Coincidence or Fate?
Authors Note(I don't own any of the Glee characters) Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, I'm glad you like it so far. As you can see, I decided to continue. If any of you felt like I was teasing you(as a guest accused me of doing) that wasn't my intention, I'm sorry. I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much as the first. Just so there's no confusion, the meeting between Quinntana at the hospital happened on a Friday, this chapter starts on Saturday morning.
loryw: Thank you, I'm glad you like it so far, enjoy the update. Thanks for the review.
lesnixxy: As you can see I got more than a few people voting that I should continue. I'm glad you like it so far. You're the only one that pointed that out, lol, good eye. Yes, it will be explained. I'm not sure if I'll make a time jump, we'll see. Thanks for the review!
Guest Dazed: Thank you, that's really sweet to say, it put a smile on my face. Lol, I've had a few readers tell me how much they loved the Santana/Beth interaction, and of course there will be more. I think they're cute, too, lol. Thanks for the review!
Chapter Two
Santana can't even bring herself to care how ridiculous she looks constantly glancing down at the number written on her hand. She hasn't stopped since she woke up. Even as she sits outside Lima Bean, eating her scone and drinking her coffee, she can't help but look at her hand. She doesn't even hear Brittany sit back down until she snorts.
"You look ridiculous."
Santana shrugs, not taking her eyes off the number. Of course she also has it in her contacts, but staring at a phone would be even weirder, she decides. "I don't care."
Brittany chuckles, rolling her eyes. "Why are you even starring at it?" She asks amused.
Santana sighs then finally looks away from the ten digits. "I'm just proud of myself for getting her number." She confesses. "It's been awhile."
Brittany nods, thinking about the time they were together. "When are you gonna call her?"
Santana groans. "I have no idea. I've been trying to think of a good time to call. I really just want to do it now, but I don't want to seem desperate either."
Brittany chuckles, amused. "The struggle is real." She teases.
Santana scowls. "Shut up."
Brittany giggles. "Sorry." They sit in silence as Brittany eats her bagel and Santana once again stares at the number on her hand. "Well, you don't want to wait too long. Then that'll give her the impression you're not that interested." She advises.
"That's true." She bites her lip then groans. "Ugh, why does this have to be so complicated?"
Brittany shrugs. "I think this afternoon would be a good time. Like one, or one thirty." She suggests. "That way it's not too early, or too late."
"You don't think she'll be working today, do you?"
Brittany thinks for a moment then shrugs. "I don't know. Do you remember what the sign said?"
Santana sighs. "No, I wasn't paying attention to the days it's opened, I just saw it was closed."
"Call her anyway, you won't know until you do."
Santana purses her lips looking back down at the number. "Ok, at one I'll call her." Brittany giggles. Santana looks up glaring at the blonde. "What?"
She shrugs. "I just think it's cute."
Santana rolls her eyes. "Don't call me cute, you know I don't like that. I'm a badass, I'm not cute."
Brittany bites her lip to prevent herself from laughing. "Ok. Whatever you say, Snix." She teases.
"So, what are we doing today? You said we should do something to keep me distracted." Santana changes the subject.
Brittany thinks for a minute. "We used to run together to the park, remember? To keep us in shape, and so I can feed the ducks. We could do that." She suggests.
Santana makes a face. "That sounds like too much work." She grumbles.
"Well, if you want to keep your figure for Quinn, a run would help." She says with an amused smile, knowing that will motivate the brunette.
Santana huffs. "Good point. Lets go back to the apartment first so I can change into my workout clothes."
Brittany nods. "I was gonna suggest the same thing. Are you done with that?" She asks pointing to Santana's half eaten scone.
"Yea, I got it though, thanks."
Santana and Brittany throw their garbage away then walk to Brittany's car to go back to their apartment. They both get dressed into their workout clothes before starting their run from there to the park. And of course Brittany brought what's left of their bread.
Both girls are listening to the music on their cell phones, and have them secured on a band, wrapped around their arms. They run in silence as they focus on their music and breathing. When they reach the park, Brittany smiles brightly seeing the ducks swimming in the pond.
The girls take out their earbuds as they approach the ducks. Santana sits on a near by bench to catch her breath, while Brittany goes over to the water and starts breaking off pieces of bread.
"I miss this. Why did we stop?"
Santana huffs, taking her phone off her arm. "I was diagnosed with cancer." She reminds her blonde friend.
Brittany turns to Santana looking guilty for forgetting. "Oh right, sorry."
Santana waves her off, then takes a deep breath. "We forgot water." She notes.
Brittany shrugs. "There's a store across the street. We can get some on the way back home." Santana sighs.
The blonde smirks knowingly. "You want some now?" She nods. "Ok, I'll wait here. I wanna feed the ducks."
