Chapter 34 – I See You As the Future

"Quinn!" Rachel said when the guy at the front of the line stepped aside. "What are you doing here?"

Quinn shrugged and said, "I wanted coffee."

"But there are dozens of coffee shops between your apartment and here," Rachel pointed out.

"I may have wanted to see you, too," Quinn replied.

Rachel couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. "Do you want your usual?"

"Yeah," Quinn answered.

As soon as she was done putting in Quinn's order, she turned to April and said, "I'm taking my break."

Rachel walked around the counter and wrapped her arms around the back of Quinn's neck, leaning up to give her a kiss. They'd sent text messages back and forth, but she hadn't seen her in two days. Quinn was coming for dinner that evening, though, which is why Rachel was extra surprised to see her. It wasn't a short subway ride, and she would be coming by in less than eight hours.

"You're still coming tonight, right?" Rachel asked, suddenly pulling away, wondering if that's what Quinn was there for.

"Yes, I'm still coming tonight," Quinn said with a light laugh.

"Good, because I have a surprise for you," Rachel replied, trying to suppress her grin.

"Oh?" Quinn said, her eyebrow rising. "What kind of surprise?"

"You'll just have to wait until this evening to find that out," Rachel replied.

"Quinn," April said, sliding her drink across the counter to her.

"Thanks," Quinn replied.

Rachel led them over to a table near the back of the room and took the seat that was facing the window. She only had a few hours left of work and it had been a very long, so she couldn't be happier that the blonde was there. Any time Quinn surprised her like that, it instantly seemed to improve her day. She really wished she would do it more often, but she understood that it was a long time to spend on the subway just to see her for ten or so minutes.

"How is everything going with your project?" Rachel asked.

"Better," Quinn answered. "I should be done with my part in the next few days. I just have to wait for everyone else to finish up theirs, so we can prepare our presentation. I'm hoping everything will be done before Thanksgiving; I know no one will work on it over the break even though our professor extended it."

"At least you're nearly done," Rachel commented.

"Yeah," Quinn replied.

She hoped that meant she would see more of Quinn. Things hadn't been quite as hectic for Quinn as they once were, but she still didn't see nearly enough of her girlfriend. Of course, Rachel had a few things coming up that she was going to have to buckle down and work on. They wouldn't be nearly as intensive as Quinn's project, but she did need to find the perfect song to perform and she needed to work on perfecting a particularly difficult piece of choreography.

"How are Kurt and Beth?" Quinn asked.

"Beth is doing very well," Rachel answered. "Yesterday, her teacher spoke with me and told me she's one of the brightest kids in the class. She had a spelling test and correctly spelled every single word. She's also been getting perfect scores on all of her homework."

Quinn smiled. "That's good."

"Kurt has a date," Rachel announced.

Quinn's eyebrow rose. "I bet he's excited."

Rachel laughed lightly and said, "You have no idea. He was afraid to call—he didn't know if he would be interested—but I eventually convinced him that he had nothing to lose."

"If the guy gave him his number, shouldn't he know he was interested?" Quinn asked.

"Actually, I was the one with the guy's number," Rachel replied. "I went on a date with him over the summer. Kurt and I ordered Chinese food on Thursday and he was the delivery guy. Kurt thought he was flirting, but then when he realized who it was, he began second guessing himself. I really hope they hit it off; Ben seemed like a very nice guy, and it would be nice to see Kurt with someone."

"How many dates did you go on with him?" Quinn asked.

"Just one," Rachel answered. "He was the guy who took me to the bookstore."

Quinn nodded but didn't say anything, and Rachel could tell she didn't like talking about this. Rachel didn't really understand why, though. It's not as if she'd been on multiple dates with him; it was only one date, and it's not as if she'd had a spectacular time or anything.

"Quinn," Rachel said, reaching across the table, and putting her hand over the blonde's. "

"What?" Quinn asked.

