The moment of truth was upon Quinn at last. She had spent at least an hour deliberating over her outfit. That one was too provocative. That one had stretched when she had tried to wear it with Beth in her belly. Eventually she'd settled for one of her old babydoll dresses, wincing slightly at how tight it was around her stomach.

Her dress sense hadn't changed radically from before Beth but it had changed enough to inflict a wave of nostalgia on her after catching a glimpse of herself in a corridor mirror. So much had changed, some of which she had welcomed - she was certainly much closer to her mother as a result of her complicity in Quinn being kicked out - but much of it she would have preferred not to suffer through.

No matter how harsh and dominant she was at school, there would always be whispers about her through the town. She was the Christian head of the celibacy club that got knocked up by a Jew. Whenever she went to church the pastor would always look sympathetically at her as if the hundreds of sessions at confession and nights fearing for her soul weren't quite enough to repent.

Shaking off the history, Quinn squared her shoulders and knocked on the door of the quaint little apartment her father was now staying in. She stood there for a few moments, wringing the sleeves of her sweater in her sweaty fingers.

Eventually a young woman with dark hair opened the door and beamed.

"Quinn, right? Come in." She waved Quinn into the cramped corridor and took her jacket.

"Russell's just in the kitchen helping finish off the sauce. He said you liked bolognese."

Quinn nodded mutely, taking in the woman that stood before her. It was so weird to know that they had both contributed to the breakdown of her parent's marriage in their own way. Jeanine was much prettier than Quinn had expected. She'd expected her to be caked in makeup and bitchy, not a natural beauty with a heart of gold. It had been easier to hate her that way, redirecting the hate she had for her father and dump it all on a random woman. It was harder with her right there, in the flesh.

They made their way into the kitchen/dining room where Russel Fabray was bent over a pot, his shirtsleeves rolled up but still caked in tomato sauce. Jeanine automatically planted a soft kiss on his cheek before glancing guiltily at Quinn. Quinn felt her stomach turn but offered a weak smile to show she was okay.

"I'm so glad you made it honey. The food is almost ready." He smiled at her, his hand around Jeanine's shoulders.

"It smells delicious." Quinn offered meekly, really rethinking this whole meeting.

Soon the food was served and the trio were shovelling forkfuls into their mouths in order to avoid conversation. Eventually, Jeanine broke in, the tension getting the best of her.

"So Quinn, do you have any plans for the future?"

That dreaded question. Quinn could feel the hollow feeling in her stomach that always appeared when she worried about the future, when all the structure she had built up in Lima was gone.

"I'm thinking about a couple of colleges." She mumbled vaguely. "Yale would be great but it's a stretch."

Russel chuckled.

"Well it will be with that attitude. Colleges like confidence, honey." His tone was encouraging but the hard glint in his eyes reminded her of all the 'pep-talks' he used to give her.

'You'll never get on the cheerios with all that baby fat, honey' or 'You'd be more popular if you wore contacts, baby'. Each followed by a sickeningly infantilising title to drive home the patronising tone.

"Yeah, Russel has told me how clever you are. They'd be idiots not to accept you." Jeanine added.

Quinn smiled gratefully at her and returned to her food, her stomach churning with unsaid words.

"I heard you rejoined the cheerios. How is that?" Her father again.

"Gruelling but rewarding. Miss Sylvester being Miss Sylvester as always."

"I always admired that woman. She has a spark to her that not a lot of women do. She acts almost like a man."

Quinn squirmed in her seat more with each sentence he spoke. She'd forgotten how misogynistic he could be.

"If you mean she acts like a dictator all the time then sure." She bit back.

Russel turned sharply to her with a frown.

"Quinn, don't be rude."

Part of her wanted to scream. He had no right to be telling her how to act. He'd kicked his pregnant daughter to the streets and left her and her mother. He was the one who needed to be taught kindness. A quick glance towards Jeanine reined her in and she bit her tongue. She was not going to make that poor woman suffer through a Fabray spat.

"I still go to glee club too." She knew Russel hated Glee. He'd made it clear on multiple occasions that it wasn't helping her image in any way and detracted from her concentration in cheerleading. She watched triumphantly as he tried to repress his distaste.

"Glee club is still running? I thought after all it's losses Principal Figgins would have shut it down."

Quinn's knuckles were white from clenching her cutlery so hard.

"Still going strong." She flashed him a tense smile. "In fact we have two new additions to the group, both strong potential male leads. I have a good feeling about this year."

Jeanine looked like she was at a tennis match. Her gaze flitting back and forth between the older and younger Fabray. She broke in smoothly, desperate to quell the rising tensions.

"So you like to sing? I always wish I'd learnt properly, it's such a useful skill."

Quinn smiled thankfully at her but her scowl returned as her father predictably tried to defend his side.

