Okay so this is something that has been sitting on my laptop for some time and I never posted it until now. This is a companion piece to Saving Me. It's gonna be made up of a few chapters to show where Quinn, Charlotte and the rest of the Gleeks have ended up since the end of Saving Me.
The chapters may jump between different times in the girls lives and they won't be very long. As I said, this is a companion piece, not a full length fic, When Nightmares Become Reality is my priority. If and when inspiration strikes I'll add another little chapter. Until then I hope you enjoy this little slice of fiction
She reached out a hand and brushed a strand of blonde hair away from the peaceful sleeping face of her love, watching the gentle rise and fall of her chest, listening to the soft murmuring of her own name that would slip past pink lips every now and again and the crease that would settle between perfectly shaped eyebrows as an unwanted vision would appear in her dreams, before smoothing out as a new dream replaced it.
Every night she sat by the side of the bed and just watched over the only woman she had ever loved, hoping that each new day would bring with it something positive, something wonderful that could bring back a genuine smile to a face that had been marred by such sorrow for the last few years. But above all else, she hoped something, or more specifically someone, would come along to help restore a sense of faith in love, that the blonde angel sleeping next to her had lost.
However, that wasn't to say the woman sleeping next to her was miserable. No, there was one thing that still ignited a burning passion and a wave of emotions within the blonde. Turning towards the window, she closed her eyes and smiled as the first rays of the sun came steaming through the crack in the curtain, slowly illuminating her face. And then she felt it, the presence of the one thing that was keeping her love moving forward, quietly coming down the hall and she smiled.
The door creaked open and the noise alerted Quinn to movement in the room. Peeping with one eye, she smiled when she saw that familiar flash of brunette hair on the side of the bed, but rather than acknowledging it she pressed her face into the pillow and pretended to sleep. She tried to contain her smile as she felt a weight press down on her body and the sound of breathing next to her ear. She knew what was about to happen, because it happened most mornings. But Quinn was feeling playful today so she decided to have some fun.
When the weight shifted and a small face moved closer towards Quinn's ear with the purpose of waking her up, Quinn bolted up from the bed and pulled the little bundle into her arms and began a tickle fest that resulted in high pitched laughter from her daughter. Charlie tried to paw her mothers' hands off of her but she was laughing so hard she didn't have the strength. To be fair, she was only four and a half years old and according to her aunt Tana, she had her Mama's dwarf syndrome, a comment that earned her a right telling off from Brittany and Quinn.
"Mommy stop!" Charlie managed through her laughter. Quinn continued tickling her daughter for another few moments before eventually giving up her attack when the little brunette made it very clear that if she didn't she would need to use the bathroom. "You know, I thought when you grew out of your baby phase you would stop being such an early bird but apparently not," Quinn sighed sarcastically as she kicked her legs out of the bed and stood up stretching as Charlie sat with her legs dangling off the side gazing up at her.
"What do you say we have some blueberry pancakes for breakfast?" Quinn asked and smiled when her daughters' face lit up. "Yes, yes, yes!" Charlie cheered as she stood up and jumped up and down on the bed. Quinn chuckled and wrapped her arms around the little girl lifting her up and planting her feet on the ground, sending her on her way towards the kitchen downstairs. "MAKE SURE TO LET LOCKIE OUTSIDE TO DO HIS MORNING BUSINESS!" Quinn shouted down the hallway after her, knowing that if she didn't remind her daughter to unlatch the dog flap, then their furry companion would be leaving an accidental present on the floor for Quinn to clean up.
A year and a half ago, the family had been forced to say a tearful goodbye to Arthur when old age, and an ongoing battle with cancer, finally brought an end to the beloved pooches life. It had been hard for Quinn letting go of Arthur, he had been there for so much of the ups and downs in the blondes' life, including Charlotte's birth and first steps and many other happy occasions. But it was also bittersweet because Arthur had been a prominent companion in her life with Rachel. It was difficult to say goodbye but Quinn couldn't allow him to suffer and so she did the humane thing.
Charlie had been particularly upset, Arthur had been her play friend her whole life up to that point. She eventually got over it, like most young kids do. However, she wasn't to be without a loyal pal for too long when Puck showed up at the door with a golden retriever puppy who he claimed was in need of a new home. Quinn was well aware that the dog hadn't been found in an abandoned box by the side of the road like Puck claimed, but when she saw her daughter cuddling the new little arrival, she didn't have the heart to say no. And so Lockie, named after Goldie Locks but with a manly twist because of his golden fur, became a new member of the Fabray household.