Santana snorts, then taking her phone with her, she walks across the street to the small convenient store. She goes to the back where the cold beverages are, not paying any attention to the other costumers. She always brings some change with her, even on a run, just incase.
Not caring what brand of water she gets, Santana just grabs two of the biggest bottles they have. As she does, she hears a cat-call whistle from behind her. She braces herself for the inevitable, then turns around to a guy with an ugly mohawk, leering at her.
"I don't mean to bother you, but I was just wondering if you have a mirror in your pocket, cause I see myself in your pants."
Santana glares at him. "Ok, one, that was one of the worst pick-up lines I've ever heard, and two, me standing here in my workout clothes does not give you permission to harass me. Now step aside please, affors I ends you."
The man snorts, but doesn't move. "I'm sorry, that was rude of me. How about we get to know each other a little better?" He suggests. "What does your father do for a living?"
She tilts her head, confused. "What kind of question is that?"
He shrugs, still shamelessly leering at her. "Does he own a dairy company, cause you've got a nice set of jugs."
Santana huffs, shaking her head, then pushes the man aside. "Leave me alone, fucking pervert." He follows her to the register, though. "I said leave me alone, asshole."
He puts his hands up in surrender. "I have to pay for my shit, too." She rolls her eyes, then turns her attention to the cashier. "So, do you work at McDonalds? Cause I want you to be in my happy-meal."
Santana gives the cashier some cash, then turns to the mohawk guy, glaring at him. "I told you to leave me alone. I'm not interested, back the fuck off."
He scoffs. "There must be something wrong with you, the women love my pick-up lines, they happen to find them funny. What are you a dyke, or something?"
Santana clenches her jaw and makes a fist, digging her nails into her palm, she's so angry. "Yes, I'm a lesbian, but there's nothing wrong with me. I however can't say the same for you. You're just a fucking pervert, thinking every girl wants in your pants. News flash, we don't, and that squirrel on top of your head is just one of the reasons why. If you continue to follow and harass me, I'll rip your fucking dick off, that's not a threat."
Santana grabs her bag then stomps out of the store, muttering Spanish under her breath. Crossing the street she turns her head to make sure the idiot isn't following her, and breaths a sigh of relief watching him walk the opposite direction.
"Hey, what took you so long?" Brittany asks as Santana approaches her to give her water.
"Some asshole was hitting on me."
She raises her brows. "Was it a guy? You never get angry when it's a girl."
Santana sighs. "Yea. He was just using horrible pick-up lines, but he was being a fucking pervert about it. Then he asked me if there's something wrong with me, and asked if I'm a dyke." She says bitterly.
Brittany looks into the direction of the small store, glaring at it as if the man is still inside. "What a prick. Did Snix hand his ass over to him?"
Santana smirks, taking a long sip of her water, then wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. "Of course."
Brittany snorts then takes a sip of her water, and hands Santana the bag of bread. "Wanna feed the ducks?"
Santana sighs, taking the bag from her. Then she takes pieces of bread and throws them into the pond. "What time is it?"
Brittany chuckles looking at the time on her cell phone. "It's only eleven thirty." Santana groans. Brittany continues to laugh, amused.
Quinn would be lying if she said she wasn't disappointed she still hasn't gotten a call from Santana. She understands it's still early, but she's just really looking forward to it. As she eats the pancakes she made, Quinn wonders if Puck had picked Beth up from his mother's house yet. Then thinks maybe she should give the woman a call to find out.
Before she can put her thought into action, though, someone knocks on her door. She sighs, having a feeling she already knows who it is. Quinn puts her plate into the sink, then looks into her peep hole and rolls her eyes, seeing her assumptions were right. She opens the door revealing Sam in his workout clothes.
"Hey, goodmorning." He says with a friendly smile. "I'm just on my way out to go to the gym. Do you wanna come along?"
Sam works at the gym as a personal trainer, but because he works there, he can get his friends in for free and always asks her to go with him on the weekend.
Quinn flashes an apologetic smile. "Thanks for the invite, but I have to go grocery shopping still, and I wanna call Lauren to make sure Beth's father picked her up." He nods in understanding. "Rain check?"
"Sure, of course. I thought you might be busy, but it doesn't hurt to ask, right?" He says with a laugh.
Quinn fakes a chuckle. "Right. Well, tell Mike I said hi, have fun."
"Will do. I'll see you around."
She nods then closes the door with a relieved sigh. Sam is a nice guy, but sometimes he has bad timing, like today. Quinn goes to her room to retrieve her cell phone. The first thing she does, out of recent habit, is check for a missed call from an unfamiliar number, but is disappointed to find none. Then she calls Lauren.
"Hi, Lauren. It's Quinn. I normally don't call this early, but I'm just curious if Puck came for Beth yet."
