A/N: Christmas one-shot for the lovely anon. The other Christmas one-shot was rewritten for New Year's Eve instead and yes, I ship Samchel too. Any hate comments about me writing Samchel will be ignored. Happy holidays, everyone!
Surviving Christmas
Quinn let out another sigh as she stole yet another glance at the clock on the wall. Finn promised her that he would be here for Christmas! There were only two hours until midnight now and to top things off, his flight was running late. He could have been here earlier, but his boss had asked him to fill in for him at some company meeting at the last minute. Quinn disliked the man before, but now she hated him.
"Stop staring at the clock, Fabray," Santana told her from the couch, Brittany nodding in agreement from beside her. "He'll be here before midnight, okay?"
"How can you be so sure?" Quinn asked her, gripping onto her mug of steaming hot chocolate a little tighter.
"Just a feeling," the Latina answered with a shrug, sharing a look with Brittany, one that the blonde failed to notice.
When Quinn continued to look at her skeptically, Santana tried to reason with her, a frustrated sigh on her lips.
"Look, Q," she explained to her, lips pursed, her arms locked across her chest. "Staring at the clock won't make Finn magically appear. He'll get here when he gets here."
"He promised to be here for Christmas!" Quinn continued to whine, her lips in a pout. "Otherwise, I would never have let him go on that business trip!"
Santana glanced at the clock when she did. Only fifteen minutes had passed. Great. She hoped Hudson would get here soon.
Finn stole another glance at his watch. There were two hours until midnight and he needed to get to Quinn in time. For one, he had promised her that he would be back in time for Christmas and for another, he had purchased the ring with the intention of proposing to her on Christmas Day. In two hours, his plan would be ruined.
"Sir, can you please fasten your seatbelt?" the flight attendant asked him, interrupting his thoughts.
There was a practiced smile on her face. He looked up at her and returned her smile before doing as he was told.
"Sorry, I forgot," he explained himself, although he doubted that she would care. "Just came back from the bathroom."
She nodded her head, clearly uninterested in what he had to say and moved on to check on the other passengers, leaving Finn to his thoughts once more. Was the universe trying to tell him something by delaying his flight? Well, the universe was going to have to kiss his ass because he fully intended on making Quinn his fiancée before the clock struck twelve tonight. Just then, Finn felt a bump. Apparently, the woman sitting next to him did as well because she suddenly had his arm in a death grip.
"Ladies and gentleman," came the pilot's voice over the speaker system (as was expected). "Please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts. We seem to experiencing some turbulence. Thank you."
Finn looked over the fact that the woman beside him was currently digging her nails into his skin and glanced at his watch again. He had an hour and forty five minutes to get to her now. God help him.
Puck pulled out his cell phone to check the time, forgetting for a moment that there was a huge digital clock right above his head. An hour and thirty minutes until midnight. Quinn had already called him three times to ask whether or not Finn's flight had landed yet. She insisted that the flight updates given by the airline themselves were somehow unreliable, which promptly led Puck to roll his eyes and call her crazy.
"Just call me when you see him, okay?" she had said in response, a hint of worry in her voice.
"Yeah, yeah," he had answered before hanging up the phone.
An hour and twenty five minutes. Finn should never have agreed to fill in for his boss at that last minute meeting. Now Quinn was going to kill him, Finn (of course), and anyone else she wanted to.
"Dude," he groaned, falling back into one of the chairs. "We are so dead."
Sam let out a loud laugh from beside him.
Shaking his head, he corrected him, "Hey. You're the one who's supposed to deliver Finn to Quinn. I'm just waiting for Rachel."
"Well, Hudson better hurry the fuck up because Quinn is getting impatient," he continued to whine. "I'm about to become collateral damage. Meanwhile, you're about to go to the Bahamas with Berry."
Sam laughed again, slapping him on the shoulder, "Yeah, sucks to be you, bro."
Puck just glared at him before letting out another loud groan because Quinn was calling him again. Sweet baby Jesus. Would the torture never end?
Brittany grabbed a hold of Santana's hand when Quinn announced the time for the umpteenth time. One hour until midnight. She knew that the Latina was dangerously close to killing the blonde, so she was trying to keep her calm. Santana turned to glare at her when she felt the tug on her hand, but upon looking down and seeing their fingers laced together, her irritated expression became visibly relaxed. Brittany glanced over at where Quinn was currently pacing back and forth in front of the clock. She felt bad for her, not getting to spend Christmas with the one she loved. While Santana kept her focus on the TV screen, Brittany stole a peek at the clock herself. Well, Finn still had an hour to get here. She remembered how nervous Finn had been picking out the ring.
"Thanks for coming with me, Brittany," Finn said as they walked into Tiffany & Co. "I want to get something special for Quinn and I could really use a girl's opinion."
