squeak.

Mr. Hummel cleared his throat, "Kurt… Kurt's friends, boy who was kissing my son."

Jesse straightened and strode forward and offered his hand, "Jesse St. James sir."

Burt took Jesse's hand and squeezed, "Burt Hummel."

Kurt hurried forward, "Dad… I… well Jesse and I have been dating for a couple of weeks now."

Burt stared at his son, "A couple of weeks?"He turned to scowl at Quinn, Rachel, and Mercedes "Did you girls know about this?"

Rachel nodded eagerly, "I encouraged it."

Burt softened as he took in the little brunette, "Did you?" He smiled at her. It was something that the kids had discovered early on. Burt Hummel had a soft spot for Rachel Berry.

Rachel grinned happily, "Jesse is an excellent match for Kurt. He is musically inclined, he enjoys theater, his clothes are acceptable by Kurt's standards, he is very intelligent, and though the two of them often seem far to Diva'ish for each other they also seem to work, though it has only been two weeks."

Jesse seemed to inflate at each compliment, "Thank you Rachel."

Kurt paused and then, "Does that mean that all of your compliments apply to me as well?" He smirked.

Rachel replied sincerely, "Of course. I'd hate for you to be with someone who wasn't good enough."

Kurt's smile was soft but genuine, "Thanks Rachel."

Burt cleared his throat, "When were you planning on telling me that you were dating?"

Kurt scowled peevishly, "As soon as you and Finn took a break from all the father/son bonding."

Burt's eyes widened, "Kurt…"

Kurt shrugged and turned away, "You are going to be late to the game if you don't go now."

Burt sighed, "We'll talk about this later Kurt." He nodded to the girls and Jesse, "Have fun girls and it was nice meeting you Jesse."

Jesse responded immediately, "You too sir."

As so as the door was closed and Burt was gone Mercedes drawled, "Suck up."

Jesse frowned, "Ingratiating myself to my… potential boyfriend's father is not being a suck up. It is being prudent."

Rachel added, "He is much more likely to look kindly upon the physical aspect of your relationship if he likes you. Take Quinn for example, now that my daddies like her I think they would be much calmer if they encountered us the morning after we had engaged in-"

Quinn's hand clamped over Rachel's mouth, "Sweetie, new rule. No talking about our sex-life until we actually have one."

Rachel nipped at Quinn's hand and huffed when the blonde girl yanked her hand away, "The next time you cover my mouth with your hand I will bite for real."

Quinn leered, "You promise?"

Rachel's eyelids fluttered and she breathed, "Mmmmhmmm."

A second later both girls shrieked as Kurt aimed his squirt bottle at them and sprayed them with water.

Quinn snarled, "What the hell Hummel?"

Kurt sniffed, "You two are like cats in heat. The last thing we need is the two of you deciding you are comfortable making out in front of us."

Jesse meekly raised his hand, "I'd be ok with it."

Kurt leveled a glare at the boy and muttered, "Bisexuals… yuck."

Monday March 1, 2010

3:30 P.M.

That afternoon Quinn cornered Jesse, "Did Shelby send you here so she could reconnect with Rachel?"

Jesse tried to shift away from the pregnant girl, "I don't know what you are talking about Quinn…"

Quinn hissed, "Cut the crap Jesse, yes or no?"

Jesse deflated, "Yes. How did you figure it out?"

Quinn back up a little, "You aren't all that subtle, and the woman is a dead ringer for Rachel."

Jesse let out a rush of air, "Right?" He asked gingerly, "She really wants to get to know her Quinn. Shelby is so great, she more like a mom to me than my own mom, Rachel would be lucky to know her."

Quinn folded her arms, "Miss Corcoran would be lucky to know Rachel."

Jesse sighed, "What do we do now?"

Quinn waved him off, "We aren't going to do anything and you are done meddling."

She turned to walk away and Jesse yelled after her, "What are you going to do?"

She replied as she headed to the choir room, "Meddle!"

5:45 P.M.

Quinn had waited outside of the Carmel auditorium until the members of Vocal Adrenaline filed out before slipping in and searching for Shelby Corcoran.

The woman was seated at a desk midway down the row of chairs.

Quinn coughed and watched as Miss. Corcoran looked up, "Can I help you?"

Quinn nodded, "Yes. My name is Quinn Fabray and I'm here to discuss Rachel Berry."

The sentence hung in the air until, "Let's go to my office." Quinn followed the Vocal Adrenaline coach.

Shelby sat behind her desk, "Have a seat."

Quinn sat.

The room was soon enveloped in an extremely uncomfortable silence.

Finally Shelby asked, "What about Rachel?"

Quinn ran a hand through her hair as she considered the woman who had been her daughter's mother while at the same time she was the woman who had broken Rachel's heart, "I know why you sent Jesse St. James to McKinley. At first I thought it was to spy on us or maybe to break our lead's heart, but now I know it was for you, so that you could make contact with Rachel."

Shelby's eyes bugged out, "How did… How did you figure it out?"

Quinn smiled slightly, "She looks just like you and Jesse cracks under the pressure."

