Finding Her {Glee: Faberry}

Chapter 13

Quinn looked up from her desk at the faint knock on the door. She looked at the time and furrowed her brows. She slipped her glasses off and slowly walked over to the door and peered through the peephole. Gasping softly as she sees Rachel standing there, her clothes disheveled and her cheeks glistening with tears. Without a second thought, Quinn opens the door and Rachel falls into her arms.

"Rachel.. what happened? Are you okay?" Quinn's words falter out as Rachel begins to sob into her shoulder with no answer. "Okay.. just come to the couch, let's get you settled." Quinn awkwardly bent down to wrap her arm around Rachel's knees, effectively sweeping her feet off the ground and lifting the sobbing woman. Gently, Quinn, set Rachel on the couch and sat at her head, pulling Rachel closer so her head rested on Quinn's abdomen.

Quinn ran her hand through Rachel's soft hair and held her hand with the other, rubbing her thumb over the callused flesh of the brunette's knuckles. Quinn studied her face, noticing the harsh red lines that lay like fingerprints over her cheek and deciding not to ask anymore questions until Rachel caught her breath again and the tears slowed.

"I'm right here for you Rachel. You're safe here." Quinn's mind went to the darker part of her memory that contained the images when she too once bore marks like that on her cheek. She wondered if Rachel had bruises like she had once hidden under her clothes as well. Before she could stop it, a tear of her own slipped down her cheek at the thought that someone wasn't taking care of beautiful woman that now laid in her lap, gasping for breath and crying.

"It.. it was Finn. H-he.. Quinn can I stay here? May- maybe for a night or two?" Quinn's eyes went wide as Rachel began to speak. A fire rose inside Quinn, an urge to find Finn and show him the pain he has caused. The fire, however, quickly diminished as she looked down at Rachel again, replaced with the fierce desire to protect the smaller woman, who now carried an even smaller persona in her hurt.

"Rachel. You stay as long as you need to. I mean that." Quinn's heart broke as Rachel looked up at her, her eyes red and puffed, and smiled at her softly, a quiet thank you escaping her lips before she laid against Quinn again and passed out from the emotional and physical exhaustion from the night's earlier event. Quinn once again picked up the now sleeping girl and tucked her into bed. She pulled off Rachel's shoes and jacket, waking Rachel gently to be granted permission to take off her jeans. Once that was over, Quinn shut the bedroom door behind her as she went to sleep on the couch for the night.

Quinn laid down and pulled a blanket up from the floor and wrapped it around herself, she began trying to organize the images in her mind, making a silent vow to get back at Finn for this, her mind a complete flurry of thoughts, before sleep took it's hold.