You may say I'm a dreamer...

Another hot boring Sunday afternoon was the though passing through young Quinn Fabray's head as she looked out her living room window waiting for something, anything exciting to happen. But the most excitement she had gotten all morning was watching a group of ants take apart a piece of bread she put on the windowsill outside. Finally giving up on the notion that anything exciting would happen Quinn decides to go and see what her sister Frannie was up too.

"Frannie, I'm bored will you play with me?" Quinn asks with a hint of a whine as she walks into older sisters room.

"Hold on Alex." Frannie tells whoevers on the other line of the telephone that she seemed to be constantly glued to. "Quinn can't you see I'm busy go play with your dolls or something just leave me alone." Frannie tells her exasperated.

"But I already played dolls…"

Frannie in response just turns her back to Quinn and goes back to talking on the phone. "Hey you still there? Nah it was nothing important just my annoying kid sister…"

Quinn hears as she walks away. Maybe her dad would play with her and take her to the park today. Quinn races to the den where she had last seen her father. But when she gets there she finds her dad yelling at the television as he watches some baseball game. Sighing Quinn drags her feet to her mother's room where her last hope of ending this boring day lies. Upon reaching her destination Quinn finds her mother folding some laundry.

"Mom I'm…"

"Let me guess bored?"

"I'm so bored I think I may die of boredom!" Quinn tells her mother before throwing herself down on her parent's bed dramatically.

"Well then it's a good thing I arranged a play date for you this afternoon wouldn't want you ding if boredom anytime soon."

Quinn's head jerks up at the mention of a play date. "A play date with who? Santana's on vacation so it can't be her. Is it Brittany? Or maybe Katie? Who mom who's coming over?!" Quinn asks her mother impatiently.

"Well she's not coming over here you're going to her house. Now go put your shoes on and I'll walk tell you more as I walk you over okay?"

Quinn ran to her room and hurriedly put her shoes on while trying to think which if her friends lived with in walking distance.

"Ready to go?"

"Yup! Now will you tell me who I'm playing with please?" she asked again as they walked out the front door.

" Her name's Rachel and she just moved into the neighborhood with her mother last week."

"oh well how old is she?"

"She's seven but…"

"Seven! Mom I'm 8 years old! I don't want to play with a baby!"

"But her birthday is towards the end of the year so she's really only a year younger than you. Plus she'll actually be in the same grade as you when school starts. Besides she's only a few months younger than you that is a far cry from being a baby. So you will give this girl a chance understood." Her mother tells her in that no nonsense tone.

"Yes mom."

After politely introducing herself to Rachel's mother, Shelby (whom she learned was the new music teacher) she was ushered to the backyard where Rachel was supposedly playing. But looking around all Quinn could see was a giant rectangular cardboard box in the middle of the yard. Confused Quinn started to turn around to walk back inside when she hears…

"Stop! Who are you and what year is it?!"

Quinn turns around coming face to face with a tiny pink water pistol aimed at her. Holding the toy was a tiny girl whose brunette hair was tied back in two pigtails, but it wasn't the water gun that through Quinn off oh know it was what the girl was wearing. From the fuzzy green antennas sitting atop her head, to the red cape tied around her neck, all the way down to the yellow rain boots stood the strangest sight Quinn had seen this whole summer.

Finally shaking herself out her stupor Quinn answers "I'm Quinn. It's 2001. You're Rachel right?"

"2001?! Awe man must've hit the wrong button on my time machine I was supposed to go to 3001."

"Time machine? Do you mean that box?" Quinn asks

"It's not a box! And how do you know my name? Are you one of General Fredrick Harrington's spies?!"

"Time machines, spies, general who? What are you talking about?"

Rachel sighs dropping the act "you know you're not a very good pretender. My mama said you'd play pretend with me but I guess you just don't know how."

"Hey! I can play pretend I just have to know what I'm supposed to be pretending like who are you supposed to be Ant Man?"

"Ant Man? Who's that? Never mind I'm not an ant person I am a time traveling space alien!"

"A space alien! You don't look like a space alien, you look like a little kid with a cape tied around there neck. Besides don't aliens have different colored skin or tongues? You're skin looks normal to me." Quinn says smartly still on the fence about playing with this strange but cute in her own way girl.

"Oh yea?! Then why's my tongue blue last time I checked humans don't have blue tongues! So ha! I do look like a space alien." Rachel says before promptly sticking out her tongue.

