Quinn and Santana both fulfilled the fortune, Santana actually did so first. ;) Santana was selfless in offering to go with Quinn to visit Shelby and Beth instead of her date and well... Then there was Quinn's selfless act for Santana with Brittany, although I'm sure she'll be surprised once she finds out how that went.
Making it a little AU from here on out, given what's happened with the swap and I want to make Shelby more likeable. Anyway, sorry for the delay. I got caught up a bit, this chapter was tough to write. Hope you like it! I'd love to know what you thought! Thank you so much for your reviews and continued support!
Quinn's eyes fluttered open as the tremors wracking her vehicle calmed, they immediately fell on her hands. She blinked, eyes widening when she realized they were back to their old shade of pale.
"Oh my God!" She said happily, flexing her fingers before flicking down her visor.
The blonde watched a smile tug across her pale features before pinching her cheek. "Definitely not dreaming... But how?"
She chewed her lip thoughtfully, "... Selfless love will set you free..." Quinn whispered, remembering the fortune.
Her gaze shifted warily to the nearby house, she suddenly remembered where she was.
She had only been to Shelby's new home once, just after the older woman had moved. Her hands trembled nervously in her lap, brushing over her phone. Quinn picked up the device, Satan's contact screen greeting her. Her thumb hovered over the 'call' option but she shook her head and exited.
"She'll be too busy with Brittany..." The blonde whispered, teeth worrying her lip as she stared blankly at her phone's clock.
11:42 AM
xxx
Quinn swiped her thumb over the screen of her phone to keep it from locking, 12:09 PM flashed at her mockingly in response.
The blonde sighed before slipping the phone into the bag occupying her passenger seat.
"I'm sorry." She whispered sadly, her eyes locked on Shelby's home. "I wish I were stronger."
She tore her gaze away before moving to put her key into the ignition, the blonde squeaked in surprise when someone pounded on the back of her car suddenly.
"Oh, no you don't! Out, now!" Santana panted through the glass barrier.
Quinn gulped, fighting down the emotion that was threatening to bubble up at the brunette's appearance.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, shouldering her bag and closing her door.
"What do you mean? I said I would be here." Santana puffed, still struggling to catch her breath.
"What about Brittany?"
Santana frowned, wishing the other girl would look her in the eye. "We... It's resolved, I talked it out with her."
It wasn't a lie but it also wasn't the full truth. She planned to tell Quinn exactly what had happened but now was definitely not the time.
"Just, don't worry about it right now, okay? This is for you and Beth." The brunette said, taking a step closer to the other girl.
"Okay..." Quinn said, offering a small smile before she allowed Santana to lead her up to the porch.
Quinn quickly locked her car, throwing her keys into her bag while Santana knocked.
The door opened a minute later, Shelby smiling broadly as she pulled it back further for them to come inside.
"Hello girls, go ahead and get comfortable. Would you like anything to drink before I go and get Beth?"
Santana gave a polite 'no' before looking toward Quinn, "Water please?"
The older woman gave a quick nod and moving to get her the drink, leaving the girls alone in her living room.
The two took a seat on the large, plush couch, eyes sweeping the room as a clock ticked nearby. Santana silently sought out Quinn's hand, giving it a quick squeeze before releasing it when Shelby reappeared.
"Here you go! I'll be right back, going to give her a quick diaper change after I wake her. You two will thank me." The older woman said with a wink.
Santana chuckled and Quinn tried to do the same but the sound caught in her throat. It turned into a lump that made it difficult for her to swallow.
The younger brunette frowned when she noticed her friend's expression and paling features.
"You've got this." Santana reminded, the words becoming almost a calming mantra at this point.
Quinn nodded, trying to calm her breathing before Shelby returned with Beth.
She thought she had built up a pretty convincing mask but Shelby shot her a sympathetic look as she reentered the living room.
The blonde couldn't help but stiffen when the older woman and the child drew closer. Her wide eyes were too busy with Beth to notice the worried glance shared by the two brunettes.
"Could I hold her?" Santana asked, hoping to ease Quinn into the visit.
Shelby caught on quickly and flashed the younger brunette a wide smile. "Of course!"
She gently handed off her daughter before settling in the recliner across from the couch.
Santana smiled down at the baby in her arms, Beth stared at her with wide eyes. Sucking and gumming at her thumb as she continued to stare at the new person holding her.
"Thank God she took after you... For the most part, right, cutie?"
Quinn blinked, the comment helping to snap her from her trance. She couldn't help but smile at the gentle look that had taken over her friend's tan features.
