A/N: Thank you to everyone who has read this fic so far and to all of you that have interacted with it in some way it means so much to me!

For anyone wondering, this is the engagment ring I have in mind for Quinn

/engagement/engagement-rings/tiffany-three-stone-engagement-ring-with-sapphire-side-stones-in-platinum-GRP10899/

Quinn had introduced herself to most of the people there. It hadn't taken her long to discover just how incredibly boringthey all were, and still, she hadn't had the chance to talk to the two people that she wanted to talk to the most: Blair and Frannie. Every time she approached them and to speak to either of them, they had been swept away from her, either by Judy and Russell who had paraded Frannie around like some kind of trophy or by Sloane and Hunter who had both seemed eager to pair Blair off with whichever bachelor they could.

In Quinn's opinion, Blair could literally have any of the bachelors in the room, in fact, in Quinn's opinion Blair could have absolutely anyone she wanted in the world.

Bair was undoubtedly attractive, with her long, thick brown hair that cascaded down her back in loose curls, her icy blue eyes, and perfect smile. She might've been the most attractive of Biff's siblings- she often had a hard time understanding how Blair was still single. Then again, with the types of men her family often wanted her to be with, she understood why Blair wouldn't actually want to be with any of them.

As she was taken around the room, to meet all of the single men, she would steal glances at Quinn, widening her eyes, sighing heavily, or pulling faces that showed just how unimpressed she was with her parent's behaviour. Every time they locked eyes, Quinn had to hold back her laughter, as she tried to follow the conversations that Biff has dragged her into, with people she honestly couldn't have cared less about.

Close personal friends of the McIntosh family, all of Biff's old high school friends from his boarding school days, and all of them were the most sinfully boring people Quinn had ever met in her life. Biff could say what he wanted about her high school friends, but at least they had all been more fun than this.

At least they (for the most part) hadn't been filled with the pretension of half of the people in this room. Even her friends from more well-to-do backgrounds, like Blaine, or her friends like Mercedes and Santana, whose fathers had made a respectable amount of money in their fields, she had never felt out of place when talking to them. Had never felt like they judged anyone who earned less than a six-figure salary.

Lucky for her, Biff and his family fell into that category quite comfortably. Biff and his family had always been money people. The McIntoshes were old money, and as time went by, and new generations were born and high careers were achieved, the more money they made. She knew that she never had to worry about Biff's friends looking down on her, not while ever she was going to be a part of the McIntosh family. The only downside to that was that now, she often seemed to find herself talking to the other wives and girlfriends of his friends or family.

She hated that she now sat in the far corner of the living room, with three women that she had never really liked that much, listening to them all as they talked about their upcoming nuptials, or how close they were to their due dates.

There was Simone, who was a matter of weeks away from her wedding with Biff's best friend Warner- the same Warner whoes party they had met at all those years ago and the same Warner who had introduced them to each other- Biff was set to be Warner's best man, they had been friends since elementary school. Sat next to her was Christie, who had married her husband Jeffery as soon as they graduated from Columbia, Christie was a month away from her due date with twins and had the biggest baby bump Quinn had ever seen, and then there was Tipper, a quiet, mousy girl who would be getting married four months' time- another wedding that she and Biff would have to be in attendance for what with Biff being an usher for his friend Kyle.

"So, tell me, Quinn," a nasal voice said, pulling Quinn from her thoughts. "Just how did Biff propose?" Simone asked. Quinn watched as the three women sitting with her all seemed to lean forwards on their seats, putting themselves closer to her as they waited for her response.

"We went away for the weekend," she explained, hoping she'd be able to keep her story short and sweet, "to Vermont, we stayed in this beautiful, hotel that, I don't even wanna know how much it cost," she said, hoping that bringing in a small comment about expense would appease them all. "Anyway, on our first night there, after dinner, we got back to the room, and it looked beautiful, candles and rose petals everywhere… I asked what it was all about, and he got on one knee and proposed," she shrugged.

"He went through all that effort to set that up for you?" Tipper asked, a small smile tugging at her lips, her brown eyes shining slightly as if it were the most romantic thing she had ever heard.

