A/N: Nothing is owned. All is pretend. Smiles and laughter and fluff, oh God.
My Blobs of Pink Happiness
Quinn sat on her bed, tuning her guitar and watching Beth crawl around the carpeted floor like a little speed demon. She was trying to get her daughter to sing along to some chords, well, to scream along. Beth was just so quiet.
It was slightly worrisome, having such a quiet toddler in the house. Quinn would be in the kitchen, fixing a snack, when she'd turn around to find her daughter sitting on the floor and looking up at her mommy with wide hazel eyes. It was like a damn horror movie, scenes straight from The Shining. Then Quinn would get lost in those eyes and pick up her cuddly little girl, completely forgetting about the snack and her previous cardiac arrest.
Right now, Quinn was playing Row, Row, Row Your Boat, exaggerating the "Rows" as she sang, making herself look like a complete moron and laughing as Beth danced along, waving her little fists in the air. Making no noise whatsoever. Quinn sighed.
Both she and Beth startled when her phone rang, and she sat her guitar on the bed to answer it.
"Hey."
"Okay, where the fuck are you? We said 5, Q. You can't leave me at these lame-ass things by myself."
Quinn moved off the bed and closer to her bedroom door. The less Santana that came blasting through her phone and into her innocent child's ears, the better.
"God, simmer down woman. Where's Britt?"
"She's not coming! She has a dentist appointment or some shit."
"Mmm, oral hygiene is shit isn't it."
"Okay, shut up. Are you coming?"
Quinn moved to her closet and picked a pink jacket from her section of tiny clothes, and a blue one from the normal side. "Yeah, I'm about to leave."
"Are you bringing your Mini-Me?"
Quinn chuckled. "Yes. It's a school carnival. She should be fine right?"
Santana made a noise that sounded like she was dubious. "Well, this Tilt-A-Whirl looks like it's about to tilt itself into goddamned oblivion, so...seriously, it is going to fall over while I'm watching it. Just don't take Tiny Q on it and you're good."
"Yeah, 'cause I was planning on taking my fourteen-month old daughter on the Tilt-A-Whirl."
Santana moaned, "Quinnnnnn, just hurry up. Chang had a fried Twinkie and almost vomited on my shoes. Oh, and don't forget your guitar."
Quinn grimaced, trying to maneuver Beth's arm into the right hole on her jacket. "I'm leaving now. Just…chill."
"Chill my freaking ass…" Santana murmured, hanging up and leaving Quinn with two hands to prepare her daughter for their outing.
She straightened out the pink jacket and added mittens and a matching wool hat with ear flaps and a bobble on the top, smoothing the blonde hair out of Beth's face. She laughed at Beth's lopsided grin.
"Ready cutie?"
Beth nodded and reached her arms up to be held. Quinn quickly slid her guitar into its case and swung it onto her back, then reached down and scooped Beth into her arms, groaning exaggeratedly.
"Oh baby, you're too heavy for mommy. Mommy needs some arm muscles, doesn't she? No, actually, mommy needs to stop talking to herself, right?"
Beth seemed to be blatantly ignoring her. Quinn couldn't blame the girl; she'd gotten used to one-sided conversations with her daughter. Beth spoke when she wanted to, when she just couldn't contain it anymore. Her mommy rambling on about her lack of biceps and upper body strength certainly wouldn't incite much meaningful conversation. There seemed to be only one person in the world who could turn Beth into a screaming, laughing chatterbox of made-up words and songs.
Quinn buckled her puffy pink daughter into her car seat, stowed her guitar in the trunk, and pulled carefully out onto the recently cleared roads, watching for ice and psycho road-ragers.
Me and my best teddy bear, sitting in my favorite chair Me and my teddy, getting all ready
We are going out to play just like every day
I got lots of friends out there and they're lots of fun
But they're not my teddy bear, he's my favorite one
Getting all ready to play
Me and my teddy, getting all ready
Getting all ready to play
Quinn shamelessly belted out the lyrics to Barney's Me and My Teddy and Beth bounced around happily in her car seat. The people in the car next to them at the red light probably thought she was a damn fool, but, whatever. If she was gonna sing Me and My Teddy, she was gonna give it her all.