"Yes, he did. He just left with her, actually."
Quinn looks at her clock and is surprised he picked her up so early. Not that 11:35 is early, but for Puck it is. "That's good, thanks again for having her."
"Like I said yesterday, it's not a problem. If you ever need a babysitter again, you can always bring her here." She offers.
"Yea, I'll keep that in mind, thank you. I'll talk to you soon, bye."
She disconnects her end of the line, then drops her phone on to her bed. She was only being nice to the woman. She'd rather have a babysitter than to have her watch Beth. The woman is just a proud housewife, she constantly manipulates and insults her, but coddles Puck.
Quinn takes a shower and gets dressed before going to the store. She wasn't lying to Sam, but she also wasn't planning on going now. She's only leaving because not going would feel like she was lying to him. It's also better to be out than waiting for Santana's call.
But as it turns out, even at the store, Quinn finds herself checking her cell phone. She just can't help how anxious she is to hear from the brunette again. She hasn't been with a lot of women, and none of them were serious. This time she can already tell it's different. Santana makes her feel like a teenager with a crush again. It's breath of fresh air, and she doesn't want it to slip away from her.
In the frozen isle, with all the meat, Quinn tries to find cheap hamburger. As she does, she doesn't realize a woman is sneaking up behind her.
"Hey, girl."
Quinn jumps and turns around with her hand over her chest. "Fuck, Cedes, you scared me."
Mercedes chuckles. "That was the plan."
She rolls her eyes, albeit with a smile, then hugs the girl. "What are you up to? We never run into each other here."
Mercedes shrugs. "Since it is February now, it's getting warmer. So I'm planing a little cookout with some new and old friends. It's good that I ran into you, then, now I don't have to call."
Quinn chuckles. "Are you having it at your apartment?"
She shakes her head. "My parents house. They have more room, and a better grill. Plus, since a couple of my old college friends are coming, they know where they live, and I don't have to send out directions to my place."
"Of course, always cutting corners."
Mercedes winks. "You know it. So will I be seeing you there? You don't have the little one on the weekends, so you have no reason to turn me down."
Quinn nods. "Yes, I'll be there. Do you want me to bring anything?"
She shakes her head. "No, we should have plenty of food. But, if you have to, you can bring dessert." She says knowing her friend wouldn't want to arrive empty handed.
"Ok, sounds like fun. What time is it?"
"We're having it early because some of them have other plans. So, around one thirty-ish."
"Alright, I'll see you then."
She gives her another hug before they part ways. Then she finds her hamburger meat, and goes to the baking isle to get sugar cookie mix, and frosting. Who doesn't like sugar cookies?
Santana and Brittany fed the ducks until they didn't have anymore bread to give. Then when they returned to their apartment, both girls took a shower. Santana is still anxious to call Quinn and keeps looking at the time. It's only making it move slower, though.
Brittany is in the kitchen making their lunch, when Santana walks in with a sigh. She chuckles, having an idea why the brunette is so down. "Why don't you just call her now?" She suggests.
Santana shrugs. "I was thinking while we were feeding the ducks. Remember when I was worried about her sexual orientation?" Brittany nods. "Well, obviously that has been kind of cleared up. I did flirt a little when I got her number, and she wasn't disgusted by it." She points out.
"True." Brittany agrees.
"So, with that out of the way, I don't have to worry." She pauses taking a deep breath. "But there's still one other problem."
"What?"
"She has a kid. If we do start dating, I'll have to worry about where I stand with her daughter. Like, if she misbehaves, do I have the authority to discipline her? Am I considered a co-parent, how does that work?" Brittany chuckles. Santana glares at her.
"What's so funny? I'm serious, Britt."
The blonde continues to laugh as she licks some of the potatoes she already mashed on her finger, then shrugs. "You're thinking too far ahead. I mean, not only have we discussed this already yesterday, but if you do start dating, I'm sure Quinn wouldn't mind answering your questions."
Santana sighs, blushing a little. "You're right, I am thinking too far ahead."
"I know you're hoping eventually you'll have a romantic relationship with this girl, I am too, but for now, take things slow. People our age these days, go way too fast and it only leads to a divorce."
Santana snorts. "You sound like my Abuelo."
Brittany rolls her eyes turning her attention back to the food she's making. "Just call her, you're driving yourself crazy."
Santana sighs. "Fine." As she goes to her room to get her phone, her mother walks in, surprising them both.
"Hola, Mija. You never called me back, so I came to see if you're still alive."
Santana rolls her eyes. Brittany just laughs. Mairbel closes the door behind her then walks over to her daughter, and looks over her as if she's checking for injuries.
"Mami, I'm fine." She whines. "Where's Papi?"
Maribel ignores her and continues to examine the brunette. "Finding a parking spot. It's impossible to find one in this area."