And while Quinn knew it had taken some effort from Biff, she knew that it had mainly been Biff's money that had arranged it for her. He had paid the staff to set up their room for them while they had been out for dinner, but still, it had been a nice gesture and she could admit that. She nodded her head slowly, giving them all a soft smile. "Yeah, he did," she replied. "It was all very romantic… and very hard to say no to," she said, having a slightly teasing tone to her voice as she said the last part.

Simone laughed quietly and nodded her head. "I suppose that ring was also very hard to say no to?" she asked, nodding at the ostentatious ring on Quinn's finger. She looked down at the ring before looking back up at the three women waiting on an answer. "It's from Tiffany's, right?" She asked.

Quinn nodded her head slowly. "Yeah," she replied, though she had no idea why it mattered where he had bought it from. She had only known herself because he had kept it in the bag when he had presented the ring to her. She figured that was his way of showing her just how much money he had spent on it.

"I thought so," she said. "It was the ring I originally wanted when Warner and I first discussed getting engaged," she explained. "But I am happy with the ring I got, I suppose," she said, holding out her own left hand to show Quinn the ring on her finger. It was a beautiful ring, with a large round cut diamond at the forefront of the ring, and a diamond, platinum band. And while it was a nice ring, Quinn wasn't really sure where the conversation could go from there and so, she gave a simple response one she hoped would suffice.

"Well, that's beautiful," she replied, giving her a soft smile.

Simone smiled and nodded her head. "I suppose," she shrugged. "But it has nothing on yours, that must have set him back quite a bit," she commented.

"Uh, yeah, I guess," Quinn nodded. "But is the money really important?" She asked. "Isn't an engagement more about how you feel about each other rather than, who spent the most on a ring?" She asked.

While she appreciated her ring, and the amount that Biff had spent on her, she was firm in her belief that, if you truly loved someone, you would say yes to any ring they presented you, be it an expensive declaration of their commitment to you, much like the ring on her finger, or a ring made of paper.

"I suppose," Christie nodded her head slowly. "I mean, a nice ring isn't the most important thing, but it does help," she said, laughing slightly, the other two women following suit as Quinn just nodded her head and took a large sip of her wine.

She wasn't sure how much more of this she could take.

"Just how did you meet such a stunning young woman, Biff?" An older man, and an old friend of the family asked. Biff had beckoned her over when his father's friends had started to ask about the fiancée, they had all heard so much about.

"We met at a party in college," he began, "I knew from the second I saw her that I wanted her, we got to talking that night… it wasn't until my friend Warner actually introduced us that anything happened… we started hanging out as friends, went to a couple of parties together and it got to a point where I thought enough is enough and I asked her out on a date."

Quinn nodded her head slowly. "We met around February time," she said, knowing all too well the exact date they met because it was exactly one week after she'd had her night with Santana. "I was pledged to Kappa Kappa Gamma and Biff was pledged to Sigma Chi," she explained. "One of his friends, Warner, who I knew from one of my classes had thrown a mixture for my sorority and their fraternity."

Biff smiled and nodded his head. "It was love at first sight," he said.

And Quinn hated that. Hated that he described them meeting in that way. She had never believed in love at first sight, and certainly hadn't felt it when she had first met Biff. She had been attracted to him, without a doubt, but she had been attracted to a lot of the guys she had seen that night too. There was nothing about the way she had felt when she first met Biff that stood out to her as anything out of the ordinary.

But she knew she couldn't say that, and so, every time Biff would tell someone it was love at first sight- and he often did- she would smile and nod along politely, silently agreeing with him.

"Now, I don't remember much about that night," he admitted. "I just remember, being stood with some of my friends, and looking to my left, and seeing the most gorgeous, sophisticated woman that I had ever seen in my life… she was wearing this stunning, light blue dress… and I remember turning to my friend Warner and asking who she was… it was his party, I figured he'd know."

"He was very charming when he was introduced to me," she continued. She knew this dance well know, how they each told a small section of the story, people seemed to eat it up. Always telling them how in sync and perfect they were for each other as they fell into step of telling the tale of the night they met. I was always planned, so well thought out and fabricated, but people loved it. "I was instantly attracted to him… we spent the whole night talking and getting to know each other… and at the end of the night he walked me to my dorm."

"I asked for her number, before saying goodnight," he smiled, looking down at Quinn. "I was too nervous to call her, I honestly didn't think anyone like her would ever be interested in me, but I couldn't stop thinking about her… so I tried to keep it casual and invited her to another party I was going to… we did this a few more times before I finally got the courage to ask her out on a date."

