Author's Note: This unexpected second chapter was inspired by watching reruns of Season 3 of Grey's Anatomy. More specifically, it was inspired by the storyline of Izzie Stevens. Slightly AU as Shelby doesn't adopt Beth in this.
And Then She Cried
She didn't cry when she got the phone call.
Quinn stumbled through her doorway and threw her bags to the ground as she entered her apartment. It had been a long day and she was exhausted. She poured herself a glass of wine and sank down onto her worn out sofa. Just as she had raised the glass to her lips, her phone began ringing. Sighing, she set the wine down on the coffee table and pulled her cell phone out of her purse.
"Hello?" She said pleasantly, expecting her mother or one of her friends.
"Is this Quinn? Quinn Fabray?" A hesitant voice asked over the line. Quinn sat up a little straighter, her curiosity piqued.
"Yes, this is. Who is this?"
"Quinn...My name is Laurie Kennedy. My wife Cheryl and I, we're Beth's parents. Beth's adoptive parents. We'd like to meet with you."
Quinn suddenly realized she had pulled the phone away from her ear and had been staring at it in shock. For how long, she didn't know, but she could hear Laurie tentatively call out her name, so it must have been more than a couple of seconds. She quickly composed herself and put the phone back to her ear. They made arrangements to meet the following afternoon at a local coffee shop. The Kennedy's had flown all the way to Memphis just to speak with her. They flew all the way to Memphis just so that they could speak to her about her daughter; about their daughter. Quinn didn't really know what to make of this unexpected turn of events so she simply picked up her glass of wine and sank back into her couch.
She didn't cry when they showed her pictures and told her stories of Beth.
It was awkward, to say the least. Quinn had arrived early and was already seated at a small table in a corner of Java Jive. When Laurie and Cheryl walked in, they had immediately recognized Quinn and walked right over. She wondered if that meant Beth looked like her. She stood, and then almost immediately regretted it. Cheryl laughed uncomfortably and then finally pulled Quinn into a hug.
"I guess in some ways we're family, right?" She asked rhetorically, explaining her need to embrace Quinn. Laurie instead stuck her hand out and Quinn shook it before they all sat down. A waitress came and took their orders, and then they all smiled stiff smiles at one another. Cheryl suddenly brightened and pulled out a small envelope.
"Would you like to see pictures?" She asked. Quinn's mouth dropped open for a moment but she quickly regained her composure.
"Yes, thank you," she said eagerly. Quinn silently poured over each picture. Beth had her coloring, fair skin and blond hair. Her smile was all Puck. She was even more beautiful than Quinn could have ever imagined. She let out a small snort of laughter at a picture of a three year old Beth, completely tinted blue from head to toe. Cheryl smiled affectionately in remembrance.
"It seems funny now, but boy were we in a panic that day! It was our annual Memorial Day picnic, and Beth's Aunt Ginny was supposed to be watching her while I got the desserts out. She thought it would be okay to let Beth use the potty herself, and Bethy took the opportunity to drink an entire bottle of Tidy Bowl! She had the entire party in a fit, calling 911 and poison control. Thankfully, it turns out Tidy Bowl is basically dyed water, but my goodness..." Cheryl's voice trailed off as she remembered Beth's younger years. "She really was a trouble maker!"
She didn't cry when they told her why they were there.
Their coffee had long grown cold, and the awkward silences hadn't really gotten any better. Finally, Quinn asked point blank why they wanted to meet with her. She felt as though her heart stopped beating as she watched Cheryl's eyes fill with tears. She gripped her wife's hand and sniffled, wiping away a tear that was running down her cheek.
"There is really no easy way to say this. Beth has been diagnosed with Acute Myloid Leukemia. She needs a bone marrow transplant," Rick said.
"Oh, God," Quinn whispered. She brought a hand to hear neck, fingering the gold cross that rested against her collar bone.
"We were set to go," Laurie continued, "We had a donor. But her donor died. The registry called her oncologist last night. We'd never ask, we had no intention of bothering you,"
"But last night everything changed," Cheryl sobbed.
Quinn looked at the devastation, the exhaustion on the faces of her daughter's parents.
"Of course. Of course I'll donate," she said.
She didn't cry when she asked if she could meet her daughter.