Brittany still finds the woman amusing, and can't help but laugh at her antics. "Hola, Maribel."
The older Latina looks up and smiles brightly at the blonde. "Brittany, hola. Es tan bueno verte. Cómo estás?" She asks walking into the kitchen.
Santana breaths a sigh of relief, happy her mother will leave her alone for now. Brittany bites her lip, trying to remember the Spanish Maribel has taught her when she was with Santana.
"Es bueno verte, también. Soy maravillosa, ¿cómo estás?" She asks slowly, making sure she's pronouncing everything right.
Maribel smiles. "Muy buena. Your Spanish is sounding much better, but your accent could use some work." She teases.
"Gracias."
Suddenly Dante walks in. For a moment he doesn't look very happy until he sees Santana and smiles brightly. "You are alive." He teases. "It's good to know my daughter is ok. I wish I didn't have to come here to see for myself, though. That's what phones are for."
Again, Santana rolls her eyes. "I've been busy, and stressed. I'm sorry."
Dante sighs, then hugs his daughter tightly. "When will the results come in?" He asks, worried.
"Next Friday."
He sighs, pulling away from the hug. Maribel doesn't look too happy about the news either. "That's a long time to stress over a test." He notes.
Santana nods. "Brittany said she would keep me distracted."
"Well, that's good." Maribel says. "I was just going to suggest to find something to do to keep your mind off it. Has that helped you so far?" She nods.
Brittany smirks. "I'm not the one exactly helping out with that, though." Santana glares at her, mouthing don't. "Well, kind of, but someone else has been doing most of the distracting for me." She says amused by the looks Santana is giving her while mouthing I hate you.
Maribel and Dante both look confused. "Who is she talking about, Mija?" Dante asks.
Santana sighs. "I met a girl." She mumbles, looking at her feet.
Her parents stretch their necks, straining to hear her. "Hablo, me enseñaron que es mejor." Maribel demands.
Santana groans, feeling embarrassed. "I met a girl." She says louder this time.
Maribel smiles brightly, while Dante looks happy for his daughter, and winks at the brunette. "When did this happen? That's great news, Mija."
"Yesterday at the hospital."
Maribel still smiles as she cups Santana's face. "I'm happy for you." Santana smiles in return and Maribel drops her hands. "Tell me more, I want details. Is she beautiful?"
Santana chuckles. "Sí, Mami. She has gorgeous hazel eyes, and a stunning smile." She describes Quinn still smiling thinking about the blonde.
"She's blonde." Brittany jumps in as she continues to make their lunch. Santana's smile drops as she glares at her friend again.
Maribel arches her brow. "Does this mean you have a type, Mija?" Santana sighs, shaking her head. Dante scoffs, waving her off.
"Who cares if she has a type, I wanna know her name."
Santana snorts. "Quinn." She tells him.
Maribel smiles. "Beautiful."
Dante nods in agreement. Brittany glances between Santana's parents, wondering if someone should mention the little person Santana was worried about moments ago. "Should we tell them about-" She starts to ask, but Santana cuts her off, shaking her head. Her parents grow curious, though.
"Tell us about what?" Maribel asks.
For the third time, Santana glares at Brittany. "Nothing, Mami. I was just going to call Quinn right before you barged in."
Maribel rolls her eyes. "Barged in. I'm your mother, I have a right to." Santana also rolls her eyes. "Go ahead call her, I'll help Brittany with lunch, and your father will do nothing but watch TV."
Santana snorts at her father pouting at her mother. "Ok, ok. I'll call her." She says trying to sound blase about it, when really her heart is beating against her chest, and her stomach flutters at the thought of talking to the blonde again.
Even while baking her cookies, Quinn kept checking her phone for a new voice mail from Santana, but is disappointed to not get one. It's starting to make her think she won't be hearing from her again, and that's all she can think about on her way to Mercedes' parents house.
When she does arrive, however, that thought quickly moves to the back burner seeing all her friends and Mercedes' family. Quinn is surprised to see how much food they have. Mercedes definitely wasn't lying.
The brunette's mother shows Quinn where to put her cookies after greeting her, then pleads the blonde to eat plenty of food so they're not stuck with the leftovers. She hums in appreciation, seeing all the good food as she puts some on her plate. Then she goes to sit with Mike, Mercedes and a few other people she doesn't recognize.
"Hey, Q." Mike greets her. "I'm glad you can make it."
Quinn smiles, sitting next to him. "Hi, it's good to see you outside of work. I am, too."
"Q." Mercedes says, getting her attention. "These are my good friends from work. Elliot, Adam, and Dani." Each of her friends wave as she introduces them.
"A couple of my friends from college should be here shortly, too, they're running a little late."