They pulled up to the school halfway through the song and Quinn parked, unbuckled Beth, and held her on her hip to pop the trunk for the stroller and her guitar. She pulled the stroller out and shook it a little with one hand, seeing if it would unfold itself, then threw it onto the ground when it did not. Quinn reached for the guitar next, holding more tightly onto Beth; today would not be the day she dropped her child.
"Quinn!"
Oh God. Quinn turned to see Rachel Berry hurrying over from her dad's car. She smiled at the smaller girl's outfit that pretty much was exactly the same as her toddler's. The pink ear flaps bobbled as Rachel hustled over to them, face flushed from the cold and grinning brightly.
"Do you want some help?"
"Um…" Quinn didn't have to answer as Rachel finally reached them and went straight for the baby.
"Hi Beth!" Rachel tugged on Beth's earflaps and the little girl giggled. Damn Rachel and her uncanny ability to make us laugh.
"You look adorable! I love your outfit, little cutie!"
Beth grasped one of Rachel's gloved fingers in her little mittened hand and pointed to the bobble on the brunette's hat.
"Mine!"
Okay, whatever. This is freaking ridiculous. Rachel's gonna turn her into a world class orator. Rachel just laughed and Quinn couldn't help but chuckle when she tilted her head forward so Beth could grab the bobble. When Beth tried to remove the hat, Quinn gently grabbed her hand.
"Not yours, baby. Rachel's."
"Rachel." Beth repeated. Rachel, herself, looked incredibly delighted as she finally looked up at Quinn.
"Here Quinn, you get that," Rachel gestured to the guitar in the trunk, "and I'll…inflate the stroller."
Quinn snorted and Beth grabbed her nose.
"Inflate?"
"Um, do you have a better word?" Rachel huffed exaggeratedly.
Quinn really didn't have a better word. Inflate was hard to beat.
"…deploy?"
Now Rachel laughed. "It's your child's stroller, Quinn. Not some tactical war weapon on a submarine."
Quinn rolled her eyes. Rachel really couldn't talk right now, seeing as one of her legs was stuck through the frame of the stroller. Quinn raised her eyebrow and glanced at Beth, who wore the best "WTF" expression a toddler could make.
"You alright there, Rachel?"
Clearly she was not. "Dear God, Quinn, why would you buy the most complicated stroller in the history of the world. I think we might have to call NASA in to…deploy it."
Quinn laughed and stepped forward. "Here." She offered Beth to Rachel, who extricated herself from the stroller and gladly took the child.
"Hey cutie pie!"
Beth giggled some more. "Rachel!"
Quinn waited until Rachel was watching before leaning down, pressing a massive red button, and easily unfolding the stroller before locking it in place. She could see the indignant look on Rachel's face, but the smaller girl seemed to be pretending that she had not seen anything, bouncing Beth around happily.
Quinn rolled her eyes. Again.
"Rachel. It's inflated. You can put her down."
Rachel glanced down at the stroller in faux surprise.
"Oh! Good job, Quinn."
Quinn was starting to see the truth in her mother's insistence that if you roll your eyes enough they'll get stuck in the back of your head. Rachel carefully settled Beth in her stroller and then straightened up and looked expectantly at Quinn.
Quinn stared right back, sort of frozen by Rachel's gaze. Uh, was she expecting something. Payment? A hug? Maybe a high-five of some kind? Oh crap, maybe she wants to tag along. Quinn sighed; if Rachel was with them, Beth would talk all day. Nonstop laughter and singing from her adorable daughter. Definitely worth it.
"Do you wanna come with us, Rachel?"
Rachel beamed. "I'd love to spend the day with you and Beth!"
Okay, that's not what she'd asked, but…whatever.
The three of them moseyed on up to the carnival gates, Rachel rambling about pink cotton candy and Beth's height and the requirements for the different rides. She stopped rambling when the ticket lady greeted Quinn politely and looked disapprovingly out her stupid little box-on-wheels and down in Beth's direction.
Quinn frowned and narrowed her eyes. "How much?" she asked loudly and pointedly, glaring at this dumbass PTA bitch. She paid and was about to move on when Rachel stepped up next to her and addressed the woman.
"Miss, I know Beth's cute, but you really should focus on counting the money. I know some people can do both at the same time, but you just gave her a five back when it should be a twenty. I don't want you to overextend yourself."