Quinn nodded her head. "I was starting to think that he wasn't interested in me like that, I had never even considered the fact that maybe he was nervous, he always seemed to cool and collected around me… I just assumed he only wanted to be friends… we'd been hanging out a lot in the time it took him to ask me."

"We had our first date about three weeks after we met… and ever since our first date, we've been inseparable," Biff finished. As always, the end of the story was accompanied by wide smiles as the men would clap Biff on the back and congratulate him on getting a girl like Quinn.

It was in moments like this, that Quinn knew she would fit into the mold just fine, as long as she played her part in one of Manhattan's most powerful families well.

She would be seen as the perfect housewife, just as everyone wanted her to be.

She looked out of the large window of the kitchen, where she had been pouring herself another drink, and looked out across the backyard of the house. A small smile crept onto her face as she saw Blair sitting on the porch swing, rocking herself backward and forwards. Before she had even had time to think about what she was doing, she felt her legs carrying her in the direction of the slightly younger woman.

She crossed the kitchen and pushed open the heavy door to the backyard, the cool night hair hitting her square in the face and waking her up slightly. Her eyes never left the back of Blair's head as she tried her hardest to focus on her. The world around her seemingly spinning. Quinn walked over to her, slightly unsteady on her feet, both due to the grass under her heels and the amount of alcohol coursing through her body. "How're you doing?" Quinn said, and despite the softness, and quietness to her voice, Blair had been startled by her words, jumping slightly, and turning to look over her should.

"Jesus, Quinn," She said, her hand coming up to rest against her chest, over her heart. "You scared the life out of me," she moved her hand away, and it was only then that Quinn noticed the lit cigarette between her fingers. "Come on, you might as well keep me company now you're out here," she said.

Quinn smiled before sitting down next to her. It had been almost too long since she had seen Blair, or at least, that's what it had felt like to her. The last time she had seen her, was when she and Biff had been back in Manhattan over Christmas break, eight months earlier.

During that particular visit, Quinn had hardly spoken to any other member of Biff's family, she had been far too focused on Blair and what she had been up to. She hadn't heard the end of it from Biff when they got back to New Haven, while he had been happy that she was making an effort with his one and only sister, he couldn't help but think her behaviour had been rude and uncouth. And he hadn't had an issue with telling her that.

Quinn hadn't realised just how much she had missed Blair until now. She certainly hadn't missed anyone else in his family. She watched as the dark-haired woman took a drag of her cigarette, she always found a way to look so dignified, no matter what she was doing, and Quinn couldn't help but admire her and be in awe of her for that.

She watched as the grey smoke seemed to dance through the air in thin strands, intertwining together in the light breeze. They sat with each other in easy silence. Ever since she'd met Blair things had been easy with her, there was no need for pretenses, no need for them to act like the people they were expected to be.

With each other, they were free to be Blair and Quinn, and as it turned out, Blair and Quinn were a lot more alike than anyone would think. Without a word, Blair turned to her and handed her a cigarette.

She looked at it, before looking back at Blair, green eyes locking with blue.

"I really shouldn't," Quinn shook her head.

"Why not?" Blair asked, her raspy voice curious.

"Biff doesn't like it."

"Biff smokes," Blair pointed out with a small shrug, her mouth turning down slightly. Her expression and matter-of-fact tone reminded her so much of Santana.

Quinn sighed and took the cigarette without another word, she leaned forward a little and waited for the other woman to light it, before she took a long drag, allowing her mouth to be filled with the faint taste of menthol, before letting it all out in a slow breath.

It had been a while since she had smoked, and instantly, she felt any tension and stress from the move and that night dissipating from her. Sitting with Blair in the night air took her back to simpler times when she had been younger and had shared similar nights with her high school friends. All the times someone from the glee club had hosted a party, and Puck had managed to get his hand on some cigarettes.

All the protests from Rachel, and how she had hated any of them doing it, especially so close to competitions, hadn't ever stopped them. Especially not her, Santana, and Puck.

It took her back to the brief stint she'd had with the so-called skanks at school when she had first started her senior year and had had absolutely no idea who she was supposed to be, when she had dyed her hair pink and had made the biggest mistake of her life- that goddamn Ryan Seacrest tattoo.