Quinn nods. "It's nice to meet you all. I'm Quinn, just so you know, not Q." She jokes, making them laugh.
"How long have you known Mercedes?" Elliot asks.
Mercedes chuckles. "Me and Q go way back. We were in the same kindergarten class." Mercedes' friends look shocked.
Quinn nods, confirming she's right. "Yeap, it's true. I can't believe I had to deal with you for so long." She jokes.
Mercedes rolls her eyes. "Bitch, please. You were more of a handful than I ever was. How many times did I have to cover your ass when you snuck out the house with Puck?"
Quinn cringes, making the others laugh. "Oh god, don't remind me. I don't know what I saw in him."
Mercedes snorts. "Nothing. It wasn't about liking him. You were the caption of the cheer team, and he was a football player. You thought because of your status, you had to be with him, and stay with him all those years." She reminds the blonde, making her cringe even further.
"If I just accepted that I prefer the V instead of the P, it would have saved myself a lot of hassle." Mercedes and Mike laugh.
Dani flashes Quinn a weak smile. "I never did any of that. I couldn't pretend to be someone I wasn't, but that didn't help me, either. My parents caught me with a girl, and kicked me out."
Quinn reaches across the table to rub the blonde's arm. "I'm sorry, I know how that feels." She pauses to think for a second. "Well, I wasn't kicked out, but when I was ready to tell my parents, they disowned me. Now my daughter doesn't even see them."
There's a short silence until Mercedes breaks it. "How did we get so deep?" She asks with a laugh, making everyone join her.
Quinn pulls her hand back, shaking her head. Mercedes looks over her shoulder, hearing someone call her name. She smiles and waves the person over. Quinn looks to see who she's waving at, and is surprised to see the fashionable man, a guy she doesn't recognize, and the short brunette that were stuck in the elevator with Santana, Beth, and herself.
"Sorry we're late. Rachel took forever finding something to wear." The man apologizes. Quinn makes a note the short brunette is Rachel.
Mercedes waves him off. "It's cool, you're not that late. Give me a hug." She says standing up. The man laughs as they embrace. Then Mercedes hugs the other man, then Rachel, when the shorter guy recognizes Quinn.
"Oh, hey. This is a surprise."
Quinn chuckles, knowing he also forgot her name. "Quinn."
He nods, then reaches out to shake her hand. "That's right, I knew it started with a Q. What a small world." He says with a laugh. Quinn nods in agreement, silently hoping someone would say his name.
Mercedes looks between the pair confused. "You two know each other?" They nod, then explain how they know each other.
Rachel gasps. "I knew you looked familiar."
Quinn chuckles. Mercedes introduces them to the rest of the table, and Quinn learns the fashionable male is Kurt, and the other, his boyfriend Sebastian. She makes another mental note to remember that. Old friends catch up, and new acquaintances get to know each other better.
Quinn is having so much fun with the company she's surrounded by, and the food, she almost forgets about waiting for Santana's phone call. That is until she hears said device go off. Taking it out of her pocket, she silently hopes it's the brunette and smiles brightly seeing an unfamiliar number flash across her screen, missing the curious look Mercedes is giving her.
"Excuse me, I have to take this." Quinn leaves the table and walks away from the crowd, going closer to the street so she can hear the brunette at the other end. "Hello?"
"H-Hey, it's Santana."
Quinn bites her lip, feeling her stomach flutter. "Oh, hi. I'm glad you called. I was starting to worry you wouldn't." She confesses for unknown reasons at the moment.
Santana chuckles, and Quinn decides it's one of the cutest sounds she's heard, next to her own daughter's laugh. "I couldn't forget you even if I tried."
She flirts, making Quinn's smile grow, while also making her blush. She even looks behind her, as if she's checking if someone else heard, but then realizes how silly that is.
"You're making me blush." She admits, digging her toe into the ground.
Santana chuckles. "I wish I was there to see it." The brunette continues to flirt, reddening her cheeks even more.
Quinn giggles like a school girl with a crush. "San, stop." She says making the brunette laugh some more.
"Ok, I'll stop for now, only because I'm not a witness to your blushing." Quinn snorts. "What are you up to?"
"I'm at a friend's house. She's having a cookout with family and friends."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were busy. We can talk another time."
Quinn senses the tone of her voice, knowing she doesn't really want to stop talking, and neither does she. "No, it's ok. I've been having fun with everyone, but now I'd rather talk to you." She confesses, flirting a little, hoping she too made the brunette blush.
"Now I'm blushing." Santana confesses. Quinn chuckles in response. "How's Beth? She wasn't afraid getting her cast removed, was she?"
Quinn's stomach flutters once again, and her heart jumps into her throat. Despite his obvious interest in her, Sam doesn't even ask about Beth. It makes her realize she definitely has a crush on the brunette. "She's fine now, thanks for asking. It was scary for her, but she didn't cry either, she's tough."