Quinn couldn't contain her laugh, but Rachel looked completely serious. Well, damn Berry. Quinn got her money and moved through the gates, grabbing Rachel by the arm because she looked like she was ready to throw down with the PTA bitch.
"Rachel, that was…I don't even…" Okay, Quinn could not stop laughing.
Rachel looked completely serious. "Who is she to judge you, Quinn? You saw her face; she deserved it. Total," Rachel paused and looked down at Beth, "B-I-T-C-H."
Quinn smiled and nodded her head. "Thanks. That was, okay, it was just plain awesome."
"Rachel!" Beth exclaimed and Rachel moved forward so the little girl could see her.
"Beth!"
Rachel turned her head and Quinn knew that Beth was obviously pointing at something. Rachel smiled and nodded her head sagely at Beth.
"Mmm, I don't know if your mommy will approve, Bethie."
Quinn smiled and leaned forward over the stroller to look at her daughter upside-down, making both Beth and Rachel laugh.
"What do you want, baby?"
Beth pointed again at a little boy with a massive stick of pink cotton candy. Quinn groaned automatically; funneling mountains of pure sugar into her toddler could not end well.
"We'll see if we can get one later, baby, okay?"
Beth nodded and went back to waving her arms in her imaginary world. Quinn pushed the stroller to the stage where she and a few others would be performing later to drop off her guitar, Rachel walking next to them the whole time, hands in pockets and making random comments to make Beth giggle and Quinn roll her eyes.
"I used to be able to make balloon animals. They all came out as octopuses though. Octopi? Insects, squid…Really anything with too many limbs."
"Ocopus!" Beth proclaimed from down in the stroller.
"That's right baby girl!" Rachel leaned down to congratulate the toddler and Quinn smiled fondly at the smaller girl. Okay, so she wasn't a complete spaz. A little bit adorable actually. Rachel straightened up and caught Quinn grinning dumbly at her; she just quirked an eyebrow, or tried to, in amusement.
Quinn was startled out of her moronic daze by her phone, and she offered the stroller to Rachel to push for a little bit.
S: Hey. With B. Had to get out.
Quinn shook her head in amusement and annoyance. Of fucking course.
Q: What, you left me here?
S: Lame. But Baby Q will love it.
Q: Ass.
S: Keep your panties on Fabray. You there yet?
Q: Yeah. With Rachel.
Q: S? You still there?
S: I'll say again. Keep your panties on Fabray.
Q: STFU
"Everything okay?" Rachel asked in concern as they entered the line for the Ferris wheel.
Quinn smiled. "Everything's fine." Then she seemed to realize Rachel had led them into this line and her face fell.
"Are you sure?"
"Um, isn't Beth a little small for…"
Rachel glanced down to Beth, who was singing to herself in the stroller and then back at Quinn. "There's no height requirement. It's the only thing she can actually ride."
Quinn just nodded and Rachel smiled softly at her. "Are you scared of heights?"
Quinn scoffed and Rachel's smile grew. "No! God, of course not Berry. Why would you even-I'm worried about Beth."
"Really? Because we don't have to go on it if you don't want to. Right little sweetheart?"
Beth clapped at the question Rachel directed to her and Quinn was forced to laugh. They were next in line, so Quinn made a decision. Ride the death wheel. She pulled Beth out of the stroller and stuck her in Rachel's open arms, and then shoved the stroller off to the side, ready to embark.
Rachel sidled up right next to her, Beth's hands on her nose and spoke to Quinn quietly.
"You really don't have to, Quinn."
"Rachel, it's fine. She'll like the view."
Rachel nodded and stepped onto the platform and then plopped on the seat with Beth wrapped tightly in her arms. Quinn gathered herself and joined them.
"Have you got her?" Quinn asked nervously. Beth was being fidgety and excitable and the last thing she wanted was her baby trying to fling herself over the edge.
Rachel nodded reassuringly. "I hooked her to me."
Quinn stared at her as the cart started moving. "What?"
Rachel lifted up the back of Beth's jacket. Sure enough, the little girl's green belt was hooked to one of the clips on Rachel's jacket. Rachel cuddled Beth closer to her, so that they became a giant blob of bright pink happiness.
"I'd never let anything happen to her, Quinn."