"Well uh umm it's cause you ate a blue Popsicle probably I eat those all the time and they make my tongue blue." Quinn responds thinking she's outsmarted her.

"I actually had a blue lollipop. So you're wrong. " Rachel tells her smugly pulling 2 of said lollipops out of her short's back pocket. "You can have one if you want…"

Quinn stretches her hand forward to grab one but Rachel quickly pulls them back before she can get one. "Hey you said I could have one!"

"You didn't let me finish. You can have one if you say that I'm a time traveling space alien!"

"What?! No way." Quinn says with a shake of her head refusing to admit that the blue tongue did make her look a little more alien like.

"oh well more blue raspberry lollipops for me!"

"Blue Raspberry?" Quinn asks making sure she heard right, blue raspberry was her absolute favorite flavor of all time.

"Yup it's my favorite flavor and my mama bought me a bunch to share with whosever I wants. But I guess I'll have to eat them all by myself."

After a quick internal debate with herself Quinn comes to the conclusion that she needed that lollipop if that meant agreeing with this unique but intriguing (Her mom taught her that word last week) girl then so be it. "Fine, you really are a time traveling alien. Now can I have a lollipop?"

"Here you go, see now was that so hard to say?" Rachel tells her handing her the candy. "you know you can stay and play if you want. But we can play something else umm I have some Barbies we could play with if you'd like?" Rachel tells her hoping she'll agree to stay and play.

Quinn pulls the sucker out of her mouth "Nah I already played Barbies yesterday."

"Oh okay we can play…"

Quinn cuts her off asking with a quirked eyebrow "what if I don't want to be an alien?"

" Wait you want to play time traveling with me?! Rachel asks excitedly. To which Quinn answers with a simple nod of her head. "You don't have to be an alien! You can be anything you want like umm a…"

"a time traveling cowgirl?" Quinn suggests.

"That's perfect come on I have some dress up clothes in my room you can borrow." Rachel tells her happily.

"you know you're really pretty for a time traveling space alien" Quinn tells her without thinking, as they walk through the house.

Rachel stops and turns to look at Quinn "really you think I'm pretty?"

Quinn nods her head shyly a small blush coloring her cheeks as she realizes what she actually said.

"Well I think you're the prettiest girl I ever met. Now come on lets go find you a cowgirl hat!" Rachel says quickly changing the subject while grabbing Quinn's free hand and leading her back inside the house.

"So how've you been? How's NYADA?" I ask her as I lead her to the living room where the piano is situated.

"I've been…okay I guess. NYADA's amazing and Kurt's attending this semester so that's an added bonus. We're renting an apartment together, along with Santana. Well Santana doesn't pay rent as of right now but still she definitely makes things a lot more interesting."

"I'm glad you're happy at NYADA, I can only imagine what living with Santana must be like. You've only been okay? Did something happen?"

"I uh…no nothing happened just boy drama you know? Thankfully it's all over now." She tells as she starts to look over my selection on the piano. "So what about you? How's your life been? How's Beth? She'll be 3 soon right?"

"I've been good, I'm a music teacher at the local middle school. Beth's good growing like a weed though lately, hard to believe that she'll be turning three next month. She's over at a friend's house for the day so you don't have to worry about her interrupting us."

She nods continuing to look over the music.

"So did you have any songs in mind for your audition?" I ask

"A few but I don't know none of them feel right."

"Well why don't we go through some vocal warm ups first and then we'll put our heads together and see what we can come up with."

"Sounds good." She responds. We go through the warm ups fairly quick and then decide to test out some of the songs I had chosen for her. But an hour later we're back to looking through the sheet music.

"Shelby do you think I could use your laptop real quick to pull up some of the sheet music from Funny Girl. They said that they might ask us to sing a piece from the musical so I want to go through some of the song choices. Normally I have my own but Kurt borrowed it the other day and has yet to give it back."

"Forget the laptop I have every piece of sheet music related to Funny Girl in that chest over there." I tell her pointing to the decorative chest that also acted as my coffee table. "Were you thinking of singingDon't Rain on my Parade?"

"Don't you think that'll be too risky or overdone?"

"Honestly, yes it probably we'll be overdone. But I know for fact that there are very few people who can actually sing it well. And Rachel not only can you sing it with the right emotional depth but you sing it in a way that makes it all your own. So trust me there's no risk involved with you singing that song. "

" Unless I choke on it again." I hear her mumble. I turned to her surprised and was about to ask her when that had happened, but I can see I really wasn't meant to hear it, as she now has her back to me as she starts searching through the chest. I leave her be for a few minutes while I put back some of the sheet music we had both vetoed.