"That's good to hear. When I was eight I broke my arm trying to show off on my new bike. I learned my lesson, though, and I definitely didn't like the machine they used to cut the cast off."
Quinn smiles trying to imagine a little Santana. "I'm lucky, I never broke a bone before."
Santana winces. "Never say never." She warns.
The girls continue to talk. Getting to know one another a little better, and they also talk about random stuff, too. While they do, Mercedes keeps shooting Quinn curious looks, wondering who she could be talking to. She has been dying to know, and tries to patiently wait, but after awhile it seems like the blonde is never going to stop talking, so she interrupts them instead.
"Who in the world are you talking to? I invited you to spend some time with me, and mingle, and you'd rather talk on the phone."
Quinn blushes embarrassed, but she also feels bad. She covers the mouth piece to her cell phone. "I'm sorry, Cedes. I don't mean to be rude, I've just been waiting for this call."
Mercedes smirks, getting the hint. "Is she hot?"
Quinn snorts. "I'll tell you later."
Mercedes rolls her eyes. "Girl, you might as well go home at this point if you're just going to be on the phone." She points out. Quinn sighs. She doesn't want to be rude, but she also still wants to talk to Santana.
"Quinn, if you have to go, I understand." She hears the brunette, also upset they can't talk anymore. "We can talk another time, when we're both free." She suggests.
Quinn brings the phone back to her mouth. "Yea, I'm not being the best guest right now. I'll call you this time, ok?"
"Ok, I'm looking forward to it. Goodbye, hermosa."
Quinn knows very little Spanish, but she does know what the brunette says, and it just makes her blush again.
"You're blushing again." Santana states as more of a fact, than a question.
Quinn chuckles and Mercedes rolls her eyes, albeit with a smile, happy for her friend. "How did you know?"
"You paused." She says like it's the most obvious thing in the world.
Quinn snorts, then her smile drops. "I have to go now, I'll talk to you soon. Bye."
"Bye." Santana says, just as upset.
Quinn sighs disconnecting her end of the line, then looks up to Mercedes with her hands on her hips, and her brow arched. "Explain yourself. Who is this girl, and how did you meet?"
Quinn puts her cell phone in her pocket, then hooks her arm with Mercedes as she starts to explain her in detail what happened at the hospital this time.
Hanging up the phone, Santana is a mix of sad and happy. Happy she got to talk to the blonde, but sad their conversation had to end sooner than they wanted. Suddenly someone knocks on her bedroom door, causing her to jump. When Santana went to call Quinn, she stayed in her room so she can talk to her in private.
"Are you ok in there, Mija?" Her mother asks.
Santana rolls her eyes getting off the bed. Then she opens the door for her mother. "I'm fine, Mami. I was just talking to Quinn, like you encouraged me to." She reminds the older Latina.
"You were just in there so long, it had be worried."
Santana sighs. Since her diagnosis, her parents have been overprotective. "What did you think could happen to me in my own room?"
Maribel shrugs. "I don't know, a mother just worries. You'll understand when you have children of your own." She says before returning back into the living room.
Santana stays back, swallowing the lump forming in her throat. The comment wasn't made to upset her, she knows that, but her parents are so confident she'll have children, and she isn't so sure. She wipes a few escaped tears before joining her parents and Brittany.
"Your lunch is in the microwave." Brittany says as she sits on the couch, talking to the brunette's parents, catching up with them. Lunch has been finished since she started talking to Quinn, and Brittany has eaten already. Santana grabs her plate, then sits next to the blonde on the couch.
"You and Quinn were talking for awhile." Brittany says.
Santana just shrugs as she eats. Getting the hint she doesn't want to talk about it in front of her parents, Brittany drops the subject.
Dante groans, getting off the couch. "We should go now. Your mother promised our new neighbor we would attend their cookout, and we're already late." He grumbles.
Maribel also stands, shaking her head. "Dont act like you don't wanna go."
Dante smirks, rubbing his stomach. "You're right, they know how to grill a mean hamburger." Brittany snorts, and Santana just shakes her head.
Maribel opens her arms, and wiggles her fingers. "Stand up and give your mami a hug."
Santana gives Brittany her plate, then tightly hugs her mother. "Te Amo, mami. Thanks for letting yourselves in."
"Te Amo, bebé. De nada."
Santana snorts pulling away from the embrace. Then she hugs her father.
"Sé que podemos ser dominante, pero apenas nos preocupamos. Le gusta tanto. Call us when the results come in, si?"
She nods, flashing a weak smile as the pull away. "Te Amo, Papi."
He smiles back, waving as he follows his wife out the door. Santana sits back down with Brittany and takes her plate back. The blonde smirks at her while her attention is on the TV.