"Will you please stop looking like that every time we discuss a past relationship," Rachel said with a soft smile. "And this wasn't even a relationship; it was one date. I'm yours now, and you make me happier than any of them ever could. So, please, stop getting that little scowl on your face."

Quinn looked like she wanted to argue, but after a moment she shook her head and said, "Sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry for," Rachel replied. "I just want you to know that you have nothing to worry about."

Quinn looked down at her phone and sighed. "I should go or I'm going to be late for class."

Rachel nodded and leaned across the table, giving Quinn a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Quinn replied as she stood, leaning down to give Rachel a kiss on her cheek.

"I'll see you at seven," Rachel said over her shoulder as Quinn began walking toward the door.

Quinn turned and gave her a wave goodbye before exiting the building. Rachel sighed and looked at the time; she still had five minutes left of her break, so she remained at the table. After a few minutes, April walked over and raised her eyebrow at her as she cleaned a nearby table.

"What?" Rachel asked.

"Considering what you told me about her in high school, she's awfully whipped," April remarked.

Rachel scoffed. "Quinn is not whipped."

"Then why did she come all this way just to sit with you for ten minutes?" April asked, walking away with a smirk on her face.

"What color do you think the dog should be?" Rachel asked Beth.

"Brown," the little girl answered. "With white spots. And black ears."

Rachel laughed lightly and grabbed the brown, black, and white crayons while Beth went back to her coloring page, which was full of fish. She carefully colored the dog, trying to stay within the lines—Kurt had mocked her the last time when Beth's coloring had been better than hers—and then drew the dog some black spots. When she was done, she put the crayons back into the box and observed her handiwork. The only thing she had left was the kid in the picture, and she picked out the crayons that would make it look most like Beth.

"At least you stayed within the lines this time," Kurt commented as he walked by, looking down at her pictures.

Rachel frowned and said, "I still contend the last one was not that bad."

"Uh huh," Kurt replied.

"It wasn't!" Rachel called after him.

Beth giggled lightly and said, "You did go out a lot."

Rachel huffed and turned her eyes back to her coloring page. She began drawing lime green patches on the girl's shirt to match Beth's and then colored the rest of it a light purple. It didn't match perfectly, but she figured it was good enough. She was just trying to pass the time, after all.

She looked at the clock and knew Beth was going to have to get ready soon if she and Kurt were going to be able to eat before they went and watched Cinderella. She figured Kurt was well aware of the time, though, so she didn't say anything. Instead, she went back to coloring the rest of the picture while Beth colored away on hers.

"Can we get fish?" Beth asked.

Rachel looked up at Beth, who was looking over at her. "I don't know."

"Why?" Beth asked.

"Well, they're a lot of work to take care of," Rachel replied. "You have to feed them every day and you have to clean their aquarium once a week or they begin to smell."

"I can do it," Beth said.

"What can she do?" Kurt asked.

"She wants a fish," Rachel answered.

Kurt scrunched his nose up and asked, "Why? They're boring."

"What about a puppy?" Beth asked.

Kurt locked eyes with Rachel, who said, "I think a fish would be a better pet to start with."

"So can we get one?" Beth asked.

As much as Rachel loved animals, she'd never had much luck with them. She had a hamster when she was little, but one day it bit her and escaped when she dropped it. She and her fathers looked everywhere for it, but they never found it. A few years later she had several fish, but they all died within a few weeks, and when she was nine, she had a kitten that managed to escape the house when they opened the door and when she ran out to get it, she watched it get hit by a car. Naturally, she was very traumatized by the whole thing and hadn't had a pet since.

Rachel sighed and finally said, "If you save up the money for it, we'll talk about it. And I mean for everything; the aquarium, the fish, the food, and the decorations. Okay?"

"Okay," Beth said, nodding vigorously.

"And you would have to agree to be the one to take care of it," Rachel added. "You would need to remember to feed it every day, and you would have to clean it."

"Okay," Beth agreed.

Rachel sighed; she knew she would end up taking care of it, or at least help with cleaning the tank. She just hoped it didn't end up like any of her animals. She figured it would be extra traumatizing to Beth if it were to die. On the other hand, Rachel thought it may be good to let her learn a little responsibility.