"Useful? I wouldn't call it 'useful'. It's more of a past time."

"Let's agree to disagree." Jeanine replied, essentially ending that line of dialogue.

The table lapsed into silence again, the screeching of knives against ceramic only heightening the awkward atmosphere. This carried on for a couple of minutes before Jeanine put down her cutlery suddenly.

"I can't hold it in anymore. Quinn we've got something to tell you."

Russel looked panicked and leaned over to her speaking lowly as if Quinn couldn't hear everything.

"Honey, are you sure we should do this now?"

"It's the reason we invited her here in the first place."

"Yes but-"

"Tell me." Quinn cut in, sick of her father's antics.

The couple straightened and shared a quick look before Jeanine took his hand and squeezed it once.

"We're pregnant"

The air was suddenly knocked out of Quinn's chest. She stared at their faces like she'd never seen either of them before. Searching for some sort of trick or joke in their expressions, she let out a choked laugh.

"What?"

"We thought you ought to know. I - we - thought it would be a good idea to reach out. Family is so important and we thought you might like to be in the loop." Jeanine carried on, oblivious of the nausea building in Quinn's stomach.

"This was all her idea?" Quinn managed to direct toward her father, trying desperately to keep her voice from cracking.

"Well - no - honey-"

"Tell the truth!" She shouted.

He frowned before nodding minutely. Quinn laughed again but this time she couldn't hold back the wobbliness of tears. Everything was closing in on her and the apartment suddenly felt incredibly hot and Quinn was finding it hard to pull air into her lungs. The image of her father and his new family, created out of wedlock, swam in front of her.

"I-I have to... I should-"

She motioned vaguely before standing up and running swiftly to the front door, fiddling almost frantically with the lock. Flinging it open and sprinting down into the street, she could hear her father's calls after her. The cold air did nothing to sober her up and she staggered aimlessly through the dark streets.

She hadn't brought her car in hopes of a ride back with her father, the thought of which sending a fresh wave of sobs through her body. Instead she just ran and ran and ran, needing to put as much distance between her and him. She knew she'd entered an area of town she didn't really recognise but the panic wasn't able to enter her hysterical brain.

She collapsed in what she was pretty sure was a car park and let all the pain she'd suppressed for months crash over her. But not enough tears would come and instead she felt crushed and terrified. A soft voice made her head snap up and she met eyes with a concerned face. Suddenly, strong arms were helping her up and held her gently by the upper arm.

"Quinn, what's wrong? Jeez you must be freezing. Wait a second." Sam shrugged off his bomber jacket and draped it over her shoulders. The warmth did nothing to help her emotionally but she pulled it tight around her gratefully.

"What are you doing here?"

"I got lost." She mumbled.

"Do you need a ride home? My car's just here."

He looked so concerned and eager that she didn't have the heart to turn him down. For some reason what she really needed was to go to Ray's house, but even if it wouldn't look strange to tell him to take her to the house of a guy who wasn't her boyfriend, she had no idea where he lived now.

She nodded softly and he led her into his car, giving her the same wounded puppy expression Finn gave her when she wasn't feeling good, which just sent waves of guilt through her for dumping her shit on them.

The car ride was almost as bad as being in the apartment, the awkwardness of near-strangers sharing an intimate space. Plus, he kept looking over at her every 30 seconds as if to check she hadn't disappeared.

She was reminded uncomfortably of the fact that this wasn't the first time she'd been driven home by him. The first time hadn't been bad as such, they'd exchanged interesting sentiments and had gotten on well enough. He was a good guy and she hated taking advantage of his kindness. It hadn't been his job to drive her home and it certainly wasn't this time. She should have called Finn or her mom.

Arrival at her house saved her from more self-deprecating thoughts. She gave him a mumbled "thanks" and reached for the door handle.

"We seem to making a habit out of this." He joked, shooting her a lopsided smile.

Unable to return his jovial attitude, she nodded.

"Yeah, sorry."

"No, no it's fine!" He looked guilty again. "As long as you're safe."

She made it out of the door and up the drive, Sam naturally refusing to leave until she was safely in her house. She remembered that her mother was out visiting a friend and scrabbled for the keys in her bag. Inserting them into the keyhole took far longer than usual and she could feel pressure building up in her skull.

Quinn made it inside just before her breaths began to shoot out in short bursts, deafeningly loud in the large corridor. She sank to the floor, unable to stop hyperventilating, wishing, begging, for tears to come and relieve her of the torturous pressure.

Unable to resist any longer, she took out her phone and dialled Ray's number. Her hands were shaking like mad as she held it up to her ear and she was worried no words would come out if he picked up.

Ray was in the middle of a recording of Something's Coming when he heard his phone vibrate loudly on his desk. Tutting at the ruined video, he went to check the caller ID. He smiled brightly when he saw Quinn's name on the screen.

