Title: In the Broken Night, Set Against the Sky

Pairing: Quinn/Rachel

A/N: Lyrics from "Lifeboats" by Snow Patrol. So here we arrive at the last chapter of this particular story. I hope you have all enjoyed it with me. The way in which Rachel and Quinn have grown and developed throughout this story is completely credited to them; it honestly astonishes me that they have become so utterly real. To tell the honest truth, if I may be redundant, this may be the single fanfic outside of Savior that will stay in my heart. Not particularly because these characters belong to Glee, but because they have become starkly real human beings in the process of writing them. I couldn't be happier to have been the one to share this tale. There's something magical about writing – many writers will tell you it is not of their own volition. I tell you the same. While it seems to be an act of creation, moments of truth reveal that it is nothing but the sharing of a story, weaving a result out of possibility. Thank you tremendously for all those who have stuck with this story 'til the end. With the completion of this, I can move on to complete Somewhere a Clock is Ticking.

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Chapter 10: For Me

Send your lifeboats out for me
send your lifeboat out,
send your lifeboats out for me
send your lifeboat out …

###

Real stories never ended. Quinn had read somewhere that the best stories were ones that never really ended, even after the words had stopped being new. There was always the beauty of possibility, the beauty of 'what ifs' dancing ahead on the path. Just beneath the surface, there was always some new possibility. Rachel had been the one to teach her this in most recent times. Not only had Rachel and her fathers helped her when she needed it the most, but the diva had been with her every bittersweet moment in New York. The blonde lay in bed next to Rachel. It was a rare morning when Rachel Berry slept in, and normally Quinn would take the opportunity to rest a little longer, but she couldn't sleep. Something inside Quinn was stirring to life.

Beside her, Rachel shifted, palmed the sheets, and pulled them tighter. Quinn chuckled, rolled her eyes. If someone had warned her ahead of time that Rachel was a cover-hog, she might have re-thought the situation just a little bit. Or hidden the blankets until Rachel fell asleep. Either way.

It wasn't until she heard Rachel's characteristic morning yawn that she realized the brunette was awake. Against her, Rachel shifted and rolled over, slipping an arm over Quinn's stomach and pulling herself closer. Welcoming the warmth, Quinn ran her fingers over Rachel's arm. "Sleep good?"

"Mm," Rachel croaked sleepily, "you're awake early."

"Just thinking."

"'Bout?"

"Summer's nearly over. Just a little bit of time left to go, and we'll be seniors. What happens to us then?"

"New York Academy of the Dramatic Arts."

"For you. What about me?" Quinn had spent a while thinking about this lately. It was one of those trains of thought that lingered in the back of your mind until you acknowledged it. She didn't have Rachel's passion for – well, anything. Quinn most certainly did not want to part ways with Rachel, even if it was only temporary. Rachel felt the same, this much Quinn knew. As she turned her quiet gaze in Rachel's direction, she watched as the brunette chewed thoughtfully on her lip.

"What do you love?"

"You." The answer was simple and honest. Something she meant with all her heart. She loved nothing more than Rachel. She'd loved Rachel even before she'd admitted those feelings, and had obsessed singularly over the girl in different ways. Rachel had been her long-time passion, and nothing else. She could think of nothing that gave her the same joy. Beside her, Rachel blushed and rolled her eyes.

A small grin accompanied the brunette's bashful grin, "Well aren't you charming, Quinn Fabray. You know what I mean. What is it you want to do when we graduate?"

"I haven't really figured that out yet," in all honesty, she hadn't. Quinn turned her gaze to the ceiling. "I think I want to go to college, but I don't know what for. Maybe I could take some general classes, find out what I like the most." It seemed the most sensible course of action. As she lay there, pondering, she realized no one had ever asked her what she wanted for her future. No one had cared enough to ask.

Rachel squeezed her side, pressed her lips to Quinn's neck. The diva's feminine fingers curled along the contour of Quinn's jaw, and the brunette shifted her hips closer. It was hard to think, especially when the diva had a tendency to forget that they were in the middle of a conversation when she did things like that. Quinn chuckled, closed her eyes. She drew in a quiet breath as Rachel's mouth opened against her skin.

