A huge 'thank you!' to A for her as always relentless editing work!
Quinn had packed a suitcase and moved to a hotel the next morning. They had talked through the whole night. In retrospect Rachel realized that the blonde had made up her mind way before she had even brought up a separation. Rightly as she had come to accept. They had discussed all of their options again and again, starting to talk in circles at some point, but weren't able to find common ground besides their love for each other.
When they got married Rachel had never thought that it would come to this one day, but Quinn's dream of their future had become to small for her. As most times she had wanted it all when Quinn had been happy with what they had.
The divorce papers had arrived a week later. Once the divorce had been finalized Rachel didn't leave her apartment for twenty two days. The lethargy she had felt had been paralyzing.
Yet here she was, sixty-two days after her divorce. She took her feet out of the stirrups and closed her legs. She got out of the examination chair, happy that she could finally go back to a less revealing position. As she moved behind the curtain to switch the hospital gown for her own clothes, Rachel she was in a turmoil of emotions. She was still completely dumbstruck that it had actually worked. That she was actually pregnant. When the first test she took at home had been positive she was skeptical - because what are the chances after only one try? - but now she had blood results and a ultrasound picture in her hands as proof. She had seen the dark little spot that supposedly was her baby on the screen a few seconds ago.
No one she had told had approved of her plan of getting pregnant. They all thought she was making a mistake. That she was just trying to compensate losing Quinn by having a baby.
She hadn't talked to Kurt since the day she had told him of her plans and he had told her she should consider therapy instead of a pregnancy.
Her fathers weren't very enthusiastic about her plan either. As much as the idea of becoming grandparents tempted them, they had made it clear that they would prefer different circumstances.
When Rachel hadn't gotten the expected excitement from them or her best friend she had decided to not tell anyone else about her plans before there was really anything to tell. It came as a real surprise that that barely took four weeks.
She placed the ultrasound picture carefully in the leather bound calendar that had been a Christmas gift from Quinn. For the first time since she had gone through with her plan of getting pregnant she allowed herself to think of her ex-wife. She sat down on the chair of the changing area and traced the lines of the pictures in her hands absently. She hadn't seen or heard from Quinn since the day she had left. The divorce had solely been handled by their respective lawyers, neither of them had made an effort to claim anything the other owned for themselves. Quinn had agreed to leave Rachel the apartment and all that belonged in it. All she had asked for were very few private items that had been picked up by Santana. When Quinn's spare key had been handed to her she had cried for two hours after.
From what their common friends had told her Quinn had jumped on the first chance to leave town. When the publishing house she worked at was looking for someone to supervise the opening of their new office in Chicago, she had applied and gotten the job within an hour.
Funnily enough Rachel was almost sure that her ex-wife would understand Rachel's decision to get pregnant as soon as possible. It was like if she didn't pursue her dreams right away the whole divorce and all the pain it had caused both of them would've been for nothing.
With a polite smile Rachel thanked the receptionist after making her next appointment. Inwardly she made her farewells with the way she had once imagined her first pregnancy examination to be. Quinn wouldn't come to appointments with her. She wouldn't hold her hand during. The fading image of Quinn squealing in excitement when they found out the sex had Rachel's heart aching. They wouldn't be a family.
In the six months Quinn had spent in Chicago she had imagined a reunion with Rachel several times. Her fantasies went from overly dramatic versions of running towards each other in the rain to overly X-rated versions of reuniting through passionate semi-public sex. So yes, you might say that Quinn had a bit of a hard time getting her ex-wife out of her mind.
It only became worse once she was back in New York. Ever since she had set a foot on the solid ground of JFK airport she found herself skipping a heartbeat every single time she spotted a woman that had something even remotely close to Rachel's height and hair color.
Meeting Rachel at Starbucks, while it was of course a lot more likely than anything else she had imagined, seemed truly trivial compared to all her previous fantasies.
She spotted Rachel sitting at a table leaned over the book almost exactly the same second that the pair of brown eyes landed on her. Quinn stood frozen for a moment before gathering all of her courage and walking up to where the brunette sat.
She was greeted with a genuine smile. "Hello Quinn."
