Title: Not Enough

Summary: Alternative Season Two.

Pairings: Faberry, Brittana, Pezberry friendship

Rating: M 16+ for some swearing, no sex scenes.

Disclaimer: Don't own anything to do with Glee, the cast involved etc. Just borrowing.

A/N: Previously written South of Nowhere fiction, but now moving into the Glee fandom. Might take a little while to get the voices of the characters right, but hope you enjoy.

Quinn shifted her head on the brunette's chest and the sound of Rachel's heartbeat filled her ears. She let her attention drift away from the girl's words and focused on the rhythmic beat.

Quinn knew that Rachel wouldn't notice that her attention had waivered; she was totally immersed in outlining the possible options for which song she should perform at their first glee rehearsal of the school year. Quinn had lasted until around the fifth time the words "Broadway classic" had come out of the brunette's mouth, and then she had given up.

Instead, she let herself enjoy the feeling of the brunette's chest buzzing as she spoke. It was one of Quinn's secret pleasures, the way Rachel's whole body hummed when she was passionate about something.

It was only this summer that Quinn realised why she had fought with the brunette for so long. It was only this summer, when the two had slipped away, drunk, from a glee club gathering and ended up making out on Puck's bed, that she realised there were much better ways of eliciting that reaction from the brunette.

And it was only this summer that Quinn had discovered nights like this, nights where Rachel's body hummed in quiet contentment and she could lose herself in the brunette.

Rachel's hand running down her arm and linking their fingers drew Quinn's attention back to the girl.

"Hmm?" she murmured, burying her face into Rachel's neck.

Rachel smiled and rubbed her thumb over the back of Quinn's hand.

"Are you okay? You're a million miles away tonight," Rachel asked gently.

"Mmm," Quinn murmured softly.

"I mean, I know people's eyes usually glaze over when I start talking but you don't seem to do that as much, and your eyes don't seem glazed exactly, more like wandering and pensive, and so that made me think it might not be me this time but in fact something else on your mi-"

It was only the blonde's lips capturing her own in a soft kiss that stopped her. When Quinn pulled away, Rachel knew she was laughing quietly at her.

Quinn lay her head back down on the brunette's shoulder.

"So? Is it me, or is it-"

"I'm thinking about this summer," Quinn replied, knowing the brunette wouldn't let it go without an answer. "I'm thinking about how we ended up here."

"Oh."

Quinn's fingers traced over the brunette's stomach, running over the fabric of the girl's shirt.

"Yeah…" the blonde's voice trailed off.

Something in Quinn's tone worried the brunette. It reminded her of when the blonde spoke of her family or the rare times when she would mention Beth.

She sounded broken.

Rachel began to feel a heaviness settle upon her chest.

Every part of Rachel was screaming at her to ask Quinn exactly what she was thinking, to interrogate and push until she understood where they stood. She was Rachel Berry, after all.

But then Rachel Berry had never been in love before. Not really. Not with Finn. Not with Jesse.

She had pushed with them. She had tested them and driven them away. She had been so worried over whether they would end it that she had left them with no other option.

But with Quinn, it was different. It always had been. She wasn't worried about Quinn ending it, she was terrified. She didn't obsess over it like she had done with the boys, because even thinking about being without the blonde meant she couldn't breathe.

So, for the first time in her life, Rachel didn't push.

She knew what was going to happen, but she refused to be the one to initiate it.

She waited, and felt her chest tighten as the seconds passed.

"It's been amazing being with you this summer," Quinn finally spoke, her fingers softly stroking the brunette's side. "I've actually been happy. It's been so long since I knew what that felt like," Quinn's voice faltered.

And then Rachel's own nature betrayed her.

"Why does that sound so final?" she whispered.

Quinn hesitated.

"I saw my mother yesterday. She wants me to come home."

Rachel pushed her head back onto the bed and shut her eyes. There was so much she wanted to say, but she needed to hear everything from Quinn first.

"Rachel, I've given up a child, I'm living with Mercedes, and I'm not a Cheerio anymore. My shot at getting a cheerleading scholarship and getting out of here is gone."

Quinn pushed herself up and swung her legs off the brunette's bed, turning her back to the girl.

"If I've got a chance to get it all back, I have to try. I can't throw it away for…" Quinn stopped herself, but Rachel had already got the message.

"You can't throw it away for me," the brunette filled in the blanks.

Rachel could feel the tears pooling in her eyes and hoped the blonde did not turn around and see her as she crumbled.

She sat up on the bed. "You said you were happy," Rachel whispered.

"I was," Quinn admitted. "But for how long, Rach? We're in high school. It's not like we were going to last."

"I thought we could," Rachel replied, her voice vulnerable and quiet. "Last, I mean. I thought we would."

Quinn stood up, frustrated and twirled round to face the girl.

"You're so frustrating!" she shouted. "You live in this little schoolgirl fantasy of life. There isn't some happy ending for us, Rachel. In real life we're kids and I don't have a home or a family. So I'm going to do what I have to. They're already trying to get their heads round the whole thing with Beth; I just can't give them anything else to deal with right now."

The anger drained from the blonde.

"I need them."

"And you don't need me?"

The blonde's silence answered the question for her.

"Go," Rachel whispered, her voice cracking as she spoke.

Quinn didn't move.

"Go," she repeated, this time her tone firm with resolve.

The former cheerleader opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Slowly, she bent down and gathered up her bag and cardigan in her arms. Quinn took one more look at the brunette before turning away and heading out of the girl's bedroom.