By now, Beth was cooing and waving her chubby arms while Santana tickled her belly with her free hand.
"You really are good with kids, huh?" She asked softly, a familiar fluttering warming her heart at the sight.
Santana finally tore her eyes away from Beth, a wide smile specifically meant for Quinn tugging at her lips.
The two stared at each other for a moment before Shelby cleared her throat, "Quinn, could I talk to you in the other room?" She asked, the blonde nodded.
Santana watched the two leave the room before turning her attention back to Beth. She hoped that Shelby could convince Quinn that everything was okay, that what she was feeling was normal.
Quinn took a seat on one of the high stools by the counter as Shelby started a pot of coffee.
"How are you?" The older woman asked, not looking up from what she was doing. Quinn chewed on her lip, inspecting her nails.
"Alright... It's getting easier." She said, hoping the words sounded convincing.
Shelby nodded, "That's good... If you ever need anyone to talk to though, remember that I'm here." She said, turning to face the younger woman. "Back when I had Rachel... I wasn't brave enough to do what you are doing. I thought it would be better to not see her... Aside from the occasional photo. But I was wrong, it didn't make it easier. It didn't hurt less." The brunette took in a deep, unsteady breath. "I regret it everyday."
Quinn picked at her cuticle, "Is that why you moved closer?" She asked in a quiet voice.
"Yes, well, that was part of it... I wanted Beth to be closer for you and Noah, so that you two could visit whenever you wanted to."
"Thank you." Quinn said sincerely, finally raising her eyes to meet Shelby's.
"No, thank you for giving me another chance to be a mother." She said, her voice thick with emotion. "I've seen pictures, heard stories, for her entire life... But I don't know her and now... I don't know now to even begin to try." Shelby whispered, her hand gripping the edge of her counter.
Quinn swallowed thickly, her heart aching at the other woman's words.
"She wants to know you..." Quinn whispered and Shelby sighed.
"I know. I'm just afraid I won't be able to live up to the idea of myself, the one she's dreamed of in my absence."
"I guess there's no easy way, is there?" Quinn asked after a small span of silence.
"No, there really isn't. Either way you have to explain it to them and hope that they understand why you had to do what you did... And you have to remind yourself constantly that you made the best choice, for both of you."
The two held each others gazes, sad smiles gracing their lips. They looked back toward the living room when a loud wail ended the silence.
"Sounds like someone is hungry... Why don't you go give her a hand? I'll be in with Beth's bottle in a few minutes."
Quinn nodded, quickly making her way toward Santana and the crying child. The blonde paused in the threshold, her heart skipping a beat as she took in the sight of the two of them.
Despite her casual clothing and simple ponytail, Santana looked more mature than Quinn had ever seen her. She was making small soothing sounds as she rocked Beth back and forth gently in her arms. She glanced up, smiling when she finally noticed Quinn watching them.
Quinn sat down next to the brunette, "You want to hold her?" Santana asked, glancing back down toward the now calm Beth.
"You seem to be doing okay."
"Quinn... We're here for you, not me." Santana argued gently, her eyes rising again to meet the blonde's.
"I know, Santana. I just- I can't hold her yet." She said, her voice wavering.
"Okay, I just don't want you to regret not holding her... She'll never be this little again."
Before Quinn could respond Shelby appeared, bib and bottle in one hand and her coffee in the other. "I can feed her if you'd like, Santana."
The younger woman nodded, putting on Beth's bib before allowing Shelby to take the baby.
"You're a natural at this... Normally she cries until I give her the bottle."
"Big family." Santana said, settling back into the couch with a shrug. "After a while it just became my job to help take care of my little cousins, being the eldest."
Shelby nodded, asking the girls about school as she began to feed Beth.
xxx
Quinn fidgeted as she watched Shelby burp Beth, "Could I hold her? W-when you're done, I mean." She asked suddenly, shocking the brunettes.
"You can take her now... I'm pretty sure she's just about done." She said, stilling her hand. She stood up, supporting Beth's head as she passed the baby off carefully to Quinn.
The blonde breathed in sharply, trying to keep her hands from shaking as she adjusted her daughter in her arms. She couldn't help but smile when Santana wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders.
She wanted to thank the brunette but she couldn't tear her eyes away if she wanted to. They were locked on the hazel-brown ones watching her with rapt attention. Her heart fluttered, the empty feeling that had haunted her for so many nights finally feeling almost whole.
"Hi." She breathed softly, wiggling her finger against Beth's tiny ones.
The baby let out a small giggle, clutching at Quinn's finger with her chubby hand.
