Rachel taps her nails impatiently against the counter top while Kurt counts her register in the back of the store. He finds it annoying and ignores it at first, but it's only when she starts huffing that he decides to mess with her.

He smirks. "You're short $27.50."

She sighs, "Okay just fill out the write up and I'll sign it tomorrow."

His eyebrows shoot up. "Really? You're not going to argue? Demand that I do a recount? Scream and do one of those diva storm outs?"

Rachel simply shrugs and waits for him to tell her she can go.

"You're not short by the way. I just thought it'd be funny to mess with you."

"Hilarious," she deadpans. "Can I go now?"

"What's your hurry anyway?"

"I have plans." When Kurt looks at her expectantly, she knows that she's not getting out that easily. "It's Quinn's birthday."

"Already?" he frowns.

She nods, "February first."

"Oh god, I forgot it's already February. I need to do the end of the month inventory. This month went by fast!"

"Yes, it did," Rachel agrees with a smile.

"Looks like I'm staying late," he mumbles. "What plans did you make with Quinn?"

"I'm taking her out to the restaurant where we had our first real date."

"Was it Breadstix?" Kurt asks quickly.

"No," she laughs.

"Thank god," he says.

"I'd like to think I'm a bit classier than that."

"Oh please. No matter where you take that girl, she would still love it."

Rachel smiles, "Yeah."

He seals the register bag shut and hands her the receipt to sign. "Speaking of gay significant others, Blaine and I finally set a date!"

"What!" she shouts in excitement and pulls him into a hug. "Congratulations! When's the big day?"

"June tenth," he squeals.

"Kurt! That's only four months away!"

"I know! You're going to help me with the planning, right?"

"Of course! This is so exciting! Is it going to be here? Or wait, isn't Blaine from Cincinnati? Will it be there?"

"Oh, god no," he scoffs. "Blaine's parents have a summer house on Long Island. And they've been telling us ever since we got engaged that we should have our wedding there."

"A summer house on Long Island?" she furrows her brow. "How loaded are they?"

"Very. But you'll make the trip, right? I'll even give you the week off. And you can bring Quinn! I remember you said that she's never been to New York."

"I'll ask her. But I'm sure she'll say yes." And speaking of Quinn. "I really need to get going or we'll miss our reservation. But I'll call you tomorrow and we'll get together for planning soon," she says as she grabs her purse.

"Sorry, didn't mean to keep you waiting. Have fun getting laid tonight!"

"Bye Kurt!"

After Rachel races home to get ready, they barely make it in time for their reservation. Their table was actually about it be given away, until Rachel subtly threatened the hostess with a menacing tone. She thanks her acting skills for that.

She sighs in relief when they're seated at the table. After a long day, she was glad to finally be here with Quinn.

After their waitress takes their orders, Quinn turns to her and says, "You really didn't have to do this. But thank you."

"What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't take you out for your birthday?" She takes the blonde's hand into her own. "And it should be a good night since I don't see Waiter John anywhere," she says as she glances around the restaurant. "Hopefully our new waitress can behave herself."

Quinn chuckles and shakes her head, "Rachel, that woman is in her thirties. At least."

"That didn't stop me, now did it?" she says with a cheesy wink making Quinn blush.

"You look gorgeous by the way," she adds. "How was your day? Did your classes go fine?"

"Yeah," Quinn nods. "And there's actually something that I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh, me too!"

"Then you first."

"Wait," Rachel pauses. "I wanna know what you were going to say."

"I said you first."

"Quinn!"

"My birthday, my rules," she smirks at the pouting woman.

"Fine. Blaine and Kurt finally set the wedding date for mid-June."

"Wow!" Quinn smiles. "It's about time."

Rachel nods, "I agree. But the thing is they don't want to do it here in Ohio. So it's going to be this weekend event on Long Island."

"That's great! So you're going to spend a few days in New York?"

"We're going to spend a few days in New York. If you'll be my date, that is."

Quinn frowns, "Am I invited?"

"Of course you're invited!" Rachel nudges her. "And it'll be fun. Maybe we can even spend a night in the city."

"I'd like that," Quinn smiles.

Rachel grins, "So yes? You'll go with me?"