"Hey, Quinn! How are you?"

His smile dropped sharply when all he could hear was erratic breathing coming from the other end.

"He-he didn't... I don't... My mom she's not here... I don't know what to do."

"Hey hey hey slow down. Where are you?" He was in full on mother hen mode.

"At home... I'm at home."

"Are you alone?"

"Y-yes."

"Right I'm coming over." Ray's voice was firm, resolute.

"No y-you don't have to." Quinn's voice was most certainly not, he could tell she didn't mean her denial.

Sprinting down the stairs he kept his phone to his ear.

"I'm gonna stay on the phone on speaker in the car, okay?"

All Quinn could manage was a small noise of affirmation. Ray found his father's snuggled on the couch and quickly asked permission to go to 'a friend's'. They were understandably perturbed due to the late hour but understood their son's distress must mean it was important.

Ray hopped in their car and after Quinn had choked out her address he sped there, supplying reassuring words throughout the journey. He parked terribly and ran up the steps to her massive house.

Quinn threw open the door as soon as he reached it and they both hung up. There was a moment of shocked silence before she threw her arms around him, gripping him in a bear hug. He carefully placed his arms around her too, a blush creeping up his neck at their proximity. Her breathing had calmed slightly and soon he felt his t shirt grow wet with tears.

"Hey, shall we go somewhere a bit more private?" He whispered.

She withdrew and nodded, not quite meeting his gaze. He could see her eyes flooded with tears and lip wobbling.

He shut the door carefully behind him and followed her up the stairs into a room scarcely decorated with pictures and awards. As though he knew exactly what he was doing, Ray sat on the floor leaning his back against the bed frame and beckoned for Quinn to follow. It felt weird being the one to comfort someone else, usually it was him in Quinn's position. He could tell his fathers had rubbed off on him with their patient encouragement and calm behaviour when it was needed.

Quinn slumped down beside him, hugging her knees against her chest, openly weeping.

"I'm sorry I'm such a mess. I just... I dunno."

"You don't have to apologise for feeling down. Trust me, I've been there."

She gave him a short watery smile.

"It just feels so good. Is that weird?"

"No. Definitely not." He gazed at her with empathy as another sob wracked her body.

She leant her head on his shoulder and he saw an image of the steely expression and regal manner she donned throughout school in his minds eye. She'd gone through a pregnancy, homelessness and rejection from her family and still managed to make people believe she was an ice queen. No wonder she was a wreck, that was enough to make anyone explode.

Sympathy filled his chest as well as a huge sense of hopelessness. He wanted to do something, help her somehow. He used to know exactly what to say, throwing around promises of dreams come true in the future. But he'd learnt that blind hope for the future did nothing to help with the present pain. Devoid of ideas, he did the one thing he knew, he began to sing.

When you try your best but you don't succeed

When you get what you want but not what you need

His voice was clear, soft and comforting, hitting the notes perfectly as usual. He felt more sobs run through her and acknowledged that, though he wished she could feel no need to cry, his presence was helping her let go.

When you feel so tired but you can't sleep

Stuck in reverse

When the tears come streaming down your face

And you lose something you can't replace

Her body shook even more and he put his arm around her, squeezing her shoulder to let her know he was here for her. She wrapped her arms around his chest and although the position was slightly awkward and uncomfortable, neither of them seemed to care.

When you love someone but it goes to waste

Stuck in reverse

Giving her another squeeze, he sang the chorus.

Lights will guide you home

And ignite your bones

And I will try to fix you

Her sobs had lessened now but he could feel a constant steam of tears drenching his shoulder.

High up above or down below

When you were too in love to let it go

But if you never try you'll never know

Just what you're worth

Lights will guide you home

And ignite your bones

And I will try to fix you

They sat like that for what felt like half an hour before Quinn sniffed sharply and sat up, eyeing the tear stain she'd left. She wiped away her mildly running makeup. Ray marvelled at how immaculate she still managed to look with a blotchy red face and puffy eyes.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled again, looking thoroughly embarrassed now that her emotions had run their course.

"It really is okay. It reminded me a little of old times." Ray smiled.

"I seem to remember most of the time the roles were reversed."

Ray chuckled. "I was just a lot more in touch with my emotions. Crying is good for the soul."

They both looked at each other, nostalgia leaving the moment heavy with emotion. Ray shifted uncomfortably, not good with silences, awkward or not.

"I should let you sleep, you must be exhausted. Sorry for inviting myself I didn't-"

"Stay." Quinn blurted out, interrupting his tirade. "If you want. It's not a school night and it's pretty late. Your dads wouldn't mind, would they?"