That was another new development in the girls' lives. After much debate with herself, Quinn had decided to move out of the New York penthouse she had shared with her wife, and where they had started their family, and into a luxurious brownstone house in one of the cities more family friendly neighbourhoods, where they also happened to have some well know neighbours. The house was perfect, plenty of space, a good sized kitchen and living room, plenty of guest rooms and more importantly, a back yard for Charlie to play in with her cousins and friends.
Changes had been made, plans had been discussed all in an attempt by Quinn to move forward with her life, and it was working, to an extent. Her career was constantly on the rise, bigger movies, big awards, big pay checks. She had an amazing relationship with her daughter who was growing up to be the ultimate blend of both Quinn and Rachel's personalities. Everything was going really well. There was just one thing that was still on hold and didn't show any signs of progressing, Quinn's love life.
Rachel had made it clear, in several letters she had left behind for Quinn that had been given to her by Santana at various different times over the last few years, that she wanted the best for her wife, and made it quite evident that she would be happy for Quinn and Charlie to have someone new in their lives. Because Rachel knew, she knew that at some point her family would need that other presence in their lives to complete the little family unit, and that she wasn't being replaced, somebody else was simply doing the job that Rachel couldn't physically do anymore.
Rachel couldn't give hugs and kisses, or hold her girls when they needed comfort. She couldn't sit in the audience and placate Quinn's nerves by holding her hand or rubbing her back when Charlotte took part in her first school recital. She couldn't wipe away the tears that fell whenever either one of them was upset. There was however, one thing she could do, and that was love them eternally and unconditionally and she would, until the day they could all be reunited.
But until then, she wanted that physical presence of a new love around to keep her family moving forward. Sure the girls had their friends, and they always looked out for Quinn and Charlotte, but they had or would eventually have families of their own to look after. Rachel's girls needed someone who didn't have to divide their attention, someone who could be there when Santana, or Puck or Kurt couldn't. Someone whose world revolved around them and who would treat them like the precious gems Rachel believed them to be.
Quinn, for her part, knew all this. She knew her wife would be okay with her moving on and she knew that if the day ever came, she would have Rachel's blessing. But Quinn couldn't reconcile what her heart wanted and what her head knew to be true. Quinn had been around many beautiful women over the years, women who were clearly interested in her and were totally fine with the idea that the blonde was a single parent. But even though this was clear, Quinn never looked at them with any sort of interest beyond friendship.
In fact, there had only been one instance where she showed remote interest in another person, but it fizzled out pretty rapidly. The problem had been obvious to Santana from the moment she set eyes on the person who had caught her best friends attention. Quinn wasn't actually interested in the woman as a person. No, what caught her eye was that she looked like the blondes' dead wife. From the long brown hair, to the deep chocolate eyes, the full lips, even her personality was a little like Rachel's. But the more Quinn talked to her the more she realised she was nothing like her wife and that quickly put an end to any notions Quinn had about possibly dating.
Mornings in the Fabray house had been slightly hectic over the last few weeks because of Quinn's shooting schedule, but she had been adamant that every day she had breakfast with Charlie before leaving for work. The great thing about this film schedule was that it coincided with Brittany's maternity leave from work, so Charlie had a regular baby sitter, and a playmate in the Pierce-Lopez's three year old son Ricky. Because the Fabray house had a yard, it seemed more logical for Brittany to keep the kids at the house. Santana would drop by after work and when Quinn arrived home they would all have dinner together. It was a little chaotic at times, but it worked for all of them.
"Lockie, into bed boy," Quinn said as she gathered up her handbag and made sure all her essentials were in it, iPad, chargers, purse, iPhone, her lines for the scenes she was shooting that day. A knock at the door sounded just before it was opened and promptly closed. "Morning," Brittany called out as she bounced into the kitchen with Ricky trailing behind her. The little dark haired boy made his way to the table and sat down next to Charlotte who was still eating breakfast. Quinn turned and smiled at her friend.