Quinn laughed, barely noticing Santana's body shifting beside her. She did however, find it difficult to ignore the click of a camera going off. "Where did you get that?" She asked, surprised to see Santana holding her camera.
"Snuck it in there before I left." The brunette said with a wink, snapping another when Quinn smiled.
"Great idea, Santana. Let me grab mine." Shelby said, jumping from her seat to go dig around in a drawer nearby.
She paused on her away back to the recliner, smiling when she saw how happy and relaxed Quinn looked.
She quickly snapped a candid shot before the girls noticed her, taking another when they both smiled toward the camera.
"Would you like me to take some of the three of you with yours?" Shelby offered, moving back to her seat.
"Yeah, that would be great, actually." Santana said, smiling as she stood to pass the older woman Quinn's camera.
xxx
"Thank you again for stopping by, girls." Shelby said as she followed them out onto her porch. "Feel free to stop by anytime and if you would like... I could give you a call if I need a babysitter?"
Quinn and Santana both nodded, "Totally, just ask Q if you ever need my number. Are you fully settled or do you still have stuff to move?" Santana asked, leaning on the railing that surrounded the porch.
"There's a little left in a storage unit, mostly extra furniture... Armoire, some extra furnishing for the basement and backyard..." The older woman said with a shrug.
"Well, if you need any help let me know. I'm sure Puck would lend a hand too."
"I will definitely have to take you up on that offer." Shelby said with a chuckle, "Drive safely girls!"
"Will do, thank you. I'll give you a call when I figure out a good date for the next meet up after I talk to Noah."
"Sounds good." Shelby said with a wave as she watched them make their way down the steps.
The two walked quietly until they reached the road, "Thank you for doing this for me, Santana."
The brunette chuckled, hooking her thumbs through the belt loops of her jeans. "It was no problem, Q. It was actually really fun." She said sincerely, "Thank you for letting me tag along."
Quinn watched the shorter girl scuff her shoes on the sidewalk, "I think I need to get my camera back out."
Santana rolled her eyes with a huff, "Shut up. I know, my humanity is showing."
Quinn chewed on her lip to try and hide the smile that was threatening to spread across the lower half of her face. She lurched forward suddenly and wrapped Santana up in a tight embrace.
The brunette stiffened at first, surprised by the sudden contact. After a moment she unhooked her hands from her jeans and returned the gesture.
She buried her face into Quinn's neck and smiled when the other girl spoke. "I want to say that I missed you but... You didn't really go anywhere."
Santana nodded, "I know what you mean."
The two let the hug linger a little longer before easing away from each other, almost reluctantly.
"Well, I better get home to Mom so she doesn't get too curious... It is almost dinner time."
Santana chuckled nervously, "About that..."
Quinn narrowed her eyes, "What did you do?"
"I may have told your Mom about today's visit..."
"You what?!" Quinn cried, running a hand through her hair as she began to pace back and forth nervously.
"Quinn, it's okay. She was okay with it." Santana said, placing a gentle hand on the other girl's arm.
"...She was?"
"Yes and she even said that she wouldn't mention it to your Dad."
Quinn remained silent for a moment as she took in the information, "I don't... I didn't think either of my parents wanted me to see her." She said in a small, disbelieving voice.
"Judy was just worried that it would hurt you more but she said that if it was what you wanted then she would be okay with it. She just wants you to be happy, Q. She loves you... Even if she doesn't always know how to show it."
Quinn's teeth worried her lip but she nodded slowly. She was grateful when the brunette wrapped her up into a quick and reassuring hug.
"Now, go on. Show her the pictures before your Dad gets home!" Santana said before tugging the blonde toward her car.
"Text me later, I want to know how it went!" Quinn nodded as she slipped into her car, a small smile played at her lips as she watched Santana disappear into her Mother's sedan.
xxx
"Mom? I'm home." Quinn said as she closed the front door, Judy emerged from the kitchen a moment later.
"How did it go, dear?" The older blonde asked, watching as Quinn took a seat on their living room couch.
Quinn smiled and patted the cushion next to her, "I'll show you."
"Alright, you may have to join me in the kitchen then... I have something in the oven."
Quinn nodded, "Okay but it shouldn't take too long."
Judy sat down, smoothing down her apron as she did. She watched as Quinn pulled her camera from her bag. She turned it on quickly before moving to the beginning of today's photos.
Quinn leaned in closer to her mother, smiling gently when Judy gasped. "Oh, Quinn... She's beautiful."
"Yes, she is." The girl agreed, her heart fluttering as she looked through the photographs for the first time.