"I'm not going anywhere near it," Kurt stated.

"It can stay in my room!" Beth replied.

Rachel laughed and wondered how long it would be before they had to go and buy a fish. Beth probably already had the money saved considering they had just been in Lima, and Rachel's fathers always gave the little girl plenty of money. And if she didn't already have it, Rachel figured they would give it to her when they went for Thanksgiving. All Beth had to do was mention wanting a fish and Rachel knew they would probably go out and buy everything for her.

"Are you almost done coloring?" Kurt asked. "We need to leave soon."

"No," Beth replied.

"How about we put this up and save it for later, then?" Rachel suggested.

"Okay," Beth replied.

"You go get ready," Rachel said. "I'll put the crayons up."

Beth stood up and ran into her room and Rachel laughed lightly at her exuberance. She knew Beth was excited about going to the Broadway show; it had been all she'd talked about for the past four days. Rachel was just thankful Kurt was taking Beth; she had asked him if he would take her for the evening to give her and Quinn some alone time. He'd agreed, of course, and she bought the tickets for them to give them something to do.

"Do you need any help?" Rachel called out to Beth.

"No!" Beth yelled back.

"Thank you again for doing this," Rachel said.

"If only you bought me Broadway tickets every time," Kurt commented.

Rachel laughed lightly and said, "I hope you don't get used to it. Tickets to a popular Broadway show are not very cheap."

"All the more reason for you to buy them," Kurt replied.

Rachel had just stepped back to take a look at her work when the knock sounded on the door. She looked at the clock and saw that Quinn was right on time; it was a minute to seven. She hurriedly moved one of the candles a fraction of an inch more toward the center of the table and then smoothed out a small wrinkle from the tablecloth before turning. As she walked toward the door, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked down, making sure she hadn't gotten anything on her dress while transporting everything to the table. When she was satisfied with her appearance, she opened the door with a smile.

"Hello," Rachel greeted.

"Hey," Quinn said, smiling as she kissed Rachel's cheek.

Quinn stepped inside the apartment and Rachel took her coat for her, hanging it next to her own beside the door. It had become considerably colder over the last few days and she wouldn't be surprised if it snowed soon. She wasn't a huge fan of the cold weather, but she did love it when it snowed, and she couldn't wait to walk hand in hand with Quinn in it. It was always something of a fantasy of hers; she had done it with Finn a few times, but the thought of walking through the snow with Quinn sounded absolutely perfect to her.

"Did you order in?" Quinn asked, seeing the food on the table as she walked further into the apartment.

Rachel shook her head with a smile. "No."

"Did Kurt cook?" Quinn asked.

"No," Rachel said as her smile grew.

Quinn's eyebrow rose as she looked at Rachel and asked, "You cooked?"

Rachel nodded, her smile wider than ever. "I cooked. I wanted to surprise you; remember I told you I was thinking of taking a cooking class? Well, I started last month, right after we got back from Lima."

She had been dying to tell Quinn, but she had managed to keep it to herself. She was finally confident enough in her abilities to cook for Quinn, which she thought would be a nice surprise. Her girlfriend had cooked for her on more than one occasion, and she thought it was only right that she do the same. It was nothing too fancy—she was certainly no expert—but she had fixed everything from scratch, including the pasta.

"It's vegan lasagna," Rachel said as Quinn walked toward the table. "I hope you like it."

"I think you're the first person I've dated that's ever cooked for me," Quinn commented.

Rachel smiled again and joked, "I'm sure I would have done it sooner if I wasn't afraid I would burn the apartment down or make you sick."

"Where are Beth and Kurt?" Quinn asked as Rachel gestured for her to take a seat.

"They are watching Cinderella this evening," Rachel answered. "They shouldn't be back until probably around midnight."

Quinn hummed as Rachel sat down across from her. "So we have the evening to ourselves."

