Drizzle fell asleep halfway through the ride, leaving Finn and Quinn alone. As much as they loved their daughter, they missed being alone. Time passed in silence, a silence they missed. Finn would start singing, Quinn would laugh at him, and another silence would follow. Without Quinn's realization, they were there.
"The beach?" She raised her eyebrow when she noticed this. When she noticed where they were. Finn smiled his innocent smile, she smiled. "Thank you." She whispered before kissing his cheek. He smiled then turned to Drizzle who was still sleeping. Quinn followed his gaze.
"Hey! Drizzle! Wake up, we're here." He said eagerly. Quinn unfastened her seatbelt and opened her door. She let herself inhale the fresh ocean scent. Finn joined her with Drizzle in his arms.
"Can we build sandcastles, daddy?" She grinned. She looked at Quinn, her face full of excitement. Quinn was reminded of her childhood. All the excitements were real and she didn't need to care about her future, all that mattered was the present. A smile appeared on her face.
"Well, we should start now then." Finn said. He let Drizzle down, held her hand, and ran to the beach. Quinn took her bag and joined them.
"What do you think, mommy." Drizzle asked as she saw her mom's figure.
"Did daddy made that for you?" She teased her daughter.
"No. I did this myself." She said, proud. Quinn sat next to her. "Daddy made that one." She pointed the castle Finn was working on.
"Wow, you guys are fast." Quinn said as she and Finn exchanged smiles. When Finn continued building his castle, his phone rang. He rubbed his hands together dusting off the sand. He took his phone out from his pocket and picked up the call from an unknown number.
"Umm… Hello?" He said, waiting for the caller to identify him/herself. Quinn was still focused on Drizzle and the sandcastle they were building. "Oh, hey Rach." He called out again. This time, Quinn fixed her eyes on Finn. Her eyes revealed the pain she was feeling inside. Somehow, the jealousy she felt when she was still in high school was there again. "She wants to talk to you." He gave her the phone. She took the phone, uncertain.
"H-Hi Rachel." Her voice flat with a vague hint of pain. He knew her look. He knew she was hurt. He sat in between her and Drizzle, a comforting smile on his face. He knew he didn't want to hurt her. He would never want to. He stared at her, hazy images from their high school years appeared in his mind. "T-thanks." She gave him the phone back. "She wants to talk to you." To him, nothing was wrong for the past was the past, but he knew everything seemed wrong for her at that moment. He looked at her and planted a short, delicate kiss on her lips, telling her that he would always be there for her.
He started talking with Rachel as she helped Drizzle with her sandcastle as if she was ok.
"Umm… Uhh… Yeah, thanks." He finally ended the call. Only one thought bothered Quinn, why did she call Finn and not me if she wanted to say 'Happy birthday'? Finn chuckled as he watched Quinn's face. "Drizzle, will you be ok if daddy talks to mommy for a while?" Drizzle looked up at her dad and nodded, she didn't suspect anything to be wrong. Finn led Quinn away from Drizzle, but not too far. They just stood there in silence. H Se knew that was what she needed. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and smiled. She sighed, her eyes watery. He kissed the top of her head.
"Thank you." She murmured. Her blonde locks blown by the strong wind. The sky was beautiful. Orange from the sunset. Drizzle was still busy with her sandcastle. The sound of the waves and the blowing wind were loud, but quieter than the silence between them.
"You know…" He paused, she could see the reflection of the sunset in his eyes. "My mom once told me that a scenery can only be beautiful if you share it with the ones you love." He smiled at her. By then, their daughter was done with her sandcastle.
"Mommy! Daddy! Look!" She yelled from where she was. Quinn blinked back the tears that were on her eyes and chuckled.
"Well, I gotta go see my daughter's sandcastle." He laughed as Quinn smiled the smile she had always shown him. "Are you coming?" He ran to Drizzle. Quinn stayed where she was for a moment, looking at the boy she fell in love with and the little blonde girl.
"Mommy, come here!" Her daughter called again. She walked towards them and sat next to Finn. "Can I borrow your phone, daddy?" She asked as she flashed Finn's innocent smile. Without saying a word, he gave his phone to his daughter. "Now smile." His daughter said. They both laughed at this. Always.
"Ok. Can we go home now?" He said after Drizzle finished taking a picture of them. Drizzle nodded.
"I'm tired." She rubbed her eyelids. Finn carried Drizzle back to the car while Quinn put everything inside the bags again.
Drizzle fell asleep almost immediately after Finn started the engl=ine. Quinn fell asleep shortly after that. The ride home was completely silent but Finn loved it. He loved seeing his girls sleeping so peacefully.
Quinn woke up when Finn turned off the engine, she woke up with a smile on her face.
"Ok, I have to put Drizzle to bed. I'll see you inside?" She said. He nodded. Quinn carried Drizzle to her daughter's room. She tucked her in and kissed her goodnight.
"Happy birthday, mommy. I love you." Drizzle whispered. Quinn smiled. She turned off the lights and went back to her room. "She's asleep." She said, the smile was still there. Finn was already on their bed. He smiled and patted the pillow next to him.
"Maybe we should sleep too." He showed her a naughty kind of smile.
"Quit that." She said playfully and climbed onto their bed and leaned on him. Finn kissed her neck and raised an eyebrow.