Rachel waited until she heard the front door click shut before she burst into tears.

Rachel had been looking forward to the first glee club rehearsal all summer. But now, she wasn't sure she could face it.

She had managed to avoid seeing Quinn all day. It wasn't hard. She had had enough practice from the days when the blonde would regularly give her a slushie facial. Rachel was a master at finding the less travelled routes around school and she was used to spending the lunch break alone on the football bleachers. Avoiding Quinn Fabray was something she could do.

But now it was time for glee. And there was no escape.

She steeled herself, put on a signature Rachel Berry smile and pushed open the door.

A few of the glee kids gave her a nod or a wave when she entered, but, for the main, her arrival went unnoticed by the group.

The brunette avoided Quinn's gaze, which she felt follow her as she crossed the choir room and settled quietly into her seat.

Rachel's focus drifted away from the hustle and bustle of her team around her. She barely noticed when Mr. Schuester arrived and started to gear them up for the new school year. She clapped with everyone else when Mike and Tina's dance number ended, she swayed and joined in with the harmonies when Puck was belting out another Billy Joel classic, but her heart wasn't in it.

If the glee club had noticed Rachel's unusual lack of participation in the rehearsal, they were deciding to stay quiet about it in the hope that they might be able to avoid her usual overbearing involvement.

All except for Brittany, who had been watching the brunette since the shorter girl had failed to return her smile at the start of glee club.

About halfway through the hour long practice, the blonde had kicked Santana's leg with her foot and, after receiving a gentle glare from the Latina, drawn the other Cheerio's attention to how withdrawn Rachel seemed.

For the rest of the practice Brittany and, on some occasions, Santana watched the surprisingly reserved brunette with growing concern.

When the choir room emptied at the end of rehearsal, Rachel made her way over to the piano and began pressing her fingers over the keys absent-mindedly.

Her quiet reflection was interrupted a while later when Santana stumbled back into the room, having been pushed in, not so gently, by the blonde Cheerio who entered behind her.

Rachel looked up and saw them approaching, but continued playing soft melodies.

"Hi Rachel," Brittany said, softly, settling down on the piano bench beside the girl.

"Berry," Santana addressed her with a short nod, folding her arms across her chest, and leaning her hip against the smooth side of the instrument.

"What do you guys want?" Rachel asked, trying to come across as annoyed, but it had no real conviction to it.

"To see how you are," Brittany told her, moving her shoulder so that it had some slight contact with the brunette's.

"You don't care," Rachel stated, resigned to the fact after all this time.

"Well, I don't," Santana agreed.

Brittany gave her a glare and turned back to the brunette. "She does," the blonde told her, nodding firmly. "And I do."

"Why?"

The brunette never stopped softly playing the piano as they spoke.

"Why not?" Brittany replied.

Rachel looked up to Santana for further explanation of the blonde's answer, but the Latina shrugged. She knew that was all they were going to get from Brittany and her look told Rachel to just accept it.

"So…are you going to tell us what's wrong?" Brittany prompted.

"Yeah, you were ridiculously quiet in glee club and I couldn't even enjoy it because you looked so damn sad," Santana added, and Rachel wondered if there was some slight hint of affection in those words.

"It's hard to be back," Rachel told them softly.

"Why? I thought you and Finn would be all coupley by now and we'd be the ones finding it hard to be back," Santana told her.

"We're not together," Rachel stated.

"Is that why then?" Santana pressed. "You're upset over Finn?"

Rachel didn't have to answer because Brittany shook her head in response to Santana's question.

"That's not it," Brittany told her. "When Rachel got upset over Finn it was like all loud-sad, she whined and sang songs that were all about him. But she's quiet-sad now. It's worse. It's like I get when I know you're with Puck…"

Brittany's voice got quiet, as if the last bit was meant for just Santana to hear, but Rachel caught it.

"Britt…" Santana's voice was half apologetic at their situation and half annoyed with the blonde for talking about them in front of Rachel.

Brittany shook her head again, returning her focus to Rachel.

"It's not Finn, is it?"

Rachel shook her head. "No."

"Just tell us, Berry," Santana told her, growing impatient.

"I don't think I can."

Santana pushed up off the piano and came round in front of Rachel. "Look, Berry, you're always complaining that you're alone but Britt apparently cares about you, and as a result, I'm forced to care, so just be glad someone's trying to help and talk to us."

Rachel let out a deep sigh and looked between the two cheerleaders. They looked concerned, and they weren't as good actresses as her so she figured, for whatever reason, that the feeling was genuine.

"It's not Finn that I'm upset about," she started slowly. "It's Quinn."

"What about Quinn?" Brittany asked, confused. Rachel saw Santana straighten and mutter something in Spanish, and she knew that at least one of the cheerleaders understood.

"Is she with Finn?" Brittany continued, trying to understand why Rachel would be upset because of the blonde. "Was she mean to you?"

Santana moved around behind the blonde and placed a hand on her shoulder, leaning down to whisper in her ear. "They're like us," Santana told her, aware that the singer could probably hear also but she figured after Brittany's comment earlier, the brunette already knew.

"I love her, but she doesn't love me back," Rachel admitted softly, and started to cry. Her fingers finally stopped their movements over the piano.

Brittany took the brunette into a hug, as Rachel's body began to shake.

The blonde looked up at the Latina, sadly.

"You're right, Santana. They're exactly like us."