"We do," Rachel replied as Quinn picked up her fork and began eating the salad Rachel had set out for her. "So, how were your classes today?"

"The usual," Quinn answered. "I got that exam back."

"How did you do?" Rachel asked. "Amazing, I assume."

Quinn laughed and said, "Ninety-three. It could have been better."

"Ninety-three is nothing to scoff at," Rachel replied.

She'd helped Quinn study for the literature exam and she had barely understood any of it, so the fact that Quinn did so well was quite impressive to her. It was just all so different than the things Rachel had to learn at school; she really couldn't imagine having the workload Quinn had and still doing so well in her classes. But Quinn was smart—one of the smartest people Rachel had ever met—and she had no doubt she would continue to excel.

"How was your day?" Quinn asked.

"It was fine," Rachel said with a shrug. "After work I did the food shopping tonight and then I came home and played with Beth between preparing dinner. Beth was coloring a picture of some fish and now she wants one."

"Are you going to get her one?" Quinn asked.

"I told her if she saves up her money, we'll talk about it," Rachel replied. "So, yes, I'm sure we will." Rachel sighed. "I just hope she has better luck with them than I did with any of the animals I had as a child."

"I don't think I've ever had a pet," Quinn commented.

"Never?" Rachel asked.

Quinn shook her head. "My parents didn't like the idea of having an animal in the house."

"That's terrible," Rachel said, frowning.

Quinn shrugged. "I got used to it."

"What would you have had if your parents would have let you have something?" Rachel wondered.

"I always wanted a dog," Quinn replied.

Rachel smiled. "When we were discussing the fish, Beth suggested a puppy instead." Rachel laughed lightly. "I think she knew we would agree to the fish if she tried asking for something bigger."

"She's smart," Quinn replied.

"Yes, she is," Rachel agreed.

Rachel paused for a moment and looked across the table at Quinn. She wondered if she should be bringing this up now, but she had been thinking about it a lot lately and really wanted Quinn's opinion on the matter. She just hoped it wasn't going to make their evening awkward or upset Quinn in any way.

"I, umm, I've been thinking about the possibility of telling Beth about you," Rachel said, looking down at her salad. "You know, that you're her biological mother." Quinn looked at her but didn't say anything. "I'm just trying to figure out if it's too soon since Shelby's death or if she's too young. I-I don't want to upset her or anything, but I also don't want to wait too long and make her feel like I've been lying to her. What do you think?"

"I think it's up to you," Quinn replied.

"I was afraid you'd say that," Rachel said with a slight frown. "Would you be okay with her knowing?"

"I don't know," Quinn answered after a moment's hesitation.

"Okay, well, we have plenty of time to both think about it," Rachel replied. "This is certainly not something I'm going to rush."

"Beth has dance class tomorrow, doesn't she?" Quinn asked.

"She does," Rachel said.

"Would it be okay if I stop by?" Quinn asked.

"Of course," Rachel replied. "You know you don't have to ask."

Quinn gave her a small smile and said, "It's only polite to ask."

"Do you ever think about what you're going to do after you graduate college?" Rachel asked as she played with Quinn's fingers.

"Sometimes," Quinn answered.

"Do you plan on staying in New York?" Rachel wondered, looking up at Quinn.

"I used to think I would probably move somewhere else, but now I have more reasons to stay here than to leave," Quinn replied.

Rachel smiled and joked, "I do hope I'm one of those reasons."

"Yes, right behind that small pizza place around the corner from my apartment," Quinn said, nudging her.

Rachel laughed. "I thought so."

She was thrilled to hear that Quinn was planning on sticking around after she graduated. It was something she'd wondered about as she began thinking about their future a little more. She hadn't really talked to Quinn about what she was going to do, so she was happy to know they were on the same page.

"Do you ever think of living anywhere other than New York?" Quinn asked after a few moments of silence.

