IloveDiannaAgron: I have absolutely no idea how this has anything in common with Imagine Me & You, so no.

Thank you to everyone for your comments; it was nice to know everyone liked the last chapter so much.

Chapter 14 – I Thought I Was Mistaken

The moment Kurt pulled the rental car into Rachel's driveway, her fathers came running out of the house. She wondered how long they had been standing by the window, waiting on them to get there, but she knew her fathers, and they had probably been standing there for the past hour. It was wonderful to see their smiling faces, and the moment she stepped out of the car, they were both there to wrap her in a hug. The moment Leroy let go, he turned and picked Beth up, hugging her as well.

"That's enough," Hiram said. "It's my turn."

Leroy laughed and handed Beth off to his husband before turning and giving Rachel another hug. "I've missed you, sweetie."

"It's only been a month since you visited," Rachel pointed out, laughing. "But I missed you, too."

"Come in, come in," Hiram said, carrying Beth off toward the house. "Pizza is on the way; we thought you might be hungry considering it is lunchtime. And we ordered more than enough, so you're welcome to stay, Kurt."

"Sure," Kurt replied. "My dad's not coming home until this evening anyway and Carole's at work right now."

"Well, you know you can stay here as long as you like," Leroy said, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Can we show her?" Hiram asked as he stepped into the foyer.

"I thought we agreed to wait until after we ate," Leroy replied.

"Oh, who cares about that," Hiram said, waving him off. "The pizza won't be here for at least another thirty minutes; you know how slow they are."

"What are you two talking about?" Rachel asked, looking between the two men.

"Come this way," Hiram said, heading up the stairs.

Leroy rolled his eyes. "I swear that man doesn't know how to be patient."

They followed Hiram up the stairs and found him standing in the hall, outside of the guest bedroom that sat across from Rachel's room. She immediately noticed a small, glittery, purple sign on the outside that had Beth's name on it and Rachel wondered what her fathers had done. She didn't have to wait long; Hiram opened the door, revealing the room. What had once been the guest bedroom slash storage room was now a children's room.

"Oh my," Rachel said, walking into the room.

"I second that," Kurt said, following her.

"We may have gone a little overboard," Leroy stated.

"You don't say," Rachel replied in awe.

The room had a twin bed with matching vanity and rocking chair; a dollhouse that was so large, it was actually taller than Beth; a toy box that Rachel guessed was filled with every toy imaginable; a bookcase that was full of children's books; a storage cabinet that was opening, revealing a bunch of games and puzzles; and a corner of the room that was set up for what looked like painting. Her fathers had gone more than a little overboard. Rachel always thought her room was amazing growing up, but this went far beyond that. It had everything Beth loved and Rachel wondered how long they had been working on it.

"You two didn't have to do this," Rachel said once she got over the initial shock.

"We know, but we wanted to," Leroy replied.

"We wanted Beth to have a room to herself for whenever you guys visit," Hiram added.

As soon as Hiram set Beth down, she slowly walked around the room, taking everything in. When she opened up the toy box, as Rachel expected, it was full of dolls, stuffed animals, and a few other things. The last place she walked was the corner with the easel, where she grabbed a nearby box of crayons and began coloring on the blank piece of paper.

"I believe the room is a success," Leroy said.

"I can't believe you didn't put a television in here," Rachel joked.

"See, I told you we should have set up an entertainment system," Hiram said, putting his hands on his hips.

"I think she was joking, honey," Leroy replied.

Hiram looked at Rachel. "Oh—never mind then."

"That's probably the pizza," Leroy said when the doorbell rang. "This must be a record."

Leroy walked out of the room, but everyone else stayed. Kurt was wondering around, looking at the books on the shelves, and Rachel sat down on the bed, which was far more comfortable than any bed she had ever sat on before. Beth looked like she was having fun coloring with her crayons, so Rachel stood to join her father downstairs.

"Need any help?" she asked as she walked into the kitchen.

"You could help set the table," Leroy said, handing her some silverware while he walked into the dining room with some plates.