Quinn felt a silly smile spread across her face at the greeting that hadn't changed since high school. Once she had somewhat contained herself she offered Rachel a small wave. "Hey."
They looked at each other in awkward silence for several seconds before Rachel seemed to regain control over her body and gestured to the empty chair across from her. "Would you like to join me?"
Quinn told herself that she should know better, but nodded and sat down anyway. She took a sip from her ginger bread latte in order to sort her thoughts out. All the blonde could do was nod stupidly, suddenly finding it very difficult to put her hands in a appropriate position. She ended up fidgeting with her fingers nervously.
Rachel was the first one to speak. "You look good." For anyone else the smile on her face would have seem natural and happy, she was an A-list actress after all, but Quinn could see the unease and pain behind it. "New haircut?"
"Yeah," Quinn replied with a nod, her expression most likely still somewhere between surprise and mental overload as she ran a hand through her pageboy hairstyle. "You look great as well." Actually, she was taken aback by just how stunning Rachel looked. Hair shiny, eyes sparkling, her cheeks slightly blushed. She was basically glowing.
"Since when are you back?"
"About two weeks," Quinn answered.
"Permanently?"
She nodded. "Yes. My job in Chicago is done and starting in January I got the position as chief editor here."
Rachel offered her a sincere smile "Congratulations."
"Thank you." She took another long sip of her coffee, watching Rachel do the same. "How have you been?"
"Fine."
Quinn repressed a sigh. Whether it was the awkwardness of the whole situation or the fact that Rachel didn't really want to talk with her she didn't know but it was making her attempts at small talk pretty difficult.
"Any new projects coming up for you?" Quinn figured that asking Rachel about her career was a sure way to get an answer out of Rachel that was more extensive than five words. She knew she had failed when a strange expression she couldn't really classify crossed the brunette's face and she shook her head.
"Nothing exciting. We are still putting final touches to the synchronizing the Wicked animation movie."
"Will you visit your dads for the holidays?" This wasn't necessarily comfortable territory but Quinn was desperate to keep the conversation moving. It had been roughly eight months since they talked for the last time and she had missed it. She had missed talking about whatever went through her head with Rachel and hearing her thoughts on it. Part of her had hoped that now that the initial pain of separation had passed that they could maybe start over with a friendship.
Rachel nodded. "Yes. You?"
"I've booked a hiking trip on-"
The diva cut her off. "The Canary islands."
Quinn's gaze fell to the table. She had forgotten that they had planned this trip together not so long ago.
Literally saved by the bell from anymore uneasiness Rachel's cell phone started ringing. She gave Quinn a apologetic look before she answered it. What the blonde gathered from what she heard was that their reunion was about to come to an abrupt end because Rachel promised whoever was on the other line to be there in as quickly as possible.
The thought that Rachel might be talking to a new girlfriend or boyfriend sent a bolt of jealousy through Quinn's veins.
Once she had hung up, Rachel started to gather her things. "I have to go," she told Quinn apologetic. "I forgot about an appointment."
Quinn reached for her bag where it hung over the chair-back. "I should get going to. I still have some packing to do."
"Try not to forget the sunscreen," Rachel advised with a teasing sparkle in her eye as she slipped into her coat.
Quinn chuckled at the advice which was clearly hinting at their trip to Namibia from five years ago when Quinn's sunburn had been so bad she had spent a night standing in front of the air-conditioning fan naked to release at least some of her sunburn induced pain. Ever since then Rachel had never failed to advise her to put on sunscreen whenever they had gone to a area even 50 miles south from NYC.
Quinn slipped out of her seat and stood up. "I'll try to keep that in mind."
Rachel came to stand as well. "It was good to see you." The brunette leaned in to hug her ex-wife goodbye. After Quinn was over being taken aback for a moment at the intimate gesture, she found herself enjoying the familiarity of the embrace quickly. It was after about a second when she noticed that something felt off. It took her another one to identify what it was.
When Rachel released her she saw it. Previously hidden beneath the table's surface and now concealed by the dark winter coat it was still evident. Under Rachel's sweater loomed a distinct baby bump.
Dizziness took over her instantly. That definitely wasn't part of what she had imagined during their reunion.
