(A/N: I bring you the morning after. This kind of just clears some things up a bit I suppose; well I think... Haha, anyway R&R.)

The Stale Aftertaste

Saturday - December 8th – Week 5

'Is that sunlight or God's white light!'

Quinn wasn't sure what was going on, what had happened the night before or what was preventing her from breathing normally but she did know she was extremely hung-over so in a state of panic both of her eyes shot open.

"Ah, fuck..." she grumbled at the site of sunlight peeking in through the curtains. She looked down to her constricted feeling chest and wondered if God truly hated her. Here she was; in Rachel Berry's bedroom, hung-over with the sleeping, possibly pregnant girl practically lying on top of her.

Rachel's head rested against Quinn's chest and she didn't know what to do. She certainly didn't want to be here when the girl woke up; who knows what she had done or said the night before.

Carefully, Quinn began to slide out from underneath the brunette; towards the edge of the bed. She was almost out when...

THUD

'Okay that hurt... Why is my ass so sore?'

Quinn had miscalculated how much space she had to manoeuvre out from underneath Rachel and the blonde hit the floor with a large thud which made Rachel bolt upright.

Rachel looked at the time; 'Six-thirty.' The brunette looked around the room in a small panic. 'Where is she? She didn't sneak out last night, did she? Oh crap! She could've wondered out into the street and died.'

"Mmmmnnaaa-fuck..." Quinn sat up slowly with a loud groan and Rachel swore she had just developed a heart arrhythmia. "What the hell happened last night?"

Rachel was clutching at her chest, "Quinn, you scared me. I thought you had left."

The soccer captain gestured around her, "Obviously not."

'Okay, grumpy Quinn... Hung-over Quinn...'

Rachel knew she should approach the blonde with caution right now but she didn't care. Quinn had made her life a living hell for the most part, possibly gotten her pregnant and then accused her of not caring about her. As far as Rachel cared, the girl didn't deserve anything she did for her last night but of course Rachel had to be her usual kind self.

"Well, after I told you to let me be for a while you seemed to think it would be a good idea to drink a bottle of Jack Daniels and then come to my house. I do acknowledge that we have many things to discuss pertaining to our current situation but that does not mean I will condone your unprovoked, reckless behaviour. Furthermore I believe that we must-"

Quinn huffed and stood from the floor, "Can you just shut up? I'm sorry if I'm being rude but I have a hangover, my ass hurts like hell and you're preg..." She paused mid-word and let the information sink in; which was probably going to happen a lot.

She had gotten Rachel pregnant.

"You're pregnant," Quinn reiterated.

"I'm aware of my current status, yes. I don't need to be told over and over again that my life is over because you had sex with me." Rachel gave the hung-over girl a once over and her eyes widened comically, "Uh... Quinn."

Quinn followed Rachel's gaze and immediately started blushing, "Oh God, Rachel, I'm sorry. It happens all the time, I can't stop it no matter what," she stressed, trying to cover the obvious tent in her borrowed sweats. 'Wait a second...' she thought, going through what the brunette had said, "Excuse me? I had sex with you? Like you didn't have sex with me!" she accused moving over to Rachel's vanity to collect her clothes from the night before.

"I apologise if that came out wrong, Quinn; we are both at fault but there is no denying this is mainly your fault beca-"

The bathroom door slammed shut effectively silencing the small diva. Quinn could not have this conversation now; she had a pounding headache, her ass was tender and she didn't know what she was going to do; what they were going to do.

Quinn stood in front of the bathroom mirror; staring at her reflection. 'What the fuck is up with my nose?' She ran cold water into the basin and began splashing it onto her flushed cheeks. After waiting for the tent in her pants to subside, Quinn changed into her clothes; inspecting her bruised ass as she did so, before swinging the bathroom door open.

"I'll see you at school," she choked out before hurrying towards Rachel's bedroom door.

"Quinn!" Rachel groaned out in frustration, "We have to talk about this."

The blonde stopped in her tracks; her hand around the door knob. They did have to talk about this; but what was there to say? Everything that was going to happen next was entirely up to Rachel. She wasn't getting an abortion so it was entirely up to Rachel if she wanted to raise the baby or find some adoptive parents. But what did Quinn want? Quinn would be fine either way but if Rachel did decide to raise the child she would need her. The girl wouldn't have to be there just by obligation; she would need to be there because Rachel would need her there. The sound of Santana's voice clouded her mind, 'She needs you Quinn.'

"Why is this mainly my fault?" Quinn asked making her way over to Rachel's desk chair.

Rachel released a sigh of relief; Quinn wasn't leaving and she was starting things off. Her brow furrowed as she processed the blondes' question; why did she say this was Quinn's fault? "I'm sorry Quinn; I wasn't thinking when I said that."

"Why is it my fault?"

Rachel brought her knees into her chest, "I just thought because you had the-uhm-equipment it would be your responsibility to protect us."