Rachel took the silverware and walked behind her father, setting out the forks and knives. They normally didn't eat at the table when they ordered pizza, but she guessed her fathers wanted a sit-down lunch since they did just get there.

"You really didn't have to do all that," Rachel reiterated.

Leroy laughed. "We know, but you're grown up, and who knows when we are going to get grandchildren, so we thought it would be fun. You know us; we spoiled you as a child and we're going to do the same thing for Beth. It's just something we enjoy doing, so let us have our fun."

"She's never going to want to go home now," Rachel commented.

"That may have also been part of the plan," Leroy said with a grin.

Rachel gasped. "You knew she would ask to come back if you gave her an amazing room."

"Maybe," Leroy replied.

Rachel nodded. "Very well played."

"I thought so," Leroy said, shrugging.

As they continued setting the table, Rachel wondered if Beth would ever want to come out of her room or if they would have to bring the pizza to her. She loved coloring, but she also loved pizza, so it was really a tossup on which one would win out in the end.

"Did that girl ever call you?" Leroy asked.

"She called this morning," Rachel replied. "She and her mother are coming tomorrow."

Leroy nodded, but didn't say anything. Neither of her fathers ever referred to Quinn by her name; it was always 'that girl' anytime she came up in conversation. She knew they were wary of her just as much as Rachel was—probably even more so. They knew most of what she went through in high school and they knew most of that was caused by Quinn, so even though Rachel tried to explain that she had changed, their feelings about her hadn't.

"Are you still sure it's a good idea?" Leroy asked.

"It's too late now," Rachel replied. "The invitation is already out there; it would be rude of me to rescind it now."

Leroy sighed. "You're right."

Rachel was honestly surprised Quinn called her and said they were coming. After what happened Sunday, she didn't know if she was going to hear from the blonde for a while. She kept going over what happened in her head, telling herself that she must have gotten the situation wrong. There was no way Quinn Fabray almost kissed her. For one, as far as she knew, Quinn was completely straight; they fought over Finn throughout high school, not to mention the fact that she dated Sam Evans for quite a while and also dated—and had a child—with Puck. Plus, even if Quinn did lean that way, she spent all of high school telling Rachel how ugly she was. It was just inconceivable to Rachel that Quinn could ever be interested in her now.

"Are you alright?" Leroy asked.

"What?" Rachel asked, looking up.

"You have this far-off look on your face," Leroy replied. "And you put two knives next to that plate."

"Oh," Rachel said, looking down. "Yes, I'm alright." She cleared her throat as she exchanged the knife for a fork and put the remaining silverware with the last plate. "I'll go let everyone know lunch is ready."

As she headed for the stairs, she couldn't help but worry about how tomorrow was going to go. Her conversation with Quinn that morning was very brief and she was nervous about the thought of seeing her the next day. Then again, maybe she imagined everything and things would be perfectly normal.

Rachel grabbed some more Dr Pepper from the refrigerator and a few bottles of water to replenish the stock outside. A lot of people were already there, but Quinn and her mother were still not in attendance, and she wondered if they were even going to show up. Puck had been the first one there, eager to see Beth since he couldn't get off work the previous day to come over. He brought along his little sister, Abigail, who had been playing with Beth even though she was quite a bit older.

"Bring some Mountain Dew as well," Hiram said, popping his head into the kitchen.

Rachel grabbed a couple cans, trying not to drop what she was already holding. She walked into the backyard, juggling the cans and bottles until Finn jogged over and grabbed a couple of them out of her arms.

"Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome," Finn said, giving her a lopsided smile.

Together, they walked to the refreshment table and Rachel straightened up the drinks before making sure there was still enough ice in the large bowl and that there were plenty of cups.

"How's everything going in New York?" Finn asked as she straightened up a few of the cans.

"It's going well," Rachel replied.

"And she's doing good?" Finn asked, nodding to Beth.

"Well," Rachel automatically corrected. "And she's doing as well as can be expected considering everything that has happened. Kurt had been a major help with everything; I really don't know what I would do without him. He always watched her while I'm at work and they've really bonded."

"He talks about her a lot," Finn replied. "He told me about how you guys took her to, like, all those things we saw when we were there for Nationals."