"It's hard to think when you're turning me on."

"It's hard to turn you on when you're thinking."

Quinn laughed, and she could feel Rachel smiling against her skin. She groaned as Rachel nipped at her throat and began shifting her leg over the top of her own. "I never thought Rachel Berry would be such a horn dog."

Rachel pulled away briefly, but her leg still managed to shift its way in between Quinn's and press upward. "How dare you, Fabray. I am not a horn dog."

"You always want morning sex," Quinn pointed out.

"And you don't?" Rachel arched an eyebrow, her mouth curving upward in a lopsided smile.

"I didn't say that."

The diva laughed quietly and returned to her earlier ministrations. Pressing her lips to the meeting of Quinn's neck and shoulders, she began shifting her torso against Quinn's. The hand that had once been lingering alongside her jaw was now slipping its way down the blonde's ribs; it continued that path until it met the end of her shirt, and Rachel didn't waste any time. Her feminine, strong fingers slipped their way up Quinn's shirt, massaged her breast. Quinn thought it was beyond sexy, the way Rachel pulled away to watch her reaction as she thumbed a nipple. Quinn's hazel eyes could only stay open so long as Rachel's fingers insisted upon her now erect nipple, rolled it between her thumb and forefinger. "So you do want it?" Quinn groaned, her thighs instinctively clenching, reminding her that Rachel's leg was also pressing between them. "Tell me what you want," Rachel breathed against Quinn's skin, brushed her full lips to the base of her throat. Her fingers had switched to the other breast now, paying special attention to the most sensitive parts of Quinn's skin.

It was easier not to worry about the future when Rachel Berry was firmly anchoring her to a very pleasurable present.

###

"Morning, girls," Hiram placed two small bowls of his special breakfast dish – vegan eggs, salsa, and rice. It was one of Quinn's favorites, even though they weren't real eggs. That was the thing about living with the Berry's, you learned to love vegan food and sometimes forgot that it wasn't 'normal' food.

Rachel kissed her father on the cheek, leaning up on her tip-toes. "Father, I was talking to Quinn this morning ... er, briefly ... about my future plans and hers."

"Oh?'

"Yes."

Quinn raised a questioning eyebrow, wondering what made Rachel think that she should take this up with him. Leroy was at work, which probably worked toward her benefit because sometimes he could insert his opinion pretty firmly. From him, Quinn thought, Rachel had gotten her assertiveness.

"What do you think she should do?"

"Well," Hiram, always the fair one, glanced at Quinn. They shared a mutual look of understanding, "I think that's a pretty big decision, Rach. It takes a lot of people quite a while to decide what they want to do after high school. There's always community college ..."

Quinn scoffed, snorted a little, and rolled her eyes, "Please."

Chuckling, the gentler Berry dad nodded, "Fair enough. That is a bit of a low target for you. You're smart enough to get into any university you want."

Rachel nodded in agreement before poking her fork at a particularly fluffy egg. "I thought maybe something in New York, since I can't imagine really wanting to live quite so far from Quinn."

Quinn let out a sound indicating her agreement as she devoured a mouthful of breakfast. She nodded enthusiastically for emphasis.

"Perhaps, if NYADA were to make an allowance for off-campus-living, you and Quinn could be roommates. And Quinn could go after whatever opportunities she wished."

"'M not a bad actress," Quinn mused through another large spoonful of food, sloppily.

Rachel looked only mildly disgusted, and took the muffled comment into consideration. "Perhaps you could pursue a drama degree."

The blonde shrugged. Just as she was about to speak, she started to choke. In a panic, Rachel started patting her back, and it took a few minutes for the girl to get control of herself.

"Graceful and ladylike," Hiram teased, patting Quinn's hand as he passed her a glass of water, then busied himself with the dishes.

"I was acting," Quinn mumbled, but gave a thankful half-smile to Rachel.