Rachel must have noticed the way her eyes dipped down and the sudden shock displaying on her face, because she cautiously took a step back and one hand came to rest on her belly in a protective way.
Quinn for her part felt like the room became a little smaller with every second that she was staring at her ex-wife's stomach.
"You're pregnant."
Rachel nodded seeming pretty uncomfortable. "Yes."
Shocked by the news Quinn dropped back onto her chair. She hadn't expected this. It wasn't supposed to go like this. Rachel was supposed to realize her mistake and come back to her.
The brunette sat down with a sigh. "I honestly thought you knew. I only just realized when we were talking that you had no idea."
"Who's the father?"
"There is no father. I used a donor."
A weird sense of relief washed through Quinn. While the thought of Rachel being pregnant was devastating and conclusive enough on its own, she didn't think she would've been able to survive her ex-wife starting over with some guy.
"How far along are you?" Quinn didn't know why she asked that. Maybe she was just that much of a masochist.
"Twenty weeks. I'll be due in early May."
Rachel seemed perfectly calm and collected. Quinn then realized that she had probably acted the whole conversation out in her head a few times already. Rachel Berry didn't have a talk like this unprepared.
Quinn forced herself to smile as she stood up. She was pretty sure that the expression on her face resembled a lot, but probably not a smile. "Congratulations, Rachel."
"Thank you."
Quinn fled the cafe in a hurry only allowing herself to breathe when she was outside on the streets and a block away. She hadn't been prepared for that. All the time when she had thought about Rachel in the past months there had always been a slight hope that she would change her mind and decide that being with her was more important than being a mother. The reality had been like a bucket of ice cold water that was emptied over her head.
She should have known. Expected it really. Rachel was no one to sit around and wait for her. She would have expected it, but until now she hadn't allowed herself the thought that their divorce was really final.
For her first two trimesters Rachel had a role model pregnancy. She had barely suffered from morning sickness and was virtually glowing with physical health and femininity. Her baby was developing perfectly.
Everything could have been fine; everything had been fine until she had ran into Quinn. Ever since then Rachel found herself in a melancholia that she couldn't get rid of. It was silly, but a part of her had expected that Quinn had used the time away to think everything over and come back to her.
For the first time since she was pregnant, she thought that she had acted too hasty when she had made the decision to have a baby by herself. Now it felt like the fact that she was pregnant had finalized the separation from Quinn irreversible.
The look on the blonde's face when she had discovered the baby bump nearly haunted her. Rachel tried her best not to let it affect her but her mood dropped to a new low.
At the same time the pregnancy evoked afflictions that came when nearing third trimester hit her full force. Suddenly she wasn't a with happiness glowing expectant mother anymore. She started gaining weight like crazy. She found that after a day where she had been busy her feet and hands would be bloated with water retentions by night. No compression stockings or draining food would bring real relief.
She also found herself longing for Quinn more than she had in quite some time.
When her feet were swollen to the point where it hurt, she wished that Quinn would be there to offer her a foot massage. When she felt fat and unattractive she wanted the blonde to tell her that she was the most beautiful woman in the world. When she was poring over name books she wished that she would have someone to fight with.
Rachel hated the pitying looks women in the waiting room would give her when she told them that there was no significant other and that was why she busied herself with reading What To Expect When You're Expecting for the millionth time when she sat there now.
She wasn't quite ready to fully admit it, but she started hating that she had to do all of this on her own and the thought that this whole pregnancy was a mistake had crossed her mind more than once.
It had taken her less than twelve minutes to arrive at Lenox Hill Hospital after she received the call. She might have dropped her suitcase in the middle of the hallway of her apartment building after she'd just got home from a nine hour flight. She might have yelled at the cab driver to hurry the fuck up about sixteen times. She might have been trembling like a leaf the whole time. But she was there.
They had told her barely anything on the phone. Just that Rachel had been rushed to the emergency room. Why they had called her, she didn't know. She'd assumed that Rachel had changed the emergency contact and power of attorney to somebody else after the divorce.