"Yeah, that was a lot of—fun," Rachel said, distracted by Quinn walking through the sliding glass door.

Finn looked over his shoulder and frowned when he looked back at Rachel. "What's she doing here?"

"I invited her," Rachel replied.

"Are you two friends now or something?" Finn asked.

"I don't know if I would quite consider us friends, but she's been around some lately," Rachel said, shrugging.

"But why?" Finn asked.

"She is going to school in the city and wanted to see Beth," Rachel explained.

Finn frowned again. "And you let her?"

"It didn't feel right keeping Quinn away from her," Rachel said, wondering why Finn cared so much.

"Aren't you worried she's going to do something like she did with Shelby?" Finn asked.

Rachel really didn't want to have this conversation with Finn, so she said, "I should go say hello to our new guests."

Before Finn could say anything, she walked away, bypassing Quinn and her mom, and going back into the house. She walked to the sink and looked out the window at everyone in the backyard. Quinn and her mother were talking off to the side and the older woman kept looking over at Beth, shaking her head. By the look on her face, Rachel wondered if Quinn even told her mother that her granddaughter was going to be there. She didn't look very happy and eventually walked to the other side of the yard, sitting by herself and away from everyone else.

"What are you doing in here?" Kurt asked, causing her to jump.

"Just washing my hands," Rachel lied, turning on the faucet.

"Do you need any help with anything?" Kurt asked.

"The chips could probably be replenished," Rachel said as she washed her hands.

"They do seem to be going fast," Kurt commented. "I think Finn ate most of them, though; I swear that boy is a bottomless pit. I hope your dads bought a lot of food because they are going to need it with him and Puck here."

"Believe me, they bought plenty of food," Rachel replied. "The fridge was completely full yesterday of hot dogs, hamburger, and chicken." She scrunched her nose in disgust. "How anyone can eat any of that stuff, I will never know."

"Is this where all the cool kids are?" Puck asked as he walked into the kitchen with them.

"Clearly," Kurt said, smirking.

"Are you having a good time, Noah?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, it's awesome seeing Beth again," Puck replied.

"I'll take those out there," Kurt said, grabbing a couple bags of chips.

"Thank you," Rachel called after him.

"I gotta say, I was surprised Judy came to this thing," Puck said, walking around, and sitting down on one of the stools at the island.

"I have a feeling Quinn didn't tell her that Beth was going to be here," Rachel replied.

"That makes sense," Puck said scratching the back of his head. "She isn't really happy that she's in Quinn's life."

Rachel frowned. "Why not?"

Puck shrugged. "I dunno. You know her; she don't really talk a lot about stuff like that."

"Has she—does she have—" Rachel shook her head. "Never mind. I should go back out there."

"Need me to grab anything?" Puck asked, looking thoroughly confused by Rachel.

"You could bring a case of soda if you want," Rachel replied.

Puck hopped off the stool and grabbed two cases from the counter, following Rachel into the backyard. As Rachel looked around, she inadvertently locked eyes with Quinn, but looked away quickly. When she looked back, Quinn was turned away, saying something to Puck, who had walked over to her.

"Hello, Rachel."

The brunette looked over to find Burt standing a few feet away. "Hello, Mr. Hummel.

Burt laughed. "How many times do I have to tell you to call me Burt?"

"Sorry," Rachel said, smiling.

"Don't get me wrong, manners are great and everything, but this is me we're talking about," Burt said. "You and Kurt have been friends for far too long to be referring to me by my last name." He gave her a smile. "How's everything been going? I mean, Kurt tells me all kinds of stuff, but sometimes I wonder what he's leaving out."

"Things are going better than I expected they would," Rachel replied. "It's not all smooth sailing, but I think Beth has adjusted quite well, which I think I have Kurt to thank for. He's wonderful with Beth."

"I gotta say, I'm a little surprised," Burt said with a laugh. "Kurt didn't even like other kids when he was a kid, but I can tell he adores that little girl."

"The feeling is definitely mutual," Rachel said, looking over at Kurt, who was playing with Beth and Puck's sister.