Quinn rested her elbows on her thighs and hung her head in her hands. Rachel had a point; Quinn knew she was different, she knew she had the ability to impregnate someone; she knew she should have been prepared but-

"Protect us? Exactly Rachel, 'us'! You should have made sure as well; you thought I was a guy after all."

Rachel's mouth opened and closed a few times; trying to come up with an argument.

"See! It's not all my fault!"

"Alright!" Rachel closed in on herself; hating herself. Quinn was right; she should have checked, she should have protected herself, she shouldn't have done 'it' in the first place. Unknown to Quinn, that night was Rachel's first time and now it was the most regrettable memory of her life. She had been planning her first time in her head ever since she had been with her first boyfriend. Of course she had only imagined Finn, Noah; but he turned out to be a beter brother figure, or Jesse as the one to take her virginity; candles, sweet music and all.

But all she had now was booze, Captain Jack Sparrow, Puck's bedroom and an empty bed the next morning.

"Do you regret it, Quinn?"

The question caught Quinn completely off guard. It's not like she regretted sleeping with Rachel, she had had sex before Rachel so she didn't lose her virginity. The question suddenly clicked in her head.

"Do you Rachel? Was that your first time?" The blonde didn't like this; she had taken something from Rachel that she could give back.

Rachel nodded and Quinn looked put out, "I don't regret sleeping with you, Quinn; I regret having my first time in a drunken stupor though."

Quinn nodded a long with Rachel's every word; feeling somewhat proud that she had taken the girls' virginity. Rachel always said she was waiting until she was twenty-five; granted she was drunk but Quinn still got it. But all of her thoughts disappeared when she remembered that this girl was pregnant. 'I wonder when that's going to stop happening.' she thought; she couldn't have her mind going blank every time she remembered that 'minor' detail.

"I'm sorry," Quinn spoke, making her way over next to Rachel on the bed.

The brunette looked up at the girl next to her; the caring tone in her voice, the soft look on her face. She couldn't be angry at the blonde; she wanted to be, she wanted to be so badly but she just couldn't find a valid reason. Quinn cared, she cared for Rachel; she had flipped sides.

She pondered these thoughts before curiosity got the best of her, "I wasn't your first?" Quinn shook her head, "Santana?"

Quinn's eyes widened comically, "Never, she's my best friend. She only knows about it because when we were thirt-"

"She told me," Rachel smiled.

Quinn smiled as well; at the memory of thirteen year old Santana telling her everything was going to be okay, she had nothing but love for that girl. "There is only one other person outside the family besides Santana that knows; her name is Amy."

Rachel's neck cracked when she snapped her gaze to the blonde, "Cheerleader Amy? The skanky one? Figures," she scoffed.

"No, no, no, no, no, no; a thousand times no. Does it look like I want an STD?"

The diva averted her gaze to her lap, "Oh... I'm sorry." 'Smart one Rachel', she scolded herself.

Quinn giggled, "It's fine, Rachel." She took a deep breath in, recollecting her memories of her first time with a small, brunette girl named Amy. The blonde laughed at how much she looked like Rachel but that was one of the many reasons she had taken interest in the girl at the time.

Truth was Quinn had feelings for Rachel; big time, she just didn't know how to deal with them in a positive way. Teasing and harassing the smaller girl with slushies seemed like a good outlet at the time. Quinn was over the moon when Rachel had taken an interest in her beard of a boyfriend that was Finn Hudson; it gave her a reason to actually talk to the girl, although it was always fighting over a boy she didn't care about. She didn't care that Rachel had won Finn over because then she could pretend to want him back just to get a rise out of the diva; she was surprised when Finn did come crawling back but opted to leave him be and laugh when Rachel wouldn't take him back either.

"So, who is she?" Rachel questioned; bringing the blonde from her thoughts.

"On the fourth of July this year, I was visiting my sister and her husband for the holiday. She has this friend who has a younger sister as well; a very open younger sister who took a big interest in me. The fireworks that nigh-"

"Were you interested in her?"

Quinn squirmed a little, "Not exactly, she was very smart and beautiful but she wasn't the one I was crushing on at the time," 'Subtle Fabray, so subtle.'

"Who was?"

"Rachel. Do you want to hear the story or not?"

The diva made the gesture of zipping her lips shut, locking them and throwing away the key. Quinn smiled, could Rachel get any cuter?

"As I was saying; on my sisters property there is a large hill towards the back of it. Most of the adults stayed at the house; watching the fireworks from the patio but Amy and I made our way to the hill with blankets in hand. When the fireworks started she kinda-she just- jumped me?" Quinn sighed, "It started out innocent enough until she straddled me and as a teen going through puberty I just couldn't help but become..." she paused trying to think of the right word.

"Aroused?" Rachel supplied.

"Uh-yeah- aroused. She felt it, you know? It?" Rachel nodded, "She kind of looked at me like she was going to stop but she just kept going... It was incredibly awkward; not knowing what to do but yeah." Quinn blushed; she had never told anyone this.

"And you had sense to use a condom then?" Rachel didn't know what came over her. She was suddenly angry again and not only because Quinn lacked protection when she and her had intercourse but the thought of Quinn with anyone else unsettled her. Rachel wasn't sure why but she instantly hated this Amy girl.