Quinn was surprised when Cheryl and Laurie appeared in the waiting room. She was scheduled to donate within the hour and had been prepared to do this on her own. Seeing them reaffirmed that she had made the right choice. As Cheryl sat next to her, she took Quinn's hand in her own.
"I hope you don't mind that we're here. Is it okay?" She asked tentatively. Quinn gave her a small, but sincere smile.
"It means a lot to me that you are," she said. "In fact, I'm glad. I've wanted to ask you something but I didn't know how. Now seems like as good of a time as any. Does Beth know about me? Does she know she's adopted?" Quinn looked away after asking. She was afraid that the Kennedy's would be angry at her for sticking her nose where it legally didn't belong. But Cheryl patted her hand gently.
"She knows. She knows that you were young, and that you made the choice to give her a home with a family who could give her everything she wanted and needed. She knows you're the one doing this for her, not a stranger from the registry."
"She knows that her Mother loves her just as much as her Mommy does," Laurie said softly. Quinn squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, willing her tears away.
"If its okay...I'd really like to meet her," Quinn said quietly, hopefully.
"We'll have to ask Beth first, but if she wants to, of course we'd be okay with it," Cheryl said.
She didn't cry when the needle pierced her skin, taking her bone marrow with it.
Quinn lay on her stomach, her hospital gown open in the back. She could hear a nurse and the doctor rustling around behind her, preparing their tools. When they were finally ready, the doctor walked into her line of sight and gave her a supportive smile.
"This is going to hurt. The pain medication will make it bearable, but it will hurt a little now and probably a lot later on today. Are you ready?"
Quinn grabbed fist-fulls of the sheets on the gurney and drew in a deep breath as she felt the needle pierce through her skin.
Before she knew it, she was dressed and given information regarding her recovery and then ushered out of the room where she came face to face with Cheryl. She limped the couple of feet over to where Cheryl was sitting and gingerly lowered herself into a chair beside her.
"Quinn..." Cheryl's voice trailed off. Quinn quickly braced herself for bad news. She knew that tone of voice. "Quinn, I'm so sorry. Beth is so tired and so weak right now; she just doesn't feel that she's up to an emotional meeting right now. I'm so sorry. Do you understand?"
Quinn nodded her head vigorously. "Of course. Absolutely. She's been through a very rough time; it would probably make her exhausted. Maybe in a few days when she's feeling stronger, we can..." her voice trailed off as she saw the uncertain look pass over Cheryl's face.
"Honey, I don't think she'll be up for it...soon. Maybe not even for a few years. Maybe not ever," she tried to say as gently as she could. "She's always known that she was adopted, and we always made sure to include you in her prayers at night. It's just that to Beth, you're just...it's just a biological connection that you have. And she doesn't want that to become anything more right now. We would never keep her from you though, okay? If she changes her mind, we will contact you immediately. It's the least we could do; after all you've given to us. You've given our child life twice now. That won't ever be forgotten. You won't ever be forgotten." Cheryl leaned towards Quinn and pulled her into a warm embrace. The kind that normally would comfort someone, but today made Quinn want to punch something. She pulled away quickly.
"Thank you for at least presenting the opportunity. I better be going now. They told me not to stay on my feet too much today, I should rest or I'm going to be very sore. Could you tell Beth I love her?" Quinn asked hesitantly. Cheryl smiled.
"She knows, sweetie. But I will remind her anyway. It's good for a young girl to know she's loved." She turned to head back towards Beth's room when Quinn's voice called out to her.
"Thank you for taking care of her." Cheryl just nodded, with a soft smile on her face, and then walked away. Quinn picked up her purse off of the chair and tried to swallow over the lump in her throat. She wanted to see her daughter. The daughter that didn't love her and never gave her a second thought. The daughter that was so close and yet so very far away. The daughter that did not want to meet her, who needed and wanted nothing in the world from Quinn.
Keeping her emotions pushed down as far as they would go, Quinn slowly walked down the hallway and pressed the button for the elevator. She gave a small smile to the woman exiting with flowers in her hand, and then stepped inside. She thanked the gentleman who held the door open for her as she made her way out of the elevator and said 'Hello' to a nurse who passed by her in the parking garage. Quinn got in her car and started the ignition. She placed her hands on the top of the wheel, and slowly rested her forehead against them.
And then she cried.
Author's Note: Thanks for reading. I don't expect to be inspired again, so consider this the bonus chapter! It's probably 100% complete now.