Quinn smiled. "I know."
She relaxed a little to take in the view, realized that the cart had reached the top of the Ferris wheel, and had a minor cardiac arrest. Then she realized how freaking cold it was up here and was unable to focus on anything else.
"Oh my God it's so cold up here!" Rachel exclaimed. "Beth! Why did you make us come on this ride? Hmm?" Rachel bounced her knees to get a reaction from the toddler.
Beth giggled. "Rachel cold! Rachel cold!"
"Yeah Rachel cold." Rachel said. "Quinn cold?"
Quinn turned to look at them with a nervous smile. "Quinn cold too."
Rachel smiled. "Quinn high up. Quinn scared?"
Oh God, what was this turning into?
"Quinn no scared." Quinn said, with a completely serious face.
"Beth scared?"
Beth shook her head and Rachel tapped the bobble on her hat.
"Beth no scared."
"Rachel, you're ridiculous."
Rachel pretended to be offended. "Quinn mean. Right Beth? Quinn mean."
"Quinn mean." Beth repeated. "Mean mommy."
Rachel laughed as Quinn gasped.
"You're turning her against me!" Quinn exclaimed. "Baby, mommy's not mean right?"
"You called me ridiculous!" Rachel argued. Beth seemed to agree with everything Rachel was saying.
"Oh, so you've stopped talking like a caveman baby now."
Rachel narrowed her eyes. "So mean."
"So mean." Beth said.
Rachel erupted into more giggles and Quinn reached over and pulled the pink cap down over her eyes, before crossing her arms and sitting back in her seat.
"You guys are mean."
They got off the Ferris wheel having regained their normal language skills and got Beth some cotton candy before heading to the carnival games. Quinn spent twenty bucks and half an hour on a shooting game with Rachel yelling instructions in her ear. Eventually they walked away with a stuffed penguin as big as Beth, after Rachel accused the guy running the booth of cheating and "destroying innocent children's hopes and dreams."
Then, not having learned her lesson apparently, Rachel spent ten dollars on a game where you have to knock all the bottles down with a ball, and came away with a plastic ring worth twenty-five cents.
She went to put it on Beth's finger but Quinn stilled her hand.
"She'll swallow it, Rach."
Rachel looked disappointed. "Oh yeah. Well," she glanced bashfully up at Quinn and then grabbed the blonde's hand, "here. You can wear it…until she's older."
Quinn wanted to say how she doubted she would keep the ring long enough for Beth to get "older," but Rachel was flushed bright red and she looked so adorable in her puffy pink jacket that Quinn just smiled warmly at her and said thank you.
They could see their breath now and the sun had almost set, so they grabbed some hot cocoas from a vendor and made their way back to the stage.
"Will you watch her, Rachel?" Quinn asked, looking at Beth in the stroller. She looked a little pouty, probably tired. Rachel would always be the one to stave off the tantrums though.
"Of course!" Rachel kneeled down and took Beth's mittened hands in her own. "We have to cheer mommy on, don't we baby?"
"Mommy!" Beth exclaimed, shaking herself out of her tired stupor.
"Mommy sing." Rachel said.
Quinn snorted. "Oh my God, don't start it again." She leaned down and gave Beth a kiss on the forehead, brushing the hair out of her daughter's eyes.
"Give mommy a kiss." Quinn said, pointing at her cheek. Rachel watched with a soft smile on her face.
Beth giggled and planted a sloppy kiss right where Quinn was pointing.
"Good luck, Quinn." Rachel said shyly. "You'll be great."
Quinn smiled at her. "Thanks. The guy before us is an eighty-year old doing Friday, so, you know, how do you follow that?"
Rachel chuckled and wheeled Beth away. "Quinn sing good!"
Quinn watched them go and then met Sam, who'd be on the drums, backstage to set up. It was a short acoustic set so it didn't long once Lima had jeered the old guy singing Rebecca Black offstage.
They started off with The Bravery's Time Won't Let Me Go, with Sam, master of impressions, deepening his voice a little and tapping the beat on the cymbals. He took the lead on Foster the People's Houdini, then they blended their vocals on What a Catch, Donnie. Quinn watched Beth in the front row, sitting on Rachel's lap and pretending like she was playing her own guitar. Rachel was grinning up at Quinn.