Quinn stammered, "No actually," she managed to choke out, "Birth control helps too..."

Rachel's mouth made a perfect 'o', "Sorry Quinn, I don't know what came over me then."

"It's fine," Quinn fidgeted with her fingers and began cracking each one individually, "When are we going to have to-"

"Stop that!" Rachel scolded, slapping Quinn's hands, "It's incredibly unhealthy and it makes the most disturbing sound."

The blonde folded her hands in her lap, "Sorry... So, when are you planning to see a doctor?"

Rachel smirked, "Well, Dad doesn't arrive home until Tuesday so..." Rachel could see Quinn go pale; which was funny because Quinn was already a very pale girl. "I'm kidding," she laughed shoving Quinn's shoulder.

Quinn's breathing regulated and she glared at Rachel, "That was not funny, I think my life just flashed before my eyes with the last image of your Dad killing me in the most plausible way that it would look like natural causes."

"He probably will."

Quinn froze again, "Really?"

Rachel stood from the bed and moved over to her chest of drawers; searching for clothes for the day. "Well, you did impregnate his little girl so..." she trailed off; pulling a pair of shorts and a t-shirt from the drawer.

"Great."

"Relax Quinn; do you really think I'm going to allow my own father to examine me 'down there'? I don't plan on telling them yet anyway."

"Since you put it that way," Quinn breathed a sigh of relief; did that give her time to dig a large hole in her yard and build a bomb shelter? "Well, when do you plan on seeing a doctor?"

"Hmm," Rachel hummed, a finger on her chin as she thought, "Next weekend I suppose; I can't afford to miss any school, especially now." She pulled down her sleep pants; Quinn's eyes following her movements intently, "Considering Dad is a well-known doctor in this town though, I'll have to drive to the next town over and see the doctor there," she pondered; replacing her sleep pants with the shorts.

Quinn audibly gulped as the material made their way up Rachel's legs; for a small girl she had amazingly long legs. 'And to think I was in between them- SNAP OUT OF IT FABRAY!' "Did you-uh-did you need me to-uh...?

"Come?"

'Oh God, so does not go with my thoughts right now...' Quinn nodded.

The tan girl faced the bathroom door before stripping the tank top from her body; quickly replacing it with a t-shirt, "I would like for you to, but that's up to you though."

"Uh-yeah, I will... I'll drive?" the blonde offered; trying not to lose herself in the thoughts of ripping the clothes back off the brunette.

Rachel nodded, "Yeah that would be great of you, actually."

Quinn looked over at the clock on the bedside table; 'Eight.' "Well, I should go; my mother is probably worried about me."

"I'm sure your 'Mumsie' isn't freaking out at all 'Quinnie'," Rachel laughed as she made her way out the bedroom door; Quinn following closely behind.

"What? How did you..?"

"She called last night, remember? Just as we got into bed; don't fall down the stairs again either; do you need help?" Rachel snickered; she was going to have fun with all of Quinn's drunken antics from the night before.

"I-uh-what happened?"

"Well, after falling up my porch steps and banging your nose on the ground I brought you inside to clean off the blood. You then proceeded to run up the stairs and act like a child."

Quinn blushed as they reached the foyer, "I'm sorry, I didn't-"

Rachel held up a hand, silencing Quinn, "I'm not done; after telling me not to yell at you; like a four year old might I add, you asked the stairs to be nice before descending them then slipping down the last five; which explains your sore posterior. You then hit the bottom stair and reminded it that you thought you had an agreement."

"Oh God, I'm sorry... Stairs and I don't really mix, especially when alcohol is involved."

"That's quite alright Quinn, as I said upstairs I will not accept or allow any more reckless behaviour, okay?" Rachel asked opening the front door while Quinn pulled her shoes on.

Quinn nodded, "Sorry again. I'll see you at school then?" she said making her way out the door.

"I guess," Rachel shrugged; not really wanting Quinn to leave. She wasn't sure what was happening in her mind but it seemed to want Quinn to stay with her, to hold her. 'What the hell Rachel, stop that!' she scolded herself.

"See you then," Quinn promised with a smile before making her way down the path. She didn't know what would happen next or what was going to happen with the baby. Was she father-er-mother material? If Rachel decided to raise the baby, would she be able to step up and be a good parent? Quinn didn't know but she knew she could wait to find out. It had only been six days since she found out the tan girl was pregnant and look at all the drama that had happened.

All of these questions would remain unanswered until their future unfolded. She didn't have all the answers but what she did know; as she made her way into her street, was that she needed to wash the horrible, stale taste of Jack Daniels from her mouth and pray she could be what Rachel needed.


(A/N: If you have any suggestions for later things, anything at all let me know because yeah I'm flailing a bit. Also! I am from Australia so if I ever stuff up with the whole American Schooling system or events or Holiday markers please don't hate me and let me know, yeah? Also! I have another chapter ready to go so with every review you post the quicker you can acquire it.)