"I'd love to."

The woman beams. "You're going to love it there, Quinn. Trust me."

She leans over the table and presses her lips against the blonde's, but then pulls back as it gets a little too heated.

She clears her throat, "So, what did you have to tell me?"

Quinn takes a deep breath and chews on her bottom lip. "Sorry. I just don't know how you're going to react."

"In a good or bad way?"

"I guess we'll see."

"Quinn," she gently runs her hand up and down the girl's wrist. "You can tell me anything."

"It's funny that you mention New York," Quinn laughs nervously, causing even more confusion for Rachel.

"What does New York have to do with anything?"

"Well you remember me telling you about Professor Martin? I took his class last semester. But anyway, he pulled me aside after class today to talk to me about the English program at NYU."

Rachel nods, "They have one of the best programs in the country."

"Right. But I was telling him that tuition was too expensive there, even with the fact that they don't charge out of state. I mean, I'm sure my parents would pay for it, but it's a lot more than going to school here in Lima, you know? And I don't want to do that to them."

"Okay?"

"But...he started telling me about a scholarship that they offer for the program every year. It's a full ride for the people that actually get it."

Rachel's eyes widen, suddenly realizing where this is going.

"And he thinks that I should apply for it. He said that my portfolio was already pretty impressive even though it's only been a couple semesters. And he even offered to write a letter of recommendation for me."

"Quinn! That's great! Are you going to apply?"

"Well," she shrugs. "I don't know. I wanted to talk to you about it first, which is what we're doing."

"Of course I think you should apply. Why wouldn't I be okay with it?"

"In the off chance that I maybe get it, that means I would have to live in New York. And I didn't know if you would want to go with me."

Before Rachel has the chance to respond, the waitress shows up with their food. She quickly thanks her and shoos her away, making Quinn chuckle.

"Do you not want me to go with you?" Rachel asks as soon as they're alone again.

"No!" Quinn says. "It's not that! It's just...I know that you came back to Lima so that you could get away from New York. And I didn't know how you would feel about living there again."

"I came back to Lima so I wouldn't have to be alone after getting a divorce," Rachel answers. "And trust me, I'm long over that."

"Like I said, I didn't know how you would react."

"Quinn," she smiles. "You could move to Antarctica for all I care. I would follow you anywhere."

"Really?" Quinn beams. "So you're actually okay with this? I mean...it's just an idea. Nothing to make a big deal out of or anything."

Rachel nods and leans in for another kiss. "As long as you're happy, I'm happy."

The blonde sighs and cups her cheek. "I love you so much right now."

"I love you too, baby." She leans back in her seat and grabs her fork. "Now come on. The sooner you're done eating your food, the sooner you can eat me."

"Rachel!"

Later that evening, after Quinn did what she was told...among other things, she curls up into Rachel's side as they lay in the warmth of the woman's bed.

"Best birthday ever," she says, out of breath.

Rachel chuckles and kisses her forehead. "I'm glad that we both enjoyed it." She lightly scratches Quinn's head as the girl traces fingertips along her bare stomach.

After a few minutes of a comforting silence, Quinn suddenly speaks, "Can I ask you something?"

"Mhmm."

"You're still on birth control, right?"

Rachel opens her eyes and smirks, "You know you're supposed to ask a girl that before you have sex with her." When all Quinn does is let out an awkward laugh, she decides to

put the girl's mind at ease. "And yes, I am. Why are you asking?"

Quinn shrugs, "Just making sure that no unexpected surprises are going to pop up soon." She continues tracing light patterns on Rachel's skin.

"Would that really be the worst thing?"

The girl's hand freezes. "What?"

Rachel turns onto her side and moves to where they're face to face. "Quinn, I love you. And maybe not right now, but one day I want to have your baby. Do you not want that?"

It would honestly kill her if Quinn were to say no. But Rachel swore to herself that even if the girl wanted different things, they would work to compromise together.

"I really do want that, actually."

And just like that, a huge weight of anxiety is lifted off her shoulders.

She blinks to fight the tears of joy from falling. "You do?"

"Yeah," Quinn whispers with a smile as she runs the pad of her thumb along Rachel's chin. "That would make me the happiest person in the world."