She brought the cigarette to her lips again, taking in a much smaller drag this time, and letting the smoke billow out of her nose as she closed her eyes, and tilted her head back slightly. It had been a long time since she had felt so at ease.

"Mom and Dad are gonna kill you if they come out here and see you smoking," Frannie said, the sound of her voice snapping Quinn back to reality. Her eyes sprang open as she lifted her head and turned to face her sister, only to see Frannie smiling at her. "Room for one more out here?" She asked.

Both Quinn and Blair nodded their heads slowly, she moved up, sitting closer to Blair to make room for her sister. She knew that Frannie was right, she didn't only have to worry about Biff seeing her smoking, she had to worry about the very real possibility that her mother or father could see her.

She could already hear her father's strong voice in her head.

Women don't smoke, Quinn
The world of whiskey, cigars, and tobacco is far too rich for a woman's mouth.

They had both been brought up to believe that while some things were okay for men, there were just some things in life that women didn't do… that women shouldn't do. But that had rarely stopped Quinn, even now, as a twenty-three almost twenty-four-year-old woman, there were some things she just couldn't keep herself from doing, no matter how much her parents and Biff would hate it.

Even though it had never become a true day-to-day habit and had mainly been a social thing for Quinn something she simply did to release herself of some stress rather than a want or a need, she could feel her heart racing in her chest, and her stomach knotting up at the thought of Russell Fabray stepping out into the garden, to partake in a cigarette himself and catching her in the act.

She remembered the days of her being a skank and how she would do all she could to cover up the smell of the cigarette smoke on her clothing, her fingers, and her breath, how she had done all she could to hide the cigarettes she had with her, always worrying just what the reaction would be if her parents were to ever find out what she had done.

Women don't smoke.

She nodded her head slowly, looking down at the cigarette between her fingers. "Yes, they would," she sighed. "But I think they're far too preoccupied rubbing elbows with the people inside to even realise their daughters are missing," she smiled. "I doubt anyone will come looking for us."

Frannie shook her head slowly. "That's not the point," she said.

"Oh, but it is," Quinn replied.

It wouldn't be the first time that their absence went unnoticed by their parents. There had been many times in the past when their parents had been the hosts of dinner parties, and she and Frannie had withdrawn themselves, hating the mindless conversations their parents and friends had. On all those occasions her mother had only gone looking for them once, and that had been when someone had raised a question about them.

She knew that if no one did that tonight, chances were, no one would go looking for them. Not even Biff.

"And your fiancé?" Frannie asked, her voice always soft, kinder than what Quinn's had been in the past.

Blair scoffed and shook her head, snapping the Fabray girls' attention away from each other. "You don't have to worry about any of them," she shook her head. "Biff is too busy trying to brown-nose the friends of the family and Mom and Dad are far too busy fawning over him and my brothers and their partners to even know where I am, being out here is pretty safe."

It always stood out to Quinn that while Biff and his brothers called their parents 'Mother and Father' Blair never had, at least, not while she had known her anyway. Blair had always preferred to use the more casual terms, which she was sure Hunter and Sloane hated.

Quinn nodded her head in agreement. "It's true, I've barely spoken to him all night, and the only times I have has been when someone has asked him about me… everyone in there knows me now, I doubt they'll ask again."

"Well of course they won't," Blair said. "Now dinner is officially over with, we'll all be segregated again, heaven forbid the men and the women speak to each other," Blair's tone was laced with sarcasm. "No, the men will be shipped into one of the secret rooms once more where they will continue to drink brandy and talk business while we sit and drink wine and talk about how all the men in our lives are masters of the universe."

"Well, lucky for you, you get to avoid those conversations as much as possible," Frannie said, catching both Quinn and Blair off guard. Each of them turned to look at Frannie, Quinn quirking her eyebrow at her sister. "Look, I love Harrison," she said. "But there's only so many times I can talk about him in one night."

Blair nodded her head slowly, taking a drag of her cigarette. "Honestly. I'm pretty thankful to be single, I have no idea why my parents are so concerned about me getting into a relationship… I'm twenty-two… and my parents seem so obsessed with me finding someone. It's like they're writing me off already… Frannie, how old were you when you met your husband?" She asked.

