October 3, 2025
The last bell of the day rang and Quinn collapsed into her chair sending it rolling back about half an inch. She'd only been back from her maternity leave for two weeks, and already Quinn was looking forward to next summer. She loved her job, but when you spend all day with high-schoolers and then go home to two rambunctious little boys and a newborn baby who's not yet sleeping through the night, exhaustion tends to take over. Whenever people asked how she stayed so energetic, Quinn just smiled, not bothering to mention the waste basket full of empty coffee cups that sat under her desk.
Quinn often asked herself how in the world she got to where she was. She'd gone to Yale, for Pete's sake. Yale! And yet, here she was living the exact life she'd spent all of her high school years trying to avoid. There was no denying it anymore: Quinn Puckerman was a Lima Loser. But you know what? Quinn liked it that way. Puck, Liam, Gabriel, and that precious new baby girl were her entire world, and they made her realize that it didn't matter where she lived as long she had her family. It was totally cheesy, but it was still true.
So how exactly did Quinn Fabray end up being a Lima Loser? It all started just days after her graduation from Yale when she spontaneously hopped on a plane to go see New Directions compete in nationals in Washington D.C. At the time, she had no idea why she was going other than the fact that several other original New Directions kids would be there. She didn't find out until the post-competition dinner that night that it was Mr. Shue's last competition because he'd accepted a job in Cincinnati. Knowing that Quinn was planning on becoming a guidance counselor, Mr. Shue asked if she was applying for the now vacant position that his wife had once occupied. Never in a million years did Quinn imagine herself saying yes.
Two days later, Quinn found herself on a plane to Lima. Her mother met her at the airport, thrilled to have her youngest daughter back home. After she unpacked, Quinn went straight to McKinley High to fill out a job application. The very next day, she received a call from Mr. Figgins and was invited to come in for an interview. Less than a week later, she had the job. Once she had the job, everything else just sort of fell into place. She found a nice, affordable apartment just a few minutes down the road from her mother's house. She patched things up with her father,which was a miracle in and of itself. And most notably, she ran into Noah Puckerman. He offered to buy her dinner at Breadstix, for old time's sake. As luck would have it, things had fallen into place for Puck, too. His brother had convinced him to attend a two-year business college and with the knowledge he'd gained at school and help from brother Jake, Puck had somehow managed to turn Puckerman's Pool Cleaning into a franchise that spread all across the Midwest. He wasn't a millionaire, by any means, but for someone who barely graduated from high school, Noah Puckerman was doing alright.
Seeing each other again had dug up old feelings that neither of them could ignore. Before they knew it they both found themselves falling in love. They were different people than they were in high school and this time it just felt right. Within a year they were engaged and a year after that, they were married in a small ceremony attended only by their families, including their whole glee club family. Now seven years of marriage and three kids later, Quinn was perfectly content with being a Lima Loser. In fact, she no longer felt like a loser at all.
Quinn gazed wistfully at the family portrait on her desk. A quick glance at the clock on her computer screen informed that she had no more than three minutes before she absolutely had to leave in order to be on time for Liam's soccer practice. She quickly replied to one last email before standing up to leave. She was barely three steps out of her office door when she was approached by a student.
"Mrs. Puckerman, I was wondering if I could talk to you for just one quick minute. I know you're about to leave and I have to get to cheer-leading practice, so would you mind if we walk and talk?"
Normally in these situations, Quinn would tell the student to fill out a request form and let them know she would get back to them as soon as she could, but something about this girl made Quinn want to stop and listen. "Of course, sweetie. What's your name?" Quinn had to fight to keep her composure after hearing the girl's response: "I'm Beth Corcoran."
A/N So what do you think? I know it's pretty boring, so far, but I promise once I get all the back story stuff out of the way it'll pick up. Also, the reason I didn't mention the baby's name is because I haven't decided on one yet. I was going to with Lucy, but then I remembered that's Quinn's real name. Do you think I should still use it? If not, give me some suggestions! Please review and tell me what you think. Thanks. :)