"So, what did you talk about?" She eagerly asks.
"I'm not saying." Santana says, keeping her eyes on the screen.
Brittany pouts. "Why?"
She shrugs. "I'm eating."
Brittany huffs. "So, why can't you tell me?" She whines.
Santana cracks a smile. She's on cloud nine after talking to Quinn, and for now she wants to keep it to herself. "Later."
Brittany sighs. "When later?"
Santana chuckles. "Geez, Britt, you're worse than some of my students. Just later, ok?"
The blonde huffs again, turning to the TV. "Fine."
Santana just shakes her head.
Sunday comes, and Quinn is greeted with a goodmorning text from Santana, already starting the day off with a good start. Even Sam barging in again didn't ruin her mood as she continued to exchange texts with the brunette. She was surprised he hadn't done it the day before, since he has a habit of walking in whenever he wants.
Because she doesn't give Sam all of her attention, he asks her what seemed like a hundred questions about who she's texting. She doesn't tell him, though. She just responds with, a friend.
The rest of her day is spent keeping herself busy. Sometimes the weekends can be boring without her daughter around. Even though she's happy to have Santana to talk to, she wishes the brunette could visit. But she has plans with her roommate Brittany.
Around dinner time, Sam invites himself in again, wearing a Ravens jersey. Quinn had to glare at him for that, more out of confusion than anger. He has never come to her house to watch football before, and has no idea why this time is different.
"You know I don't watch football, right?" She asks standing over him with her arms crossed.
He shrugs. "Yea, but my buddy couldn't come over, and I wanted someone to watch it with."
Quinn continues to glare at him. "And you thought coming here was a good idea?"
Again, he shrugs. "Yea, we're friends, so I thought, why not?"
Quinn scoffs. "Because I don't watch football. I don't even know any of the rules, or what's going on."
Sam opens his mouth to say something, but is interrupted by Quinn's phone notifying her she has a text. Sam sighs, not looking too happy as Quinn hurries to respond. "Still talking to your friend?" He bitterly asks.
Quinn blushes, smiling down at her phone at what Santana said. Sam just rolls his eyes, trying to pay attention to the game. She responds back to Santana's text as someone knocks loudly at the door. She frowns, only knowing one person who knocks like that.
She puts her phone on the coffee table with a huff, then walks to the door. Looking through her peephole, she glares at the man, even though he can't see her. And she continues to do so as she opens the door.
"What are you doing here, Puck? I'm supposed to pick her up tomorrow for school."
He shrugs. "My buddy Finn invited me to his house to watch the game, but my mom isn't home to watch her. She's at some book club or something. Plus, dropping her off now makes more sense."
Quinn sighs taking Beth's overnight bag from him. "Honey, go inside while I talk to your father." She nods then does as she's told. "You're unbelievable, you know that? You spent one day with her, Puck, one."
He rolls his eyes. "Look, it's not my fault I had to work." He argues.
Quinn crosses her arms. "No, it's not, but you could be spending your last day with her, but you'd rather watch football, and drink beer." She bitterly says.
"That's right I do, cause I'm an adult. I like to do adult things like watch football, and drink beer with my buddies."
She scoffs shaking her head. "You're also a father, and you have responsibilities."
"And I took care of her. She's clean, dressed, and fed. Now I'm gonna have some fun. Tell the kid I'll see her next weekend."
And with that he leaves, leaving a very angry Quinn behind. She sighs going into the living room and isn't surprised Beth is siting far away from Sam as possible. Quinn sits between them.
"Did you have fun with your dad?"
Beth shrugs. "We mostly just watched TV." She says a little disappointed.
Quinn flashes a weak smile, and rubs her daughter's back. "Well, apparently we're watching football."
Beth sighs. "Mommy, do you have a quarter?"
She smiles, knowing why she wants it. "Check my purse, it's on the kitchen table."
Beth runs to retrieve it. Sam looks over his shoulder, curious why she would make a weird request. "Why a quarter?"
She shrugs. "A friend of mine showed her a trick, she must have been practicing."
Sam narrows his eyes. "What friend?"
Quinn turns to the TV. "You don't know her." He opens his mouth to ask her something else, but Beth runs back in and jumps on the couch.
"I practiced a little with daddy, but I didn't do it so well, and he wasn't impressed." She explains.
"You'll get it. It just takes time."
Sam smirks, dropping the discussion of Quinn's friend for now. "A magic trick?" Beth nods. "You can try it with me." He says in a high squeaky voice, like you would with a baby.
Beth sighs, giving her mother an are-you-kidding-me look. "Fine." She stands in front of Sam then tries to make it seem like the quarter disappeared, but drops it as she does. Beth doesn't look happy, while Sam doesn't seem bothered.
