Mea Culpa

Chapter 3

Quinn was mostly quiet during the dinner with Rachel and her dads. She wasn't feeling overly shy; she was just enjoying watching Rachel interact so easily with her parents. Rachel was still overly talkative. It became clear that she was used to being the center of attention, but here at her home where she felt comfortable and loved, she was not quite as intense as she was when she was in school. Quinn realized that she was not finding Rachel to be so annoying and that Rachel, while still talking faster than most people, did not speak quite so rapidly. Perhaps it was because she knew she did not have to hurry to get everything out before the people who were listening tuned her out or walked away, Quinn wondered. After the meal was over, Daniel and Jeremy began to clear the table, but Quinn felt she needed to make sure that they knew she would not take advantage of their hospitality, so she jumped up saying, "Please, let me clean up. It is the least I can do to pay you back for allowing me to live here. I don't want you to be waiting on me, too."

Daniel smiled at her. "You don't have to pay us back, Quinn. We would not turn you away when you need a place to stay. We can work out some chores you can do around the house like Rae has to do, though. Tonight, however, why don't you and Rae go get the room set up for you so that you can settle in and the two of you can get your homework done before bed?"

Jeremy added, "I am sure you have had quite an emotionally exhausting day from what Rae told us. Tomorrow, feel free to grab the dishes and clean up, but tonight you should try to make yourself at home and relax, because I am sure once you do, you are going to find that you are more tired than you think right now!"

Rachel jumped up from her seat. "Come on, Quinn. I have to show you where everything is upstairs and make sure you have everything you need before I go pick up your things from Finn's."

"If you are both sure," Quinn hesitated, looking back and forth between Daniel and Jeremy.

"Go ahead, Quinn. Starting tomorrow, you will be treated like another member of our family, so enjoy being treated as a guest tonight," Daniel quipped.

Quinn laughed. "I guess I should take advantage of these few more hours then." She turned to follow Rachel upstairs. As they got back to Rachel's bedroom, Quinn once again turned serious. "Rachel, once again, I really do thank you and your fathers for letting me stay with you. I have not done anything to deserve the kindness that you are all showing me."

Rachel switched the light back on, turning to smile at Quinn as she did so. "You already thanked us several times. It will be nice not having to worry about what you will do to me everyday now. I know that you probably won't believe me, but I honestly would like us to try to be friends. This would be a great opportunity for us to get to know one another. I don't expect you to suddenly start hanging out with me at school or sit with me during lunch or anything like that. I am realistic, but I do hope that one day, I will be able to consider you a friend."

Rachel Berry as her friend? Quinn mulled it over as she followed Rachel into the bathroom. It somehow was beginning to seem less like an impossible thing to imagine. Could she and Rachel really become friends? What would it be like to be friends with the self-proclaimed starlet? She realized that Rachel was looking at her expectantly and blushed. "I'm sorry, I got lost in my thoughts. What did you say?" she asked.

"Did you have a specific place in the bathroom where you would like to keep your things? I usually just leave them lined up along the lower shelf in the closet, so anywhere else would be fine. I have a few new toothbrushes and toothpaste, so you don't have to worry about getting that back from Finn," Rachel replied.

"Thanks, Rachel. I can just put my things on the upper shelf so that they are not in your way. Well, I can put my things there if Finn hasn't set fire to them all that is," Quinn stated.