But once she was finally led to see her ex-wife, she didn't really care about those minor details anymore. Quinn was simply relieved to see the brunette awake and evidently unharmed where she lay in the hospital bed. It was only when the initial relief to find that Rachel was okay passed that she noticed that the pregnant woman didn't necessarily look healthy, but pale and exhausted.
"Hey," she knocked on the door frame to get Rachel's attention, suddenly really insecure of herself. "How are you?"
Rachel offered her a weak smile. "I've been better, but you know me... I'm tough."
Quinn held onto the foot-end of the bed now; anything that kept her from standing in the middle of the room like an idiot. "What happened?"
"I fainted," Rachel rolled her eyes with a tiny smile. "I'm more embarrassed than anything else."
"The baby is alright as well?"
"As far as they told me everything is alright," the brunette confirmed, clearly noticing the way Quinn's knuckles turned white as she still gripped the bed.
Quinn couldn't help it. The baby was a complex topic for her. Her logical side was happy for Rachel because it was what she wanted and it would make her happy. To her selfish side the baby was a red rag. Something that made sure to divide her and her ex-wife even further.
Quinn nodded and an uneasy silence came over them.
"I'm sorry they called you," Rachel said with a sigh. "They still had your number from when I was here because of that allergic reaction two years ago. They shouldn't have called you."
Quinn realized just then that she was sort of glad they did. Again, good reason told her that it was best to stay away from Rachel. That she had to stay away if she wanted to get over her. But then again, she couldn't bear the thought of something happening to Rachel without her knowing about it.
"It's alright," she told the brunette. "I have been-"
She was effectively cut off when the doctor came bursting through the doors. He came to stand beside Quinn on the foot of the bed.
"Alright, Ms Berry, all of your results are back and they confirmed my suspicious. You have a moderate case of preeclampsia."
At the fearful look on Rachel's face, Quinn was at Rachel's side without thinking too much about it. She closed the remaining distance between them and reached for her hand. The brunette gave her fingers a thankful squeeze as the doctor went on.
"The extreme headache and dizziness you're suffering from came from the high blood pressure. As well as the edemas. For now, there's no need for a stationary treatment. I will however prescribe something for the high blood pressure and advise you to take it really easy, if not stay in bed completely until your due day. Preeclampsia can become a very serious condition leading to seizures, placental insufficiency which could lead to a lack of nourishment for your baby. There is also the risk of a premature birth or the HELLP syndrome."
If Quinn thought Rachel looked fearful before she now looked seconds away from a panic attack and was plainly clutching her ex wife's hand.
The doctor cursed as his pager went off and with a serious look on his face he turned to Quinn. "I need to get to the OR. You're her wife right?" Not leaving the blonde a chance to answer he went on. "Take her home, get her into bed and make sure she stays there. I recommend getting a blood pressure meter so you can monitor her at home. A balanced diet is essential. Not too much common salt and definitely no draining teas or anything like it. I'll have the nurse give you all the information you need."
With those words he was out of the room leaving the two women in awkward silence. Rachel seemed to realize only just now that how tightly she was holding on to Quinn's hand and let go in a clumsy way.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to cut off your finger's blood flow," she apologized sheepishly.
"It's alright." A soft smile appeared on Quinn's face and the urge to just take Rachel in her arms was almost overwhelming. "So, let me talk to the nurse about those pamphlets or whatever and then I'll take you home."
"You really don't have to," Rachel protested. "I'm perfectly capable of getting home myself."
"You still look like you could faint any second and unless you have Kurt or someone else here within a few minutes I'm not leaving your side."
Quinn knew that this had her headed for potential trouble. She knew that this couldn't possibly end well and at the same time she didn't give a damn because Rachel wasn't okay and would need someone to look after her. The blonde didn't really trust anyone but herself to do that properly.
Also, she had missed Rachel endlessly and was just glad to be close to her, at least for a little while.
Rachel couldn't remember the last time she had felt so perfectly cared for. It had barely taken Quinn five minutes after they arrived at her apartment to force Rachel into her PJ's, tuck her into bed and place a cup of steaming tea in her hands.
Rachel was very well aware that she should just send Quinn home instead of letting her pick up the prescribed medication but the apartment had seemed so empty in the past. Ever since Quinn had moved out it hadn't felt properly like home. It simply felt good to see the blonde busying from room to room.