"So, everything really is alright with you guys?" Burt asked. "You don't, like, need money or anything?"

Rachel shook her head. "Everything is perfectly fine, but thank you for asking."

"Alright," Burt said. "But if you guys ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

Rachel smiled and nodded; it was nice knowing there were so many people that cared and would be there if she needed them. Burt and Carole had always been welcoming, though, so it was really no surprise that he was here offering his help if she needed it. He gave her a one armed hug and walked away, leaving her alone again.

She looked around the yard and found Quinn looking at her, but she looked away the moment Rachel looked her way. Rachel's brows furrowed; the more things like this happened, the more she didn't think she was imagining or misinterpreting what happened the other night.

"What's up?" Puck asked, sitting down next to Rachel.

"Nothing," Rachel said, looking at his plate, which was loaded with food. "Are you really going to eat all that, Noah?"

"What? This?" Puck asked. "This is nothing."

Rachel shook her head. "Are you still having a good time?"

"Yeah, this is awesome," Puck said, sitting back in his chair.

"Do you have to work tomorrow?' Rachel asked.

"Nah," Puck replied. "Burt's closing the shop for the weekend. I was actually gonna ask you if I could stop by tomorrow and maybe take Beth out to the park or something. You can come of course. And I was sort of hoping it would be okay with you if my mom came. I just wanna let her meet Beth since she never got to see her. Beth won't know who she is, but I just wanted her to see her even if she won't know."

"I think that can be arranged," Rachel replied. "Maybe we can even all get lunch."

"Sounds cool," Puck said with a nod.

"Hey, guys," Finn said, coming over, and sitting down on the other side of Puck.

"Hey, man," Puck greeted.

Beth ran over from nearby and held out a bottle of orange juice. "Can you open?"

"Yes," Rachel said, taking the bottle, but she was unsuccessful in twisting the lid off. "Maybe not. Noah?"

Puck laughed and grabbed the bottle, easily twisting off the lid. "Weakling."

Rachel narrowed her eyes at him, but said. "Thank you."

"Thanks," Beth said when she was handed the bottle back.

"I can't believe how big she is," Finn remarked. "I remember when she was born and was, like, this big." He held his hands out, moving them until they were roughly the length of a baby. "It's a little crazy."

"Yes, she is growing up quickly," Rachel replied.

"What's it like—you know, raising her?" Finn asked.

"Dude," Puck said, looking at his friend.

"What?" Finn asked.

"It's okay," Rachel said. "It was a little weird at first; I didn't know what I was doing most of the time—I still don't, really—but I think we have a good routine down now. I go to work in the morning while Kurt watches her, and Kurt goes to work in the evening while I'm with her. It hasn't always been easy, but I wouldn't change anything."

"That's cool," Finn said, nodding.

"I was gonna ask you if maybe I could come back up soon," Puck said as he chewed a hamburger. "I don't know when I'm going to have off or anything, but I was thinking maybe some time at the end of the month or the beginning of August."

"I believe that would be fine," Rachel replied. "Just let me know a specific date once you have it figured out and I will see if I can get off work for a few days. And thank you for asking this time."

Puck smirked. "No problem."

"What is everyone doing over here?" Kurt asked, coming up, and sitting beside Rachel. "Vegetable?"

Rachel grabbed a few carrot sticks from his plate as she said, "We were just talking about Noah coming up soon for a visit."

"You mean he actually asked this time," Kurt joked.

"Keep it up and next time I'll just show up again," Puck said.

"You just showed up last time?" Finn asked.

"Dude, I was afraid they'd say no," Puck stated.

"Rachel wouldn't do that," Finn replied.

Rachel cleared her throat. "I'm going to go get something to drink. Does anyone want anything?"

"Anything hotdog," Puck said. "Maybe two."

Rachel shook her head as she stood; how anyone could eat that much food, she would never know.

It was dark outside and the fireworks would begin any minute. This may be the first time the Berrys had a cookout, but it wasn't the first time they watched the fireworks from their backyard. They lived close to where the city set them off, so they had the perfect view. Usually Kurt would come over, and Finn when he and Rachel were dating, but this was the first time they had so many people there to join in the festivities.