If he didn't know her any better, Ray might have thought Quinn sounded flustered by her proposal. He put it down to an emotional night. Remembering she was home alone for the night, Ray nodded, rather happy he didn't have to spend the rest of the night worrying about her wellbeing.

"There's a spare mattress under here."

She pulled out an amazingly comfortable looking double mattress and fetched a duvet and pillows from a closet, already covered in fresh smelling sheets.

"I can grab you a spare toothbrush if you want?"

"Would you mind? I'm quite particular about keeping my teeth healthy."

Ray blushed at the smirk Quinn shot him.

"Some things haven't changed."

Ray realised with an embarrassed jolt that Quinn probably needed space to change and went out to the corridor with the feeble excuse of calling his dads.

The phone rang once before it was answered by an eager Hiram Berry.

"Hello sweetie everything alright?"

"Yes daddy I'm alright. Would it be okay for me to skip Saturday brunch and stay over at Quinn Fabray's tonight?"

"Quinn Fabray? Judy and Russell's daughter?"

Ray winced at the title he had given her but answered calmly.

"Yes, her."

"Oh well yeah sure. Your father and I are happy you're making new... friends."

He narrowed his eyes, not liking Hiram's tone.

"What did that pause mean?"

"What pause? I'm not sure I know what you mean."

Hiram was exaggeratedly confessing innocence and Ray was pretty sure he could hear Leroy chuckling in the background. Before he could reply with a scathing remark, Quinn emerged from her bedroom in the shortest shorts he'd ever seen on a person. Immediately snapping his eyes from her ridiculously long legs, he gulped down his words.

"Your toothbrush is in the en suite. Do you want any spare pjs?"

"Uh no thank you. I can just sleep in this. Not that I usually do, I only meant I'm perfectly comfortable doing so."

With an earful of barely suppressed laughter and a raised eyebrow from Quinn, Ray felt ready to die on the spot.

"Goodnight, daddy." He said huffily, hanging up the phone with a pointed poke on the index.

Quinn's face was one of confused amusement.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah sorry. My father was being an idiot that's all."

He quickly completed his evening routine, making do with using as little of Quinn's products as possible. They both eventually settled into bed, strangely comfortable in the arrangement, as if nothing had changed since their last sleepover. Quinn turned off the light and Ray inspected the unfamiliar ceiling above him, sleep far from close.

Quinn slept with her curtains open and the soft moonlight lit up her bedroom so much that, with eyes now accustomed to the darkness, Ray could make out various framed photos on her desk. The largest was glee club, probably from the year before, all donning goofy grins. The second, the Unholy Trinity, as McKinley called them, posing in cheerio outfits trying to look serious but failing miserably.

"When did you know? That you were... a guy." The sudden loud voice in the silence made him jump.

It took a moment for him to fully comprehend what she had asked, which she seemed to take as shock at the statement.

"Just that I never- you always were so... girly. Sorry I didn't mean to, y'know, I'm just curious. You don't have to answer if you don't-"

"It's fine, really. I don't really remember a definitive moment when I knew. I kind of always felt it and suppressed it completely, channeling all my personality into performing. It was easier not to think about how uncomfortable I was when performing because I didn't need to be myself. Or, I could explore who I was without fear of repercussion."

There was a brief pause before her tentative voice rose up again.

"So have you had a... sex change."

Ray flinched inadvertently at the term. He knew she hadn't meant anything by it, only speaking from what she'd heard about the topic. Still ignorant statements made him very uncomfortable.

"It's a bit more complex than that. The term 'sex change' is quite misleading. Really, you don't have to go through any surgery or hormone therapy to feel comfortable in your own gender. However, the connotations we have added to certain body parts and visual appearances means it can make you... self conscious to put it lightly. Personally, I am now comfortable enough to speak about it and say that I have indeed undergone a bit of both, but for most trans people, that can be a touchy subject."

"Sorry I didn't mean-"

"You don't have to apologise, Quinn. I know this is a- an unexplored territory for you. Thank you for being as respectful as you can."

Ray realised that their was a sudden levity in his chest. It felt so good, so freeing to talk about his feelings with someone other than a psychologist or his fathers.

"Have you told anyone else?"

"No. I moved to McKinley in order to be stealth, uh to live as my true gender without people knowing. In somewhere like Lima or anywhere around here, it's a matter of safety."

The silence was longer this time and Ray was starting to think Quinn had fallen asleep when she piped up once more, her voice tender and apologetic.

"I'm sorry about what I said after your first glee session. I was wrong and rude and- and I'm sorry."

A warm rush of affection flooded through Ray. Quinn's acceptance was something he'd not expected to fully come, at least not for a long time. In fact he hadn't expected anyone's acceptance. He'd lived in fear for so long.

"Thank you, Quinn."

The two lay in silence until, finally, they both dropped off, the warmth of rediscovered friendship enveloping them.