"Oh my god! Shelby! Why didn't you tell me you have like every Fanny Brice costume piece imaginable in here!" I hear Rachel shriek excitedly as she turns to look at me holding one of the coats in her hands.

"Huh? I forgot those were in there."

"Where did you even get all of this?"

"Here and there I usually just found them randomly." I respond as she continues to look through everything. She looked like a kid in a candy store. Her eyes shining bright with excitement, I couldn't help but smile at her giddiness.

"Do you want to try some of them on?"

She turns to me with a huge grin on her face "Can I?!"

"Yea, go ahead I was around your age when I bought most of them so a majority of the pieces should be your size."

"I don't know where to start!"

"Well if you need me I'll be in the kitchen making us a light lunch." I tell her as I walk to the kitchen.

I was just finishing up the pasta salad I was making for us when I hear,

"Mommy! Mommy!"

"Rach, what have I told you before you only need to say it once." I tell my slightly impatient five-year-old as I walk into the living room, where I find her dressed up in one of my Fanny Brice costumes. Although it was more like she was swimming in it.

"Mommy! I'm not Rachel, I'm Fanny Brice!"

"Oh I'm so sorry, my mistake. It's very nice to meet you miss Fanny Brice." I say playing along.

"It's nice to meets you too. Do you want to hear me sing?"

"I'd love to hear you sing."

"Yay!" she exclaims clapping her hands excitedly "okay now you sit right there mommy." she tells me pointing to the center of the couch. I sit down in my designated spot and watch her grab her plastic microphone.

She's barely three lines into,Don't Rain on my Parade when the hat she was wearing falls over her eyes I have to hold back a chuckle at how adorable she looks in that moment. She tries to fix the hat but it refuses to cooperate with her.

"Humph! I don't like this hat mommy, it's not letting me sing!"

"Oh let mommy see I think I can fix it for you." She slowly walks over to me holding up the coat she's wearing so she wont trip over it, and hands me the hat. I pull out some of the bobby pins I had in my hair and secure them to the inside of the hat before securing to her head. "There it should stay on now."

"Yay! Thank you mama!" she goes back to the center of the room and istead of singing she starts posing.

"Now what are you doing baby girl?"

"I'm a fashion model!"

oh well if you're a fashion model then you need someone to take your picture."

"Mama will you take my picture? please. Shelby?"

"Shelby? Shelby, are you okay?"

"What? Oh Rachel sorry I spaced out there for a moment." I tell Rachel as I'm shaken out of my wonderful daydream. "Oh wow! Rachel you look amazing."

"Really? You think so?"

"yes you look beautiful, did, did you want me to take a picture?"

"oh could you please? My phone just died so would you mind using your phone and then sending the pictures to me?"

"of course no problem." I tell her grabbing my phone. "Now come on aren't you going to strike a pose?"

She laughs before striking a pose and while she's standing there striking different poses I swear I get a flash of the little five year old from my dreams that loved to play dress up.

After the mini photo shoot she changes back into her normal clothes and we get back to working on her audition. Two hours later we're both happy with her song choices and now she's getting her stuff together to head back home.

"Thank you Shelby…for all your help and advice it really means a lot to me."

"You're welcome and I'll be more than glad to help again if you need it." I tell her as she walks towards the door. "break a leg, next week and let me know how it goes."

"Thanks, I'll text you after the audition or something. Well umm bye and thanks again." She says walking out the door. But before she can get to far I call out to her

"Rachel! Wait…"

"Did I forget something?"

"No it's just…Listen I know I don't deserve another chance after all I've put you through but I would love it if maybe you'd treat you to lunch sometime? Let us get to know each other better?"

"umm I don't know Shelby, I mean don't get me wrong I'm grateful for all your help back there but I gotta go its getting late uh I'll, I'll call you." She tells me as she walks away from me.

I get a text from her a couple weeks later.

[Rachel] didn't get the funny girl audition :( But one of the producers asked me to audition for this other show that he's working on :)

[me] oh I'm sorry to hear about funny girl. But congrats on the other audition offer!

[Rachel] does your offer for lunch still stand?

[me] yes

[Rachel] 2:30 Saturday work for you?

I'm a little stunned that she actually wants to have lunch with me that I don't respond right away.

[Rachel] Shelby?

[me] 2:30 Saturday sounds perfect.