"I seriously doubt that because I'll be the happiest person in the world," Rachel says as they both laugh together.

"And if I could, I would do it right now. But I need to get myself situated first. Because like you said, it's not the best time."

"Hardly," Rachel sits up in excitement. "We can't do it now, because our baby has to be born in the spring. So that way we can have something to look forward to between your birthdays and the summers."

Quinn laughs and lays her head in Rachel's lap as the woman goes on and on.

"They're going to be so beautiful. I hope they have your eyes. Hopefully not my nose. It's a Jewish gene. Did you know that my birth mother was Jewish? And if we're going to have one boy and one girl, I'd rather have a boy first. And –. Oh god...I sound crazy, don't I?"

She turns her head to look up at her with a smile. "Just a little bit."

"Sorry, I've just thought about it a lot."

"I can tell. And it's okay, my love."

The woman lies back down on her back and relaxes.

"I love you, Rachel," Quinn says with a yawn.

"I love you too."

When Quinn starts to drift off, Rachel smiles to herself. She wasn't expecting the night to be so heavy, but she's glad she was able to talk to Quinn about their future together. Now, it doesn't seem like some maybe fantasy. It was actually happening.

Rachel pulls her car up to the front of Quinn's house and parks. The woman has to work that night, so she had offered to drop Quinn off at home on her way to work.

The blonde unbuckles her seatbelt. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

Rachel nods, "Come over while you can. Kurt is supposed to start coming by on Wednesday so we can start planning the wedding."

Quinn shudders. She knows anything involving Rachel and Kurt and planning is going to be a mad house. But it would still be interesting to witness.

"Would it be okay if I helped you guys out?"

"Really?" Rachel smiles.

She shrugs, "Yeah. I mean, I don't know the first thing about wedding planning. But I still want to help."

"I'm sure Kurt won't mind."

"Cool," Quinn says. "I'll see you later then."

They lean in for a goodbye kiss. Which as always, gets them a little carried away. Rachel pulls her in tighter by the waist and proceeds to deepen the kiss.

They both shriek and jump apart when someone taps on the blonde's window. They then quickly turn to see who it is.

"Oh shit," Quinn mumbles as she stares up through the glass at the person looking down at her expectantly.

She turns to Rachel to see what she should do. But the woman looks just as scared as she is right now.

So with a shaky hand, she presses on the button to bring the window down. "Dad? What are you doing here? I thought you were at work?"

"Quinn," Russell says smoothly. "Please see me in my office in five minutes."

His expression is unreadable and it terrifies her to a point where she couldn't even say anything to answer him.

He looks to the woman in the driver's seat and nods his head at her. "Rachel."

Without another word, he walks to the front door of the house and goes inside.

As soon as the door closes, Quinn releases a breath. "Fuck," she mutters before turning to Rachel. "It's okay."

"Quinn," she starts hyperventilating. "What –" she stops and takes a deep breath. "What is he going to do? He saw us, right?"

The blonde nods, "Yeah, he did."

"What do we do?"

She sighs, "Well, I should probably go see him like he asked."

"I should go with you."

Quinn shakes her head. "He only asked to see me." She leans back in her seat and squeezes her eyes shut. She wasn't ready to do this.

"Quinn?"

"Okay, listen. Just go to work. I'll talk to him tonight and then I'll come over later."

"I don't want you to go by yourself. What if something happens?"

"Rachel, I know my dad. He would never hurt me. Please just trust me."

The woman doesn't let up. She doesn't honestly believe that Russell would hurt Quinn either. But she doesn't want to take any chances.

"Hey," Quinn tries more softly. "This has to be done. We both knew this. If we ever want to have a life together, I have to go in there and at least try to talk to him. I'm going to do whatever it takes to be with you. So will you please trust me on this?"

Tears start forming in Rachel's eyes. Her biggest fear is losing Quinn again. She knows that if there's one person in the world that could convince Quinn that they shouldn't be together, it would be Russell.

She doesn't know who she's kidding if she ever thought they could go through with this without his support.

"You'll come by later?"

"I promise I will." Quinn squeezes her hand. "No matter what happens."