"No problem," the blonde responded as a staff member approached them. "Happy to help."
"May I help you with anything?" Sandra (or so her nametag read) wondered, smiling at the happy couple. "Are you looking for something special for the lady?"
Brittany laughed, shaking her head at her, while Finn just stood there in awe at 1) how huge the store was and 2) the wide selection of rings available.
"Definitely not," she informed her. "He's not really my type. He's hoping to find the perfect engagement ring for one of my best friends though."
"My apologies," Sandra said, embarrassed that she had jumped to conclusions about them being a couple. She turned to Finn and asked him, "Do you have a particular style in mind?"
"Uh, not really, no," Finn answered her, finally snapping to. "Something simple I guess, but not too simple. Something shiny, but not too shiny so as to outshine her. Something classic…"
"…but modern too?" Brittany and Sandra both finished for him at the same time before falling into a fit of giggles.
Clearly, Finn had no idea what he wanted in his engagement ring for Quinn.
"Tell you what," Sandra suggested, leading them toward one of the counters. "I'll show you a few rings. You tell me what you like and what you don't like. We'll figure this out."
"Okay, great," Finn commented, glad that he had encountered such a patient sales person.
Sandra laid out a varied selection for him on a large velvet cushion to see. Finn groaned inwardly as he looked at each one. How would he know which ring was the perfect one for Quinn? He was desperate for a sign, any sign, although none came. Brittany and Sandra were both extremely helpful though and by the end of the day, Finn had purchased the perfect ring for the love of his life.
Brittany snapped out of her reverie when she heard shouting from behind her.
"For God's sake, Quinn! Stop pacing! You're giving me a headache!" Santana shouted, marching over to where her best friend was currently running down their tiled kitchen floor.
"How am I giving you a headache?" Quinn shot back, equally frustrated. "I've stopped announcing the time every five minutes already like you requested. Besides, you're not even looking in my direction! You're watching Elf on TV for crying out loud!"
Santana brought a hand up to massage her temples then, Brittany standing in between them now, trying to get them both to calm down.
"Okay, I'm calm. I'm calm," Santana finally announced, going back over to the couch and pulling Brittany along with her. "For the record, we're watching How The Grinch Stole Christmas," she sneered before turning up the volume.
"Be more sympathetic," Brittany murmured in her ear as Quinn calmed down too and went to go pour herself another cup of hot chocolate.
"I know I should be," the Latina told her with a sigh. "I'm trying, B. Really I am, but she's starting to get really fucking annoying."
"I heard that!" Quinn exclaimed from the open kitchen, her back turned toward them.
Brittany let out a giggle and soon, all three of them were giggling. Five minutes later, neither of them were exactly sure what they were giggling about.
"Forty five fucking minutes until midnight," Sam heard Puck announce. "Where the fuck is Hudson?"
Sam shrugged, but went to ask a staff member (again) when his flight was expected to arrive. After he got the information he was looking for, the blonde returned to Puck's side.
"He should be here in another fifteen minutes," he relayed the information to him.
"Oh great," Puck muttered under his breath, ignoring his ringing phone because he was sure that Quinn would be on the other end of the line. "With the snow storm going on outside, we'll be lucky to arrive at the apartment before midnight."
Sam shrugged. He honestly had no idea what the big deal was.
"Look, I know Finn has been planning to propose to Quinn on Christmas for several months now, but honestly, does the day he proposes to her really matter all that much? We both know Quinn would say yes any day of the week at any hour of the day," he pointed out to him, checking the time again and starting to wonder where the hell Rachel was.
"You're preaching to the choir here, buddy," Puck responded just as Rachel came running toward them, pulling her suitcase behind her.
"I'm here! I'm here!" the petite brunette shouted, an apologetic look on her face.
Sam smiled when he saw her. He knew that no one who knew them had ever expected them to date, but somehow, he and Rachel worked really well together. In fact, after being together for a little over two years now, Sam was pretty sure he loved her.
"Finally," he drawled, rolling his eyes. "I thought you were going to bail on me."
"Crossed my mind," she teased him, giving him a small kiss before turning to give Puck a hug. "Quinn still bugging you?"
"Ugh, non-stop," Puck enlightened her, collapsing into his chair once more.
Sam glanced at Rachel and he knew she was thinking the exact same thing he was. What a drama queen.
When the plane finally landed, Finn shot out of there at lightening speed.
"Good luck!" Sherry, the woman who had been sitting beside him shouted, having been filled in on the current situation.
Finn shouted a 'thank you' back without turning back to look at her. He knew that she understood his urgency to leave. He breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted Puck, Sam, and Rachel, hurrying toward them.