She told herself that she had to act selfish right now, for the sake of her unborn child. The diagnosis and its possible results had scared the hell out of her. With Quinn there everything felt a little less scary. Screw all common sense. She was barely twenty five weeks pregnant, she was hormonal and terrified.
The sound of the key turning in the lock and the front door opening told her that Quinn was back. She kept watching the bedroom door closely until blonde hair appeared in it.
"Hey," the tender tone of Quinn's voice gave her serious butterflies. "Everything okay? Are you alright?"
Rachel nodded her head against the pillow, not really willing to sit up and Quinn put a white paper bag down on her nightstand. "Something mild for the blood pressure as well as some low dosed Valium. The pharmacist said to only take the Valium in case of an emergency like when you're really upset." The blonde had sat down next to Rachel. It was the same position they had been in many times before and by force of habit probably, Quinn reached out and started running a hand through Rachel's hair just like she had done all those times before.
Not even bothering to hide how much she was enjoying her ex-wife's touch Rachel closed her eyes. "I think the stuff they gave me at the hospital is starting to kick in. I'm so sleepy right now."
"Take a nap then," Quinn suggested. "I'll make you some veggie soup in the mean time."
"That sounds great," Rachel mumbled. She was halfway asleep already but she was pretty sure that shortly before the mattress dipped with loss of Quinn's weight, she had felt the lingering touch of soft lips against her cheek.
But maybe she was dreaming already.
It was the first time she hesitated before unlocking the door to her former home. For the first time she asked herself, what the actual fuck she was doing here?
Over the past five days she and Rachel had fallen into a rhythm before either of them had realized it. Quinn would come by before work, during her lunch-break and after work, always making sure that Rachel would have a well-balanced meal, stayed dehydrated, stuck to her bed rest and that her blood pressure was alright.
Boundary wise the only line she hadn't crossed yet was sleeping over and really that was just a matter of time because Rachel would give her puppy eyes whenever she said goodbye at night and it got harder for Quinn to leave every day.
Sighing she opened the door after all, deciding that she couldn't just ditch Rachel when she wasn't well just because it got to risky for her emotion-wise. With the intention to get the fresh groceries into the kitchen before she would check on Rachel she came to an abrupt stop when she noticed that the TV was running. Somewhat alarmed she made her way further into the apartment clearing her throat once she saw Rachel standing in front of the open fridge, devouring a cup of Ben & Jerry's.
The diva turned around promptly, a somewhat mortified face, probably because she had been caught during a snack attack. "Cravings," she said with a foolish shrug.
"You shouldn't be up." Quinn closed the fridge while her other hand was already on Rachel's lower back pushing her back towards the bedroom. "Come on. You can take your cravings with you."
"I was watching TV!" Rachel whined as she was dragged in the other direction.
"You're supposed to be resting!" Quinn argued.
"I can rest on the couch." The brunette folded her arms over her with every day more prominent belly unwilling to take another step.
"Fine. Do whatever you want. I'll get to dinner." With those words she left her pregnant ex-wife standing in the hallway alone. She couldn't handle this tonight, not when she was questioning her reasons for being here anyway.
As Quinn began to unpack the grocery bags she had previously dropped on the counter she noticed Rachel appearing in the door frame out of the corner of her eye. Unwilling to look at her she pulled a pot out of a cabinet and filled it with water, turning her back to Rachel in the process.
"Why are you acting like I can't make my own decisions?" The pout in the brunette's voice was apparent.
"I'm just trying to look out for you."
"No, you're treating me like I'm invalid."
Quinn turned on the stove and pinched the bridge of her nose as she turned around. "You know what? Do whatever you want. It's your baby. Not mine." The second she had said it Quinn wished to take it back. Not because it wasn't true, but because she knew it would hurt Rachel and that was the last thing she wanted. "Rachel, I-"
Rachel looked like a kicked puppy as she raised her hands to stop Quinn from whatever apology she wanted to say. "It's okay. It's true." She slowly retracted from the room with a forced smile. "I- I really have to pee. My bladder is used as a bouncing ball again."