"That's all right, you almost had it." He ruffles her hair and Beth swats his hand away with a scowl.
"I'm gonna practice in my room."
Quinn nods and Beth runs to her bedroom. Sam sighs, leaning back in his seat. Quinn and Sam spend most of the game in silence. A few times he tries to get Quinn interested in the game, but fails. At halftime Quinn puts Beth to bed and changes into pajamas herself.
As they watch the rest of the game, Quinn continues to text Santana and eventually falls asleep, but Sam doesn't notice, he's too into the game. It just went into overtime and he's hoping his team will win. But when they get a touchdown, he looks over for Quinn's reaction to see she fell asleep. He covers her with a blanket, then turns off the TV before going back to his apartment.
"I'm bored. It's Sunday night, and all we can think of doing is watching more TV." Brittany announces.
"Me too." Santana agrees. Even though she has been texting Quinn, the time between texts hasn't been fun. "What do you wanna do?"
Brittany shrugs. "You don't have to grade any tests, or check any homework for school, do you?"
She thinks for a minute, then shakes her head. "I did it before I went to the hospital, to distract me. You did yours, right?"
Brittany nods. Then both girls think of something to do, but each time one thinks of something, the other vetoes it.
"How about bowling?" Santana suggests. "We can call Marley, Ryder, Artie, and Kitty."
Brittany purses her lips, contemplating if she wants to go or not. "Sure. It's better than watching TV."
Santana stands up and stretches. "Cool. Get dressed, I'll send out a max text to everyone."
Brittany snorts. "I thought we were calling?"
She shrugs while typing out the text. "This is easier."
Brittany chuckles as she goes to her room to get dressed, since they've been sitting around in their pajamas all day. After Santana sends out the text, she responds back to Quinn. Then she goes to her room to also get dressed.
The girls meet their friends there, then they pay for two lanes. Santana, Marley and Ryder on one lane, and Brittany, Artie and Kitty on the other. Both Santana and Brittany are very competitive, so they're captains to their "teams." Santana purposely sets it so she goes last, so she has better chance of getting a higher score.
"Marley, you're first since you're our weakest." Santana tells her as she finishes typing in the names.
Marley gives her boyfriend an is-she-serious look, and the boy just shrugs. As she walks up to bowl, in the other lane, Kitty waits for her out of courtesy. Marley lines herself up with the dots, then rolls the ball down the aisle, getting eight out of ten pins. Santana cheers, then gives the other team a smug smile.
While Marley waits for her ball, Kitty walks up to the lane and rolls her ball. She gets a strike, angering Santana. Kitty gives her a smug smile back, then gives Brittany a high-five before taking a seat. Marley goes back up to bowl, and gets her spare.
As their games continue, Brittany and Santana grow more and more competitive. Santana's team is behind by one strike, if Ryder can get one, they'll tie the game. Santana can't even sit down, she's so anxious. Ryder picks up his ball for his first try, then walks up to the lane.
"You better get this strike, Bieber, or you won't hear the end of it." Santana calls after him. Ryder rolls his eyes then takes a deep breath before rolling his ball. He gets all but one pin.
Santana groans. "Are you kidding me, Bieber? One pin, you couldn't get one fucking pin?!"
While Brittany's team celebrates their win, Ryder turns around to get his ball again for his second turn and sighs. "I did my best, Santana." He argues back.
She rolls her eyes. "You should have done better than your best. Artie is using that damn thing kids use to bowl, and he got a strike!" She angrily points out.
Ryder huffs. "It's just a bowling game, San, it's supposed to be fun."
She shakes her head, again rolling her eyes. "That's what people who can't bowl say."
Brittany walks over to Santana with a smug smile, with her team behind her. "Maybe next time, San."
She huffs, crossing her arms. "Yea, I'm definitely going to win next time, blondie. Next time, I'll have a better team."
Brittany just shrugs. "I don't think it was your team that was the problem." Santana narrows her eyes. "I think their captain was just a little distracted, sending all those texts to her crush." She says smiling, knowing she's right, and Santana knows it, too. In between bowling, and yelling at Ryder, Santana had been texting Quinn.
"Whatever." Is all she can say before she walks away, and goes out to the car. All the way home Brittany continues to tease the brunette, and all Santana does is sulk as she looks out the passenger window.
Authors Note
Thoughts, concerns, questions? I almost didn't add the bowling part into this chapter. I was going to save it for the next, but then I realized Santana needs to hang out with someone other than Brittany, and I knew I would get someone pointing that out if I didn't put that in, lol. I know it was brief for now, and there wasn't a lot of interaction, but you will see more of Ryder, Marley, Artie and Kitty. And yes, there will be more Santana/Beth interaction, too, there's no way around that, lol, just be patient.