"Morning B, morning Ricky," she said glancing over her shoulder at the young boy. She got a cheeky smile in return, eerily similar to Santana's trademark smirk and she giggled a little before gesturing to the kitchen island and the table. "I just made a fresh batch of blueberry pancakes, so help yourselves." A car horn outside alerted Quinn to her chauffer driven car waiting on the street and she quickly made her way to the kitchen table, ruffling Ricky's hair as she passed.
"Okay, I gotta go to work. I'll see you later. Be good for your Aunty Britt," she said as she leaned down and kissed her daughter on the forehead, receiving a peck on the cheek in return. "Bye guys," she called out as she made her way to the front door and quickly exited. Charlotte looked up from her plate and sat up on her knees on the chair, turning to face the pregnant blonde standing by the island. "Aunt B, can we play on the trampoline after we've finished eating?" she asked. Brittany smiled around her glass of orange juice and nodded her head, "Of course sweetie."
"Here, you look like you could use it," Kate said as she handed Quinn a caramel macchiato. The blonde put down the script changes she had been reading and smiled gratefully. "Ugh, you're a life saver you know that," Quinn replied as she took a sip of her beverage. The brunette assistant sat down in the vacant seat next to her boss and glanced out over the set from under the shade of the canopy. The sun was out and it was a beautiful day. She loved this job, Quinn was really easy to work for and on days when Charlotte was on set, the little girl would regale her with tales of her adventures with her Mommy. She thought it was cute how close the mother daughter pair were.
"Oh, your cells ringing," Kate noted as she pulled out the buzzing device from her pocket where she had stashed it when Quinn had to dash off to film a scene. Handing it over, Quinn frowned when she saw Brittany's name flashing across the screen. Swiping the answer option she pressed the device to her ear and stood from her chair. "Hey Britt, is everything okay?" she asked, crossing her arm over her chest. Kate picked up her iPad to check her schedule so she was concentrating on something other than the call so that her boss could have some privacy.
"Wait what?" Quinn said, raising a hand to her ear to block out the external noise of the crew. When Brittany repeated what she said, Quinn's face seemed to pale, well more than usual, and she frantically gathered her stuff as she disconnected the call. Kate looked at her confused but before she could answer Quinn began rambling. "That was Brittany, Charlie's had an accident, I have to get down to the hospital. Tell James I'm sorry," she said, as she dashed off intent on grabbing a cab rather than waiting for her private car.
Kate stood up but before she could say anything or ask if Charlie was okay Quinn was gone. So, gathering herself together she went in search of the director to explain that the blonde had a family emergency and had to leave the set. She was not looking forward to that discussion, but she had a job to do and she had to do it. Quinn was a mother first and an actress second, simple as that. James could like it or lump it, but she had a feeling he would get over it. He would be ridiculous to let go of an Oscar winning actress.
Across town, Quinn jogged into the hospital emergency bay and instantly spotted her daughter propped up on a bed with Brittany and Ricky standing next to her. Rushing over to the bed she leaned down and wrapped Charlie in arms, mindful of her arm that was resting on a pillow with two straight pieces of foam either side keeping it straight. "Oh sweetie, are you okay?" she asked as she wiped away her daughters tears. Charlie rested her head against Quinn and shook her head. "My arm hurts," she managed through her tears. Quinn looked up at Brittany silently asking her what happened.
"It's a broken arm, she was playing on the trampoline with Ricky and her foot got caught in the safety net when she was climbing out and she put her arm out to break her fall. The doctor says she'll be fine, they're gonna take her up to get her arm in a cast in a couple of minutes," Brittany explained. Quinn nodded her head, relieved to hear it was just a regular childhood mishap that injured her daughter and nothing more serious. She stroked Charlie's hair as she inspected the tiny arm that was lying limply by the little girls' side.
She watched from the distance with one arm across her stomach, with her other hand resting against her chest, as the blonde comforted the small child, soothing her of her pain. It brought a tear to her eye but the relief she felt when she realised the tiny brunette was okay was unspeakable. Moving closer to the bed, she stood next to the blonde woman cradling the little girl and she placed her hand on the woman's lower back offering comfort.
In an instant the blondes face relaxed. It was hard being near these people and not being able to communicate with them, but every now and again she felt like maybe they could feel her presence in the room and they knew she was there, or at least she hoped. Leaning up towards the blondes ear, she sighed and then in a gentle voice she said, "It's gonna be okay baby, she's gonna be okay," and then she closed her eyes and retreated back up above the clouds.