"Fuck!" Frustrated with herself Quinn slammed both of her hands flat down against the counter.
She knew that she shouldn't have said that. Of course it was a fact, but it was obvious that Rachel wished it was different. She wished that Quinn would change her mind, just like Quinn had wished for Rachel to change her mind. The only difference was that due to the pregnancy Quinn had to put that hope to rest.
However that may be. What she had said had clearly upset Rachel and she was here to take care of her ex-wife. Make sure she was alright. Not to increase her blood pressure even further.
Quinn decided to give the brunette some time to collect herself before going after. There was also a good possibility that Rachel really had to use the toilet. No need to increase the awkwardness by walking in on that.
Fifteen minutes later when the vegan lasagne was starting to cook in the oven and Quinn was starting to get a little nervous because she still hadn't heard a sign respectively sound of life out of the bedroom.
"Rachel?" she called out, cautiously stepping into their former joint room. Finding the bed empty didn't do anything to ease he worries. She knocked against the bathroom door. "Rachel?"
"Come in!"
Mentally preparing herself for anything between crying fits and premature contractions, Quinn pushed the door open slowly. The sight that was presented to her she hadn't expected. Rachel stood in front of the mirror, shirt pushed up so that her belly was complete on display.
The blonde raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Okay, what are you doing?"
"Inspecting my stretch marks," Rachel replied with a sigh. "The coca butter my doctor recommended doesn't help at all."
Quinn didn't know whether to be irritated or relieved that Rachel seemed to have completely forgotten about what had just taken place in the kitchen. She pinned Rachel's behavior on mood swings and settled on feeling sympathetic for her. She remembered vividly all the creams, salves and body butter she had used to prevent stretch marks during her own pregnancy. In the end nothing had helped. She considered sharing her wisdom with Rachel but thought of it better than to tell the quite hormonal diva that she would have to live with thin lines on her abdomen for the rest of her life when she was just back in her good graces.
"You hungry?" Quinn asked instead.
"Constantly," Rachel nodded, releasing a pained moan and cradling her belly only a moment later.
The blonde went into cautious mode immediately, hooking her arms beneath Rachel's for support. "What is it? Everything okay? Should I get you to a hospital?"
Rachel shook her head and blew a dark lock out of her face. "Just kicking pretty strongly." She looked down and talked right to her expanded midsection. "It's no wonder my whole abdominal skin is sprinkled with stretch marks if you keep kicking me like that!"
It was only after the adrenaline slowly lowered itself when Quinn realized the position she was in. Her front was tightly pressed against the diva's back, and the former supporting placement of her arms now borderlined into pulling Rachel even further against her.
The blonde dropped her limbs more than a little ungracefully just as Rachel's eyes found hers through the mirror. It would have been so easy to rest her chin on the brunette's shoulder, maybe brush her hair to the side and let her lips explore the incredibly soft skin of the neck. Quinn could see a blush rising to her cheeks that matched Rachel's.
Gathering all of the self control she had left, Quinn took a step back. "Dinner is almost ready. Why don't you get to the living room, I'll bring you a plate there."
Quinn didn't wait for an answer, but turned on her heel and marched back to the kitchen. She leaned against the closed door and pressed the back of her hand against her forehead. She was fucked. Utterly and completely fucked.
Rachel needed to call her fathers. Not only because she finally had to tell them about the complications that had arisen, but she also realized the previous night that the arrangement with Quinn had to end and clearly her dads would willingly to take over.
Spending the previous week with Quinn might have been a nice break from feeling alone, but fantasizing that they weren't divorced and doing the whole pregnancy together wasn't healthy. Nothing had changed. They still wanted different things and that wasn't going to change no matter how much she wished for it.
It was two in the afternoon and she wanted to inform Quinn about her conclusion first thing in the evening. It came self explanatory that she wasn't really looking forward to the conversation. In fact, ever since she had made the decision there was an uneasy feeling in her stomach that she couldn't seem to get rid of.
By the time Quinn arrived, hands full of take out bags, that evening the uneasy feeling had grown into full blown abdominal pain, that was only mildly bearable when she laid on her side.