Shelby's lips turned up and then she cut her gaze away from Quinn, "I suppose you are here to what? To tell me to stay away from Rachel? To blackmail me as a coach?"

Quinn shook her head, "I'm here to protect Rachel. I have no issue with you wanting to know your daughter." She wrapped her arms around her swollen belly, "What I have a problem with is you hurting Rachel if it doesn't turn out how you planned."

"What do you mean?" The brunette's eyes zeroed in on Quinn's movements.

Quinn shrugged, "Rachel is sixteen Miss Corcoran. You have to go into this knowing that you won't be getting your little girl back, you'll be getting to know an amazing young woman. I think she would love having you in her life."

Shelby's own hand pressed against her own abdomen, "I… I can't have any more kids. I never thought about the fact that Rachel isn't a little girl."

Quinn replied, "She may not be a little girl any more but she has plenty of life left."

Shelby nodded, "You're right." She smiled wanly, "I've considered adopting but adoption agencies frown on single parents."

Quinn was quiet for a moment, "Would you…" She felt a flutter under her hand and finished, "I'm having a little girl. Her father is Jewish. If you are still interested in adopting I would be willing to consider it a favor if you would take her." She hated the idea of having to part with Beth again but knew that it would be best for the little girl.

Shelby's eyes lit up, "You'd be willing to let me adopt her?" She shook her head, "You don't even know me…"

Quinn smiled fondly, "Jesse says you are just like Rachel and if I'm going to help you make contact I figure I will get to know you."

Shelby breathed, "Rachel's like me? I knew she inherited my voice but I didn't think…"

Quinn replied, "She's tiny and loud, and she can be incredibly intense and driven, she's probably the most cutthroat person I know, I've always kind of been grateful that Rachel never approached Coach Sylvester about becoming a Cheerio until I was off the squad, and yet she reached out to me when no one else really did even though we weren't friends. She loves Broadway and Barbra. Gold stars are her signature."

Shelby's eyes widened, "Gold stars?"

Quinn smirked, "For as long as I've known her she's placed a gold star by her name."

Shelby blinked, "I… What's the catch?"

Quinn's fond look was instantly replaced with a dangerous glare, "You have to make an effort. Getting to know her will take time and a bond might not be instantaneous. You can't give up just because it get's hard. You can't hurt her."

Shelby leaned back and considered the blonde, "You care about her a lot don't you?"

Quinn replied honestly, "I love her."

Shelby looked surprised but a moment later she grinned, "My daughter has excellent taste."

Quinn blushed, "I need to be going. My ride is going to get antsy."

"Who is your ride?" Shelby stood.

Quinn smirked, "I made Jesse drive me."

Shelby let out a bark of laughter.

The blonde girl turned to leave but was stopped with Shelby spoke up, "I… I was going to give this to Jesse. I hoped he would figure out a way for her to listen to it but I think it would be better if I gave it to you." The coach held out a cassette tape.

Quinn hesitated but finally took the tape, "I will think of something. I won't force this or push her into anything though."

Shelby ran a hand through her ebony locks, "I wouldn't expect you to."

Quinn hurried from the office, wondering how she would get Rachel to listen to the tape. As she considered the little plastic case she decided she would leave it up to fate.

Friday March 26, 2010

6:02 P.M.

Contrary to her plans Quinn had not left the Hummels by the time that Carole and Finn were considering moving in. Burt had decided that Finn could share with Kurt comfortably so that Quinn could keep her room. When Quinn had broached the subject of leaving Burt had looked a little crushed so the idea had been dropped. It was likely that it wouldn't have all come to such a head if the stress from almost having the club canceled by Bryan Ryan had not been coupled with all manner of personal issues.

Jesse had pulled away from Kurt just slightly until he had finally admitted that he was being pressured to return to Vocal Adrenaline, not by Shelby but by his former teammates. It might have been an easy decision if he hadn't had to consider college. The boy had yet to make a concrete decision and it was straining his interactions with Kurt.

Kurt and Rachel had both dealt with Mercedes' decision to leave the Cheerios after her very brief very awkward time with Puck. Sue had been riding them both harder now that she only had two super powered vocalists.

Finn had seemed to pick himself up and dust off the hurt of Rachel's rejection and had decided to actively pursue the girl. Quinn was livid and Rachel was uncomfortable. Rachel cared about Finn but her brash nature was stretching her patience to the limit. He tried to walk her to class every day, he sat next to her at lunch, and he had the gall to inform the other jocks at the school that she was off limits, which she was, but it certainly was not his place to tell them that. The next time he placed a hand on her shoulder she was going to throw a tantrum and demand that he be kicked off the team. She had informed Kurt and Quinn of her intentions and haughtily demanded that they back her. Kurt had snapped at her and Quinn had snapped at him and Rachel had hissed at them both and from there the three kids had not spoken for nearly four days.

Rachel had blown up in Glee after being isolated from Quinn, Kurt, and by extension Mercedes, Santana, and Brittany. The little diva had stormed out and Kurt and Quinn were uncomfortably aware that Rachel still had issues to be worked through. Her blow up had been directed at Finn and since then the boy had steadfastly avoided Rachel. Quinn and Kurt had organized a movie night and informed Rachel that she was attending. Kurt had been standoffish, Rachel seemed more insufferable than usual, and Quinn had been irritable. By the end of the evening Quinn understood why Rachel was so exasperated with Finn, and in turn Rachel was made aware of the fact that Quinn was being forced to restrain her urge to murder Finn, and Kurt had apologized and explained about the situation with Jesse.