"Okay..."

The blonde opens her door, but pauses to lean over and press a kiss to Rachel's cheek. "It's okay. I love you."

"I know," Rachel smiles.

Quinn closes the door and watches as the car hesitantly pulls away. She then looks at her house and goes inside.

When she's outside of her father's study, she takes a deep breath to calm herself, then cautiously knocks on the door.

"Come in."

She enters to see her father sitting at his desk with his hands clasped in front of him. He's looking away to the side with a look of contemplation and internal struggle on his face.

Quinn takes a seat in the chair in front of his desk and waits.

She doesn't know what to say, so she waits for him. And after what seems like an eternity, he finally looks at her and speaks.

"I trust that you won't lie to me," he says lowly. "So I'm going to ask you something. Did I really see what I think I saw going on in the car between you and Rachel?"

She purses her lips and looks at the floor. "Yes."

He nods and puts his face in his hands, breathing deeply. Quinn waits for the shouting or objects to fly across the room or just something. But nothing happens.

After a couple minutes, she frowns and asks, "Dad?"

He looks back up at her and she can see how red his eyes are. "Have you eaten yet?"

She's caught off guard by the question. "What? No?"

He nods. "Well your mother is working tonight. So how about we go out and get something to eat?"

She furrows her brow, "Sure?"

"Okay then," he stands and puts his jacket back on. "Let's go."

The drive was completely silent, except for the radio playing. Quinn still doesn't know what her father was doing exactly. But she decided that it was best to just go along with it.

They ended up going to a diner that they used to frequent when she was a kid. She remembers how much she used to love this place because of their epic bacon burgers.

It's not until they get their milkshakes that Russell finally talks again.

"How are your classes going?"

"Good," she nods from her side of the booth. "Not as bad as last semester."

"Have you applied for that scholarship yet?" he asks, genuinely curious.

She had told her parents about that a few nights prior. Russell seemed more excited about the idea than Judy did.

She shrugs, "I'm still working on it."

"Quinn, you know you need to get it done early if you want to register in time for the fall."

"I know," she says. "I'm gonna do it."

He nods, satisfied. "How's Santana doing in California?"

"Good I guess."

"And Brittany?"

"Um, good?"

"And what about Puckerman?"

"I don't know. Why are you asking all of this?"

"Because I feel like I don't know anything about you right now."

And there it is. The giant elephant in the room finally gets some recognition.

"Dad, you do know me. I'm still the same person."

"How long has this been going on with Rachel?" he cuts right to the chase.

She purses her lips. She can't lie to him anymore.

"About eight months."

His eyes widen and he leans forward. "Eight months? You've been keeping this from us for eight months, Quinn?"

She swallows. "I'm sorry for lying to you."

"And what about that Marley girl? I thought she was your girlfriend?"

"She was never my girlfriend. That was all made up so mom wouldn't catch on."

"Jesus Christ..." he mumbles. "Is there anything else I should know about?"

"No," she quickly shakes her head. "That's the extent of it."

He doesn't need to know about the drama of their relationship. Just that they were happy now and were looking to keep things that way.

"And what exactly is going on with you and Rachel? I get that she was probably lonely after her divorce. But to use you like that is –"

"It's not like that," Quinn nearly shouts. "This isn't some fling, dad. We're committed to each other."

"You're too young to know anything about commitment."

"You were my age when you married mom!" she snaps back at him.

Russell doesn't answer because he knows that it was hypocritical of him to throw that at her.

He sighs, "Quinn, listen to me. I've never been close to Rachel. Obviously...you weren't either, otherwise you wouldn't have had these feelings for each other. And as far as I'm concerned, she's never really been a part of our family. But your mother...she considers that woman to be her sister, Quinn. Her sister."

"I know that and Rachel knows that too. We're not stupid. We were going to tell her."

"And do you really think she'll be all fine and dandy with this?"

"Of course not."

"Then what the hell are you thinking? You can't keep this thing going, Quinn. You can't do that to your mom."

"And what are you going to do? Make me break up with her?"

"I can't make you do anything. You're an adult and these are your own choices to make."

Their burgers suddenly arrive, putting a much needed pause in their conversation.