Rachel looked around the refreshment table to see if she needed to bring anything out. The food was long gone—Kurt was right about Finn and Puck being bottomless puts—but there were plenty of drinks left. She did wonder who was drinking so much Dr Pepper; every time she turned around, she needed to bring more out from the kitchen. Sighing, she walked toward the house because, once again, the Dr Pepper was gone.

She passed Quinn and Judy on the way, avoiding eye contact with both of them. She had yet to talk to either of them. Frankly, she was a little afraid of Judy, and after what happened earlier that week, she just didn't know how to talk to Quinn at the moment.

Just as she stepped into the kitchen, she heard the first crack of a firework going off. The beginning was always a little lackluster, so she knew she still had five minutes before she needed to be outside. Still, she hurried to grab a case of soda and when she turned, she lumped at the sudden appearance of Quinn in the kitchen with her.

"Hey," Quinn said.

"Hello," Rachel replied. "Are you having fun?"

"I would probably have more fun if you weren't avoiding me," the blonde said, giving her a pointed look.

"I'm n—"

"Don't tell me you're not avoiding me," Quinn interrupted. "I know you are, so don't lie."

"I'm—" Rachel sighed. "Fine, I'm avoiding you."

"Because of what happened on Sunday," Quinn said, but it was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes," Rachel replied.

"I'm sorry," Quinn apologized. "I shouldn't have tried to kiss you like that."

"No, you shouldn't have," Rachel agreed.

Quinn looked away. "I don't know why I did it; I know you're not attracted to women, but I guess I just had to try. I didn't mean to upset you."

"My reaction wasn't because you're a woman," Rachel replied.

"Your reaction was because of what woman it was," Quinn stated.

Rachel sighed. "How did you expect me to react? Considering our history, how could I ever predict something like that would ever happen? I mean, are you even gay or is this just another one of your games?"

Quinn flinched at the question. "I am."

"You are what?" Rachel asked.

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Gay."

"Since when?" Rachel asked.

"Since always," Quinn answered.

Rachel shook her head. "But you only ever had boyfriends. You even got pregnant!"

"I'm aware," Quinn wryly said. "Believe me, it took a long time for me to finally admit it to myself, so take your confusion and triple it. It's not like I grew up in an accepting, loving family. You know what they did to me when they found out I was pregnant. That was something I couldn't hide, but being gay—I could hide that. I actually thought if I could try really hard, it would go away. I wasn't until I moved to New York that I began accepting myself."

"Do people know?" Rachel wondered.

"A few," Quinn replied with a shrug. "People at school know, but the only people from Lima who know are Brittany, Santana, and my mother." She shook her head. "I actually thought telling my mom would change things between us; maybe she would finally get to know the real me, but like everything else she pretended as if I never said a thing."

Rachel was having trouble wrapping her head around this. She really thought she must have misinterpreted the other night, but here Quinn was, telling her that she was gay. Quinn Fabray was telling her that she was gay. That was something she never thought she would have heard in her life and she was having a difficult time comprehending what the blonde was telling her.

"Is everything okay in here?"

Rachel looked up to find Kurt standing just inside the kitchen. "Yes."

"You're missing all the fireworks out there," Kurt said.

With one last look at her, Quinn turned and headed out of the kitchen, leaving Rachel and Kurt alone. Rachel furrowed her brows as she sat on one of the stools, and Kurt walked over to her, resting his elbows on the island.

"Are you okay?" Kurt asked. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Rachel lied. "Everything is fine. Quinn and I were simply discussing something."

Kurt nodded, but he didn't look very convinced. "Are you going to watch the fireworks now that your discussion is over?"

"Yes," Rachel said, standing up. "I wouldn't want to completely miss them."

"Come on," Kurt said, holding out his arm for her to take.

Rachel looped her arm through his and leaned her head against his shoulder. This wasn't how she expected her day to end; she didn't really know how she felt about it, so she was just going to go out there with Kurt, watch the fireworks, and try to put it out of her mind for the rest of the night.