"I was 18," she admitted. "We met like, right at the beginning of freshmen year of college…"

"Oh," she nodded her head slowly, before sighing. "But you must have got married at like—"

"I was twenty-two when I got married, and I'm 26 now," she shrugged. "I wish I could help you with where you're going with this but I don't think I'm the right person to be asking… I got married young… Quinn here is doing things slowly compared to everyone else in the family."

Quinn had never expected that at twenty-three, soon to be twenty-four, she would be seen as doing things slowly simply because she wasn't married yet. She could think of many people, the same age as her right now that weren't married. To Quinn, things between her and Biff were happening too fast.

She could understand where Blair was coming from. Because to Quinn, she felt too young herself. She had never envisioned herself getting married so young. Had thought that maybe she could break away from the traditions of the rest of her family.

But then she'd met Biff. She'd met him, and become settled with him, and then, this was just what they were doing.

As the night drew to a close, the Fabray's had said their goodbyes, heading to their hotel for the night. Each of them had played their part well. They had fit in with the McIntosh family and their high class friends. And Quinn, Quinn had been nothing short of perfect that night. Standing by Biff's side and playing the role of the doting fiancée. It appeared, that she, her parents, and her sister were the perfect fit to join the family.

None of them had really kept track of the time that night. No one except Quinn that was. She had been glancing at the clock all night, of course, the night had started to move a little faster after she had been able to spend some time with Frannie and Blair. But that didn't negate the fact that this was the most boring dinner party she had ever been to. She had been thankful when Biff had pushed himself up from the couch and suggested that they head home for the night. While she didn't like being told what to do- she had never liked been told what to do- she was thankful that Biff had taken the lead that night.

Quinn pushed open the door to their flat and stepped inside slowly. She was tired, drunk, and unstable on her feet and all she wanted to do that night was climb into bed and fall asleep. It had been a draining night for her. Having to be on her best behaviour. Having to think so carefully about every single move she made, or every word she said. It felt nice for her to finally be back in her own home. Somewhere she knew she would be able to relax a little more than she had for the majority of the night. She got herself ready for bed quickly while Biff was busy making himself some tea to take to bed with him.

She removed the last of her make-up- which had been worn down throughout the night- before climbing into the plushness of her bed, the goose down pillows and duvet encasing her, instantly making her feel comforted. She would've happily been laid in this bed all night, reading rather than be socialising with the friends and colleagues of the McIntosh family.

She hoped it would be a long time before she saw any of them ever again.

She wasn't sure she could take much more of Biff's old friends, she really didn't know how he had any nerve to talk so badly of her friends, when he had spent most of his time with the likes of Warner and Simone.

Quinn was already dreading their wedding, knowing there was no way she could get out of it. And knowing that it wouldn't hold a candle to the last wedding that she went to. That particular wedding had been one of the best she had been to, despite how cold it had been that day, and how lonely she had been when she first got there. Santana had definitely made that wedding a lot more bearable.

She leaned over and opened the top drawer of her bedside cabinet, finding her well-worn copy of The General in His Labyrinth, it was tatty, and falling apart, the spine becoming weaker and weaker every time Quinn re-read it. She turned the page carefully, trying her hardest to not make the damage any worse.

Without thinking, she turned it to a page that she had read and re-read time and time again. A page with a quote that she had permanently etched into her brain since the first time she had read them. The same quote that she had highlighted in a neon pink when she had been in her early teen years, just before she had made all the changes to become the person she wanted to be, as she dropped the name Lucy, and began to lose all her weight.

He was shaken by the overwhelming revelation that the headlong race between his misfortunes and his dreams was at that moment reaching the finish line. The rest was darkness, 'damn it,' he sighed. 'How will I ever get of pf this labyrinth!'

She remembered the first time she had read those words, and how she had asked herself that very same question. The labyrinth of never feeling good enough, the labyrinth of never being anything more than Russell and Judy Fabray's daughter. She had yet to find the answer to that. Once upon a time, there had been another labyrinth for her. Lima, Ohio. But she had left that town behind her, never really caring to look back. And now, she had a new Labyrinth, New York. New York, and a brand new lifestyle of being a Manhattan socialite, something she had never wanted.

She wondered if she would ever find a way out of the labyrinth this time.