"Santana went with you?" Judy asked, not hiding the surprise from her voice. Although she knew that they had been hanging out with each other recently, she also knew that they'd had a bad falling out during Quinn's pregnancy.
The younger blonde nodded, "Noah was supposed to go but something came up with his Mom... So, Santana offered to meet me there."
"I see, that was very kind of her."
Quinn nodded and continued on to the next picture and by the end of them, Judy was squeezing her glass tightly.
Quinn noticed this and breathed in deeply as she turned off her camera. "Maybe next time, you could come with me." She whispered hopefully.
Judy blinked, a tear overflowed and tracked its way down her cheek.
She remained silent for a moment, her fingers wringing against her glass. "I would like that." She said finally, her voice thick with emotion.
Quinn's heart skipped a beat at the response, "Me too."
The two jumped when the home phone rang loudly, cutting the moment short. "I'd better get that, it's probably your Father..." Judy mumbled quickly as she rose from the couch.
Quinn nodded and grabbed her bag before rising as well, "Alright, I'll be upstairs." She said, flashing her mother a smile before the other woman rounded the corner.
xxx
"See? I told you she was okay with it." Santana said, smiling into the phone as she flopped down on her bed.
She could practically hear Quinn smiling into the phone, "Yes, yes you did. She said she might even go along next time." The blonde said excitedly, Santana blinked.
"Really? Wow! That's great, Q." She said, adjusting her pillow as she tried to get more comfortable.
"Thank you again for today, Santana. I really can't thank you enough."
Santana rolled her eyes playfully, "Yes, you can. Stop thanking me, Q. I told you it was no biggie."
"I'll try." Quinn said with a chuckle, "And if you'd like... I could send you the pictures once I have them on my computer?"
"Yes, please." Santana said, smiling softly as she thought back to the blonde's smile while she had been holding Beth.
The brunette's eyes narrowed when she heard muffled talking, "I've got to go... Daddy's home, so it's dinner time. Remember to check your email!" Quinn said quickly, the brunette laughed.
"Alright, will do. See ya, Quinn."
The blonde said a quick goodbye before the line went dead and Santana sighed. She had come home to find her mother packing for another business trip.
They had talked briefly before Maribel left with the intention of swinging by the hospital to visit her father.
She was used to not seeing her parents but that didn't make her miss them any less. And having spent so much time with Quinn over the last week, she found herself feeling lonely. She couldn't even call Brittany...
The thought of the blue eyed blonde made her heart ache, the feeling easily overwhelming her. She blinked back tears and sat up quickly.
She had been able to ignore her feelings for most of the day but now it was too much. She ran her fingers through her hair and leaned forward, gritting her teeth as she fought down the urge to cry.
When she finally opened her eyes again they immediately fell on her phone. Santana quickly picked up the device and pulled up her photos. A sob catching in her throat at the first picture that came into view.
Her free hand gripped her comforter tightly as she made her way through the others. Each shattering her heart a little more.
The brunette released a shuddering sigh, tossing her phone down to the floor out of sheer frustration. She leaned over toward her nightstand, digging around in the drawer before pulling back with a bottle of pills. She opened the bottle of Melatonin, popping a single pill into her mouth before settling back against the headboard.
Santana snapped the bottle closed before throwing it angrily toward where her phone had landed.
"Fuck you." She spat weakly, her voice cracking over the words. She let her head fall back against the wall with a dull thud, "What did I do?" She whimpered, raising her arms to press her palms into her eyelids.
xxx
Dinner with her parents had gone smoothly but Quinn was saddened to see the change in her Mother. She was so soft spoken and submissive around her Father.
The blonde shook her head and pushed the thoughts aside as she grabbed her laptop. She then leaned over to dig around in her bag, pulling out her camera after a moment.
Quinn smiled, plucking out the memory card before sliding it into her computer.
She hummed as she pulled up the pictures, selecting the photos from earlier and copying them to her laptop. Other than some resizing and rotating, the photographs didn't need much in the way of editing.
Quinn opened up her email, selecting Puck, Santana and Shelby under her contacts. She smiled broadly as she hit send, excited to share the pictures.
After stashing her laptop in the cubby of her nightstand, Quinn grabbed her phone and sent a quick text to Santana.
Fabgay: Just sent the email, they all turned out so well! Thanks again, I owe you. :P xo
Santana's phone let out a short ring tone signalling a new text from its spot on the floor. The brunette groaned, tossing one of the many pillows surrounding her on the bed toward the origin of the sound.
She flipped the sheet back over her head, mumbling incoherently in Spanish as she drifted back to sleep.