"Dude," Puck greeted him when he spotted him, getting up from his seat. "I hate to break the bad news, but there's no way we'll be able to make it to the apartment in fifteen minutes."
Finn frowned, giving Sam and Rachel a small wave in greeting.
"What are you talking about?" he retorted, showing him his watch. "We still have half an hour."
Puck pointed to the huge digital clock above their head and told him regretfully, "No, we don't. Your watch is wrong. You and I are both dead meat."
Sam decided to speak up when he saw Finn's face fall. He looked like he was going to start goddamn crying.
"Finn, you can propose to Quinn anytime," he reminded him, trying to comfort him. "She'd say yes any day. You know that."
"I know!" Finn echoed, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "But she's always dreamed of being proposed to on Christmas Day."
Sam glanced up at the digital clock again. Ten minutes. He and Rachel needed to jet. He patted him on the shoulder sympathetically.
"Next Christmas then," he suggested, Puck and Rachel nodding in agreement on either side of him.
"Yeah, I guess," Finn responded, his shoulders slumped in defeat.
He slid into the chair beside Puck and took out the ring that he had meant to put on her finger tonight.
"Next year then," he murmured, disappointment in his voice. He turned to Puck and said, "Come on then. Let's go."
"Finn Christopher Hudson!" yelled a familiar voice from behind them then and the four of them swiveled around, looks of shock on their faces.
Quinn!
"Puck's ignoring my calls!" Quinn shared in exasperation and Santana bit her tongue to keep herself from making a biting remark in response.
Meanwhile, Brittany turned to look at the blonde, who looked like she was about to have a mental breakdown. She frowned at the sight. Poor Quinn.
When the blonde heard her mutter death threats under her breath, she got up, went over to her and assured her, "You won't want to kill him once he arrives."
Brittany knew that Finn had wanted to propose to Quinn on Christmas Day, but surely, he would still propose to her past midnight.
"I highly doubt that," Quinn told her, drumming her fingers repeatedly on the countertop. "Ugh! I should never have let him go on that business trip. We already didn't get to spend Christmas together last year because of one of his stupid business trips. There's absolutely nothing that would stop me from kill-"
"Not even if he proposed to you?" Santana wondered from the couch, slapping her hand over her mouth the moment the question left her lips.
Oh fuck.
"He…What?" Quinn questioned, running to her side. "Finn's planning on proposing to me?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," the Latina lied, feigning innocence, although she was still mentally kicking herself for her outburst.
"The cat's out of the bag, San," Brittany stated the obvious, nodding her head to confirm what Santana had said. "Actually, he wanted to propose to you on Christmas Day, but…" She trailed off, glancing at the clock, which read 11:35. "…I don't think that's a possibility anymore, Quinn."
Quinn followed her gaze to the clock. Slipping on her coat, she sped out of the apartment.
"Where the hell is she going?" Santana wondered, grabbing her coat and running after the blonde, Brittany close behind her.
Quinn ignored the shocked look on everyone's faces and focused on Finn. She knew Santana and Brittany probably thought she was crazy, but she had always dreamed about getting engaged on Christmas Day. Her parents had gotten engaged on Christmas Day. Finn knew that and she knew him, which meant that he would push back the proposal until next Christmas. Quinn was not okay with waiting another year. She glanced up at the digital clock. One minute until midnight.
"Ask me," she demanded breathlessly when she reached him.
"What?" Finn echoed, still shocked by her presence at the airport.
"Ask her!" everyone shouted in unison, tired of all the craziness already.
Finn finally caught on. Thirty seconds until midnight.
He got down on one knee, whipped out the box from Tiffany and Co., flipped open the top, and wondered, "Quinn Fabray, will you marry me?"
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Quinn proclaimed, starting to tear up as Finn slipped the ring on her finger.
She threw her arms around him when he stood up and kissed him, several witnesses applauding around them.
Exhausted, Puck fell back into his chair and noted in relief, "With five fucking seconds to spare."
"Thank God," Santana agreed, falling into the chair next to him.
"Craziest Christmas ever," Brittany observed, taking a seat beside Santana.
"It was so romantic though," Rachel argued with a nonchalant shrug from beside Puck. "I've personally always wanted to be proposed to on Christmas Day."
From beside her, Sam looked absolutely horrified, forgetting for a moment that Rachel was Jewish.
"Please tell me you're joking," he begged her, having already picked out the ring and everything.
"I'm joking," the brunette assured him, having already found the engagement ring in his sock drawer a week earlier. "Come on. We're going to be late for our flight."
Sam sighed in relief and took her hand. As he did, they all turned to look at Finn and Quinn who were making out in the middle of the airport, pulling away from each other for long enough once in awhile only to murmur an 'I love you'.
They all shared a look with each other and then shouted in unison, "Get a room!"