"Hey," Quinn greeted her, surprised to see her in bed on her free will. "What's going on? Are you okay?"
Rachel couldn't help the tear that rolled down her cheek as she shook her head, partly because it hurt really bad and partly because she was terrified. It was obvious that this was more than an uneasy feeling or an upset stomach.
Quinn had dropped the bags and was kneeling next to the bed immediately. "What's wrong?"
At the first attempt to answer all that left her lips was a choked sob. Only when Quinn cupped her cheeks an forced her to focus was when she could form understandable sentences. "I have this really bad stomach pain. I'm afraid that it's contractions. What do contractions feel like? What if it is contractions, Quinn? It's too early."
The blonde thumbed the tears which were running down Rachel's cheeks away soothingly. "I need you to calm down, Rachel. Take a breath."
She just shook her head and more tears poured from her eyes. She was nearly hysterical by now. "I can't," she exclaimed between sobs. "This isn't how this is supposed to go. I haven't been to any Lamaze classes yet... I don't have a birth plan and the baby still hasn't turned. She's in transverse and supposed to turn and now they'll probably do a c-section and that-"
Rachel was very sudden cut off by a pair of lips pressing against her own. She needed a moment to grasp what was happening and when she did her hands instantly pushed at Quinn's shoulders. "Have you lost your mind? I'm going into labor and you kiss me?"
"This has always been the only way to shut you up," the blonde gave her a loopy smile.
Even through her pain and anxiety she had to chuckle at that. "And you would never miss a chance feel me up."
"True." Affectionate Quinn brushed her hand over her forehead, then a serious expression returned. "Is the pain constant or coming and going?"
Taking a deep breath the she tried to recall how exactly the pain had started earlier that day. "Pretty much constant, I'd say."
"Okay, that makes contractions unlikely. We still have to get you to the hospital. Do you think you can sit?"
It was heavy-going but with her ex-wife's help Rachel managed to get into a sitting position on the edge of the bed. Eyes wide, Quinn's gaze fell to her legs. "Since when have your legs been swollen like that?"
Rachel was shocked herself, the these days constant slight swelling of her legs had expanded to the point where her legs were almost double as big as normal. She knew that this was anything but good.
After that, Quinn's plan to get her to the hospital herself had been dismissed and she had called an ambulance instead. Rachel was back to her former position of lying on her side and the blonde was by her side, in a familiar pattern running her hand through her hair.
"Do you know if it's a girl or a boy?"
Rachel looked at her in surprise. Talking about the baby had been a absolute no-go so far. They both had avoided talking about it like crazy, even though it was all their interaction was about at the same time.
"I'm having a girl," Rachel's voice felt raspy after all the crying.
"Have you thought about names?"
Rachel shook her head and let out a humorless laugh. "I thought there was still plenty of time." She placed a hand on her belly at a particular strong kick. "Maybe I'll name her after a famous step dancer or something."
"Maybe she will be a dancer," the blonde suggested. "You could perform as an artistic duo."
"It's possible," Rachel reflected. "Her father used to be a professional dancer."
"Her father? I... I thought you-" Quinn looked completely taken aback and the hand in her hair stilled briskly.
Rachel was quick to clarify her statement. "Yes, I used a donor, but saying 'her donor' just feels unsuitable. It's like... while I know now that Shelby will never be my real mom, I'd never refer to her as 'my surrogate'."
"Do you sometimes wish she would be around?" she asked. "I'm asking because there were times when I was pregnant with Beth where I wanted my mom around really badly."
"Sometimes," Rachel reflected after a moment. She had thought about contacting her birth-mother a while ago, but then the fear that she would push her away once again was to big.
Rachel cupped Quinn's hand that had came to rest on her cheek then. "Thank you." She had now realized why the blonde had brought up pregnancy related topics all of the sudden. It had been an attempt to distract and calm her. And it had worked.
From the street they could hear the sound of a nearing ambulance, as Quinn smiled softly. "You're welcome."
As you probably gathered, this won't be just the two-part story I had originally planned. For now I'm aiming at one more chapter after this and possibly an epilouge.
Thanks for everyone who took the time to review the last time! I hope you found this chapter enjoyable enough to leave one this time too!