The last song was a cover of Follow Through by Gavin Degraw, and Quinn sang it by herself. She watched Beth slide out of Rachel's lap and start to dance, bouncing around and flailing her arms. Rachel laughed and stood up as well, so that they were the only two dancing. Beth could be explained, she was a toddler, but Rachel…Quinn loved that she was making a fool of herself. They weren't even moving to the beat; it was like there was a dub step remix playing in their heads that nobody else was privy to.
Quinn just smiled brighter and sang on.
Oh, this is the start of something good
Don't you agree?
They were rewarded with a standing ovation; Quinn assumed the Lima Winter Carnival had been starved for talent if this was how their little performance was greeted. She gave Sam a hug as they walked offstage.
"Quinn, your girl is dancer!"
Quinn laughed. "I know! She's a little spaz."
"Who are you calling a spaz?"
Quinn turned and saw Rachel rolling up to them with a stroller and a smile on her face. Beth seemed to have worn herself out.
"Both of you. You're both spazzes." Quinn replied. She smiled at her daughter, then at Rachel. "Did she seem cranky? She usually is before going to sleep."
"Nope. After our dance party she just conked out."
Quinn nodded. "Okay, well we should get home. It's bedtime for some of us."
"Um, Quinn," Rachel started, "can you…I mean, if you have to go straight home that's fine, but I could use a ride. My dads are working late and I was supposed to hang out with Kurt and Finn today but they bailed on me and-"
"Rachel, stop yourself. I'll take you home."
Rachel grinned and pushed the stroller alongside Quinn to the car. She extracted Beth, who was now awake with her grumpy face on, while Quinn deflated the stroller and stuffed it in the trunk. As they pulled out of the parking lot, Quinn turned on the radio.
You know I never really fright to get night time Me and my teddy, getting all ready
You know I'm not even scared of the dark
'Cause with my teddy right here alongside me
I'm not even scared of a shark
Getting all ready for school
Me and my teddy, getting all ready
Getting all ready for school
Quinn cringed when Me and My Teddy resumed its play; Rachel turned to look at her in amusement, then faced forward again and belted out the chorus, making Beth laugh and sing along, although she was only making up words. Quinn joined them, blasting Me and My Teddy at the stop sign and dissolving in laughter at the looks from the car next to them.
"I'm surprised you know it, Rachel." Quinn said when they pulled themselves together.
Rachel smiled. "Psshht, that's my jam, Quinn."
Oh God. This girl. They pulled up outside of Rachel's house a few minutes later, now happily singing along to The Rainbow Song.
"Thanks for the ride, Quinn. This was fun."
Quinn smiled warmly at Rachel, who turned around to say bye to Beth.
"Bye bye sweetheart!" she wiggled her fingers in Beth's direction and the little girl smiled tiredly.
"Nigh' Rach."
Rachel smiled fondly at her. "I love you."
Quinn's mouth dropped open a little. Did she-what just… Okay, her chest was flooded with…feelings. Good feelings. Rachel loves Beth. Okay, really, who doesn't love Beth? Rachel looked really shy right then, like she didn't know if it was appropriate. But, dude, of course it's appropriate. Beth's the most lovable being in the world, right?
Quinn stopped her as she was about to climb out of the car.
"Wait, Rachel."
Rachel turned around expectantly, pink hat crooked on her head, cheeks flushed and hair still in disarray from the Ferris wheel.
"I…do you-I mean, this was nice, right?"
Rachel nodded hesitantly, her lips quirked up.
"We should do it again."
Rachel smiled gently. "Like a date?" she asked bashfully.
Quinn nodded and straightened herself out. "Yes. Rachel Berry, you make my daughter laugh and sing and chatter away and she loves you and you love her and I love that about you. So, will you go on a date with me?"
Rachel beamed and bounced around in her seat a little. "Yes! Yes, yes, yes!"
"So…that's a yes?" Quinn laughed.
Rachel smiled and leaned over for a hug; Quinn could barely fit her arms around the puffy pink jacket. She pulled away and said bye to Beth again, then waved bashfully at Quinn from the sidewalk as she rolled away.
"Beth, mommy has a date!"
Beth applauded appropriately; Quinn figured she had no idea what was going on. Whatever; she smiled and blasted The Rainbow Song all the way home.