And then Rachel revealed that she had come across a tape that her mother had left for her.

Quinn had been surprised that Rachel had already found the cassette, Kurt's face had pinched, and Rachel herself sniffed tearfully as she relayed how beautifully her mother could sing.

Quinn had taken Rachel in her arms and held the little brunette as Rachel rambled through her emotions and what she planned to do now. Quinn had listened along with Kurt, and the blonde, in an effort to comfort the brunette pressed kisses to the brunette's brow and neck. The kisses were chaste and Rachel seemed to relax as they continued and she was allowed to speak.

Of course the relaxation ended the moment Finn lumbered down the stairs with a box of his things and froze. He gaze zeroed in on Quinn and Rachel, the former being caught mid kiss to the side of Rachel's neck. Rachel and Quinn both stilled completely.

Kurt tried to cover, "Hey Finn! Let me help you with that." He jumped up and tried to take the box from Finn only to have the box jerked away.

The large teen glared, "What the hell…? Why were you kissing her?"

Quinn's reply got stuck in her throat; she had no idea how to answer.

Rachel squeezed her hand and let out a rush of air, "Finn… I don't want to lie to you. I didn't intend for you to find out this way but…" She turned to look at Quinn.

The blonde was stunned but nodded, giving her permission to tell Finn about them.

Rachel continued, "Quinn and I are… we care about each other very much."

Finn hedged, "As friends?"

Rachel shook her head, "You just said it yourself Finn, why was Quinn kissing me."

Finn's hands tightened around the box, "Friends do that?"

Rachel replied gently, "No Finn. Quinn and I… I love her and she loves me."

Finn's face flushed red as he chucked the box aside, "Why do you have to take things from me?"

He pointed an accusing finger at Quinn, "Have you been laughing at me the whole time? Making fun of me for wanting a..." He struggled to find a word and then blurted, "A dyke?"

Quinn stepped forward and snarled back, "I haven't been laughing about you panting after Rachel; I've been fighting the urge to break your nose!"

Finn loomed dangerously over Quinn, "I hate you so much. Rachel is a good person and you… you did this!"

Rachel shot forward and placed herself between Quinn and Finn, "Quinn didn't force me into anything. I wasn't even in love with her when I rejected you the first time!"

Finn sneered, "You didn't reject me, you rejected the fact that I was a boy. I can't believe I liked…"

Rachel cut him off, "You liked what? A Dyke?" Finn looked a little surprised and Rachel pressed on, "I caught that word Finn. I can't believe you would call me that."

Finn threw up his hands, "You are in love with a girl! What else am I supposed to call you?"

Quinn shot back, "How about Rachel, you jackass!"

Kurt raised his voice in an effort to diffuse the situation, "Hey! Let's all calm down ok?"He tried to place a hand on Finn's shoulder.

Finn jerked out of reach and snarled, "No one asked you, you fag."

Kurt flinched while Rachel's eyes narrowed and she got in Finn's face, "Don't you ever call him that! I hate that word; you know I hate that word!"

Finn glared down at her, "Well what am I supposed to think, you start hanging out with Kurt and suddenly you are into a girl? He's infected you with his faggy…"

"HEY!" The kids whirled to stare at Burt Hummel who stood at the foot of the stairs.

Kurt swallowed, "Dad…"

Mr. Hummel stalked forward, "What did you call him?"

Finn backpedaled, "I didn't mean it like that…"

Burt cut him off, "I know exactly how you meant it."

Finn seemed to gain some strength, "He turned Rachel and Quinn gay for each other."

Burt blinked, "That's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard." He directed his next words to Rachel and Quinn, "Girls did Kurt turn you gay for each other?"

"No."

"Kurt had nothing to do with my developing feelings for Quinn."

Burt scowled at Finn, "There, you see. That word Finn, the one that you used-"

Quinn interjected, "He called Rachel a dyke too."

Burt seemed to swell, "I… I thought you were a different kind of boy Finn? I mean I thought you were a boy that just knew that those kinds of words were wrong. I… I spent a lot of my time in high school being a jerk and I thought you were different." He removed his hat and ran a hand over his head, "You may use that language at school but not here, not under my roof. I can't have that kind of poison here with my son or with Quinn and the baby. I love your mom but I can't have that kind of poison under my roof."

Finn hung his head and trekked past Burt and back up the stairs without another word.

Burt asked gruffly, "Are you two happy?"

"Not at the moment but in general yes."

"Rachel makes me happy."

Burt nodded, "Then I'm happy for you two. Open door from now on Quinn." He turned and slowly made his way up the stairs.

Quinn muttered unhappily, "Open door? I'm already pregnant."

Rachel folded her arms, "Can I get him thrown out of glee now?"

Kurt shook his head, "Don't abuse your diva power Rachel."

Rachel pouted, "What is the point of having it then?"

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