###

Application time. The prospect was daunting and overwhelming. Largely, Quinn thought that she could be perfectly happy without a college degree – but something deep within her said that she couldn't simply ignore an opportunity. With Rachel constantly filling out her own pile (a very large pile) of applications, the blonde felt a particular need to match that to some extent. She wished she had as great of a passion and knew a key thing about herself that Rachel seemed to. The girl was destined for Broadway and she'd always known that. And here, Quinn found herself musing that she'd really never felt a particular passion for anything. Then again, outside of cheerleading she hadn't tried much. She'd been limited by her upbringing; joining glee club had been enough for her parents to accept. Hell, it'd been a lot for her to expect.

The brunette happened upon Quinn in the living-room one afternoon reading a history of dramatic arts. She had always been fascinated with actresses from film's most profound eras. Of course, the ever-popular Audrey Hepburn. Deborah Kerr. Ginger Rogers. She could see herself in roles like they played – only a little more mindful of circumstances and maybe nearly as funny.

"Ah hah," Rachel drew out the last syllable with a sly grin, and Quinn only rolled her eyes in response. She glanced up at playful brown eyes, wrapped tender fingers around the back of Rachel's neck, and pulled her down for a tender kiss.

Quinn's answering smile communicated the burgeoning of joy she felt at the sight of Rachel, as if she were looking upon her for the first time. "Hello to you, too. I figured you wanted time to fill out your applications in peace."

Rachel nodded, hands behind her back, smoothing out the back of her skirt as she sat. "So you've been thinking about NYADA?"

"Yeah, but the application process. I mean, they're so incredibly selective."

Another nod. "Well, I have kind of a surprise for you." Rachel seemed a little hesitant, as if she thought Quinn wouldn't approve of what she'd done. "I didn't want to overstep my boundaries as your partner but I felt that I truly wanted to help you on your way … like you once did for me. So I may have some applications upstairs for you to look over."

Quinn arched a perfectly manicured eyebrow. She should've probably expected Rachel to help her along, but she'd grown so used to depending on herself over the years that it only made sense to keep herself grounded. "Really?"

"Yes, come look," Rachel slipped her fingers between Quinn's and gently pulled her off of the couch. Leaving no room for dissent, she quickly pulled her up the stairs and into the bedroom they now shared nearly all the time. "So, there are some scholarship applications as well as the application to NYADA. I've filled out all my own, and taken the liberty of filling out all the basic details – name, birth date, and so on – but all you've got to do is write the essays, which obviously I can't do for you."

Quinn felt a slow surprise creep up from her fingers to her heart, and a knot formed in her throat. "Rachel, you've already done so much for me and you – "

Rachel shook her head, stood on her tip-toes, and pressed her lips to Quinn's. Her slender arms looped around the blonde's shoulders, chills following a trail of goosebumps. "Quinn Fabray, I love you more than life itself. We have something … " Quinn felt her breath hitch as Rachel closed the distance with another kiss, "something that defies a normal archetype, something that people look for all their lives. I'm not going to just sit by and let you do everything as if you're still alone." Rachel traced her fingers across Quinn's jawbone and upward to brush her blonde hair behind her ear, "You'll never be alone again."

"Well, damn," Quinn smiled. She kissed Rachel languidly, wrapped her arms tightly around the brunette's waist. "I love you. You're the most … " she swallowed the knot in her throat and closed her eyes to gather herself, "amazing person I have ever known. Thank you."

"Anything for you."

Whether she got into NYADA with Rachel or not, she knew she would follow Rachel to the ends of the earth. They were going to New York – together. Happily ever after and all that. Past-Quinn would never have believed it had someone told her this was her future. She might have even been angry, defiant. Yet here she stood wrapped in a certain brunette's arms. Leave romance to the fairy tales, that's what she would've said.

She supposed her expectations had never mattered in this situation. Rachel had changed her life from the very beginning. She'd repaired old broken parts within Quinn and breathed life into her. High school was ending, indeed had ended effectively when she realized there was much more than classes and popularity and grades. Quinn wasn't going into the future alone. Someone was beside her, fighting with her, and for her. For them, and for a happy ending.