"It's crossed my mind," Rachel replied. "I would love to perform on the West End, so I wouldn't be opposed to living in London. At least for a little while. And I think I would eventually like to have a place outside the city. I always thought I would like to live in Manhattan, but now that I have Beth, I think it would be nice to have an actual house with a backyard, where we can decorate the outside for the holidays and have cookouts in the summer for our friends." Rachel smiled. "I think it would nice to be able to host Thanksgiving dinner and invite my fathers up."

"I've always wanted a Victorian house," Quinn remarked.

"Me too," Rachel replied. "They're just so beautiful. Of course, I also quite like the Tudor style houses."

"They're nice, too," Quinn agreed.

Rachel wondered if Quinn saw them together in the future like she did, but she was hesitant to ask. Quinn may have said that she loved her, but that didn't mean she was ready to talk about them spending the rest of their lives together. Rachel, however, saw Quinn very clearly when she thought of her future. She saw the blonde going to London with her when she made her West End debut and could easily imagine her helping with Thanksgiving dinner after they purchased their first home outside the city. She couldn't imagine it being anyone else, really.

"Are you okay?" Quinn asked.

"I'm fine," Rachel quickly replied.

"Are you sure?" Quinn asked, looking at her in concern. "You got really quiet and had a strange look on your face."

Rachel nodded and said, "I'm sure; I was just thinking."

"What we were thinking about?" Quinn asked.

"Just—our future," Rachel admitted.

"Good or bad?" Quinn asked.

"Very good," Rachel said with a soft smile.

Quinn nodded and then asked, "Do you think about our future a lot?"

"From time to time," Rachel answered. "Do you?"

"Occasionally," Quinn replied with a smile.

"And what exactly do you think about on these occasions?" Rachel asked, sitting up a little.

"What kind of wedding we would have," Quinn said, shrugging as if it wasn't a big deal.

"Well that answers that," Rachel remarked, unable to contain her smile.

"That answers what?" Quinn asked.

"If you see us together in the future," Rachel replied.

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't," Quinn stated. "I don't just tell everyone I love them, you know. I think you may be the first, actually."

Rachel smiled at the faint blush on Quinn's cheeks. "Really?"

"I don't fall in love easily," Quinn replied. "I've dated plenty of people, but I usually know pretty quickly if it's going to go anywhere." Quinn shrugged again. "Being with you is different than any of the other people. It didn't take me long to figure out that this is exactly what I've been looking for."

Rachel really didn't know what to say; Quinn didn't usually talk so openly about her feelings. Or at least not quite this much. She was certainly more open than she once was, but it wasn't every day that she said things like she was saying. Quinn could be rather closed off sometimes, and it was hard for Rachel to know what she was thinking or feeling. Yet at other times, Rachel could tell exactly what was going through Quinn's mind. She learned a while ago not to take it personally when Quinn closed herself off; she knew her girlfriend would eventually open up to her.

"I haven't completely weirded you out, have I?" Quinn asked.

Rachel vigorously shook her head. "Not at all. I like it when you open up and let me know what's going through your head. With Finn—I was always the one talking about our future, so to hear you speak about it makes me feel like I'm not the only one thinking about it. It makes me a little less scared that this is going to be over one day."

"Why would you think that would happen?" Quinn asked.

Rachel shrugged and then said, "I haven't had the best luck with my relationships, and I can't help worrying that you'll grow tired of me. I know I can be a bit much sometimes—a little over-dramatic and intense. I know I'm not always the easiest person to be around."

"What makes you say that?" Quinn asked.

"I simply know my personality faults," Rachel replied. "They've been pointed out to me many times, after all, and by numerous people."

"I guess it's good that I love that you're over-dramatic and intense, then," Quinn softly said. "You wouldn't be Rachel Berry if you weren't. And maybe that's why you haven't had any luck with your relationships; you just found people who tolerated those things instead of loving you for them."

Rachel leaned up and kissed Quinn before pulling away with a grin and saying, "Feel free to continue telling me all the things you love about me."

Quinn laughed. "I would, but I think I hear Kurt's voice."

Rachel put her head on Quinn's shoulder with a sigh. "I'm going to have to have a discussion with him about his timing."