An authors note...I hope there are still some of you still interested in this story. I'm sorry it hasn't been updated in what feels like ages, but we'll try to wrap it up ASAP. Thanks for sticking with us, enjoy!

Disclaimer-Glee is the property of FOX, the creators and the writers.

Every Step of the Way

"Hey Quinn, you got a minute?"

Pausing at the sound of her name, Quinn spun around and looked up, smiling. "Sure Sam, what's up?"

The blond glanced down the halls as he shifted slightly from foot to foot. "Can we maybe go somewhere a little more private?" he asked softly.

Quinn's eyes narrowed and her expression turned quizzical, but she shrugged in agreement anyway. "Yeah, sure." She followed him to a remote corner of the school, that was relatively empty this time of day, and glanced over her surroundings. "Sam, what's going on?"

"I wanted to talk to you," he replied simply.

"So that meant bringing me all the way to the custodial wing of the school?" she returned suspiciously.

"I wanted to talk to you in private," Sam elaborated, though not quite enough. He wasn't exactly sure how to approach this subject sensitively.

"You already said that," Quinn reminded him warily.

"It's about Joe."

Shifting a little, she tried to remain casual. "What about Joe?"

Sam let out a heavy sigh and shrugged. "Well he um, came to talk to me today…about you." Quinn's brow shot up, her interest obviously piqued. A knot of dread twisted in her belly. Could Joe have told him?

"Oh yeah, what about?" she asked, her words tumbling out quickly, nervously.

Sam shrugged again, in nervous hesitation. "About his feelings for you," he finally blurted out.

Quinn scoffed at the implication. "I assure you Sam, Joe's feelings for me are purely platonic," she said, giggling softly.

"Are you sure?" he countered skeptically, especially after the conversation they had. "I mean he said he really liked you."

"And I really like him," Quinn returned pointedly. "Joe's a super nice guy who's been helping me with therapy, that's all."

"Whatever happened to Artie, wasn't he helping you?" Sam asked, just realizing now that the two who were practically inseparable just a few weeks ago, were hardly interacting at all anymore.

Sam still wasn't convinced she was completely understanding what he was getting at, but she was starting to look a little disinterested...or was it angry? "Look, I'm sorry. Maybe it's none of my business, but we dated Quinn, and I care about you."

"I appreciate that Sam," she cut in defensively, "but I assure you, I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"Wait no, I didn't mean it..."

Without waiting for Sam to finish, Quinn simply silenced him with a wave of her hand, signaling this conversation was over. "I know you didn't," she returned, letting out a small sigh before straightening her back and squaring her shoulders confidently. "Thank you for your concern Sam, but there is no need to be worried about me, I'll be just fine." With that, Quinn pushed off with a great flourish down the hall, leaving Sam standing there, gaping after her.

He knew he should have been a little more...descriptive, but how do you tell your wheelchair-bound ex girlfriend that the creepy new kid helping her in therapy may only be interested in getting into her pants? It was fairly clear by the tone she used and her hasty retreat, that Sam had already overstepped his boundaries enough as it was, making Quinn upset with him.

Only she wasn't necessarily upset.

What Sam didn't see was the slight smile of satisfaction forming on Quinn's lips at the notion that Joe liked her. Like, liked her, liked her. He wasn't repulsed by her, as she'd feared, that would be confirmed later that evening at PT when Joe all but asked her to be his girlfriend.

Wheelchair or not, Quinn Fabray still had it...and she knew exactly what she was going to do with it.

...

"Finn, I need to ask you a favor."

Before he'd even had a chance to hear what that favor was, he was agreeing. "Sure Quinn, anything."

Smiling into her phone, Quinn continued...this was going to be much easier than she would have ever imagined. "Well prom is coming up, and this is our senior year. I'm sure you know it's always been my dream to become prom queen...now probably more so than ever." She paused for effect. "I'm calling to ask if you'd like to be my running mate. I mean, we are still the most popular people in the senior class, if not the entire school. We have a duty, an image to uphold. It'll be just like old times."

His silence was unnerving. There was another pause, though this one was followed by a wistful sigh. "I'll understand if you say no, because of Rachel. Even though it was her I was texting back, on the way to your wedding, that caused the horrible accident I was in, leaving me bound to this chair for..."

"No Quinn," Finn finally cut in, "of course not. I mean definitely. Yeah, I'll do it."

"I thought you'd see it that way," Quinn nearly squealed with delight, a triumphant smile spreading across her face. "I'll get these posters printed up tonight, so we can start putting them up tomorrow."