SAM & QUINN: FINDING ENCHANTMENT
CHAPTER EIGHT~SHRIMP
SETTING: Sam and Quinn's house, college, doctor's office, other location
WHO: Sam and Quinn Evans
WHEN: Late August 2012
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing related to Glee or any other song/product mentioned below.
The week before Quinn's 6-week ultrasound moved slowly. She felt no different except for feeling like PMS was still hanging around. Her boobs were sore and almost seemed swollen; she was eating nonstop; she was still feeling crampy. Every time she'd feel the crampy feeling she would start worrying that something was going wrong.
That week, she and Sam had signed up for a freshman orientation session at the OSU-Lima campus. They had chosen a night session so Sam wouldn't have to take a day off but Quinn did. She was okay with that. Since breaking her wrist, she had been trying to take it easy but seemed like she'd run out of energy before the day was done.
They took her car to the orientation. Now, knowing she was pregnant, Sam decided it wasn't safe for her to be on the back of the motorcycle so she was always in her car. She actually missed the motorcycle, finding it relaxing to ride behind him and feel the breeze and not think about anything. They had also talked about her little car, a VW. Would they be able to haul around a baby in that plus all the baby gear? They were toying with the idea of a used minivan but were still riding the fence about that decision.
They found their way to Reed Hall on the night of orientation and parked. They followed the crowd of students and parents entering the building and then followed them to the auditorium.
"Do you feel like we're the only ones here without parents?" he asked her when they found seats.
"Yeah, like we snuck in," she giggled. He laughed with her.
All the new students had received a folder full of information labeled with their name, so Sam and Quinn were going through it before the program started, finding stuff like a campus map, information on student activities on and off campus, clubs, the health and wellness center, parking, fees, and more. They listened to several speakers talking about college life and studying and watched a PowerPoint presentation about being a freshman. Then, the future students were told they had their first assignment to complete, parents were to stay behind. Sam and Quinn looked at one another, totally unprepared to do any kind of schoolwork. They were told to check the back of their folders for a room number. They were to report to that room in Reed Hall and wait for further instructions. Of course, Sam and Quinn had two different rooms.
"C'mon...I'll walk you to your room," he said, taking her hand. They found Quinn's room and Sam dropped her off and then he wandered off to find his room.
As it turned out, it was group advising sessions. Quinn's room was students who signed up for general studies; Sam's room was students interested in business. They each received more information in those breakout sessions specific to what they wanted to study in college and met some fellow new students. Afterward, they met back in the auditorium to wrap up the orientation.
"Some girl was being super friendly to me in my session, Q," he whispered to her. "I just kept playing with my ring and she finally got the hint...god!"
"Where is she?"
He looked around the auditorium for awhile, finally finding her with her parents apparently. "Over there," he said, trying not to be too obvious with his pointing.
Quinn thought she looked a lot like Rachel actually.
"Oh, well, no one hit on me...I'm probably already sending out invisible vibes to single dudes that I'm preggers," she said, smiling at Sam.
"Or maybe your wedding rings gave it away?" he said, smiling back.
At the end of the orientation, he took her hand to make their way out of the crowd. Of course, he would have to run into that pushy girl again, but she got a good look at Quinn holding hands with Sam and didn't say anything more to him.
They returned home and talked to Sam's parents about their orientation. Quinn kept yawning, so she told them she was going on downstairs to get some sleep. Sam found her a little while later, sound asleep on their bed. He kissed her before playing some PS3, thinking how beautiful she was as she slept and how hard her body must be working to grow their baby (he had read about tiredness hitting moms-to-be in the first trimester).
They managed to get through the next few days, occupying themselves with working, swimming at Tina's, Quinn spent time with Rachel and Arielle, reading the What to Expect book. They decided to make love Saturday night since Quinn was off limits the Sunday before the ultrasound. Sam tried to keep it slow and easy and gentle but picked up the rhythm at the end, apologizing to Quinn when it was over for being too rowdy with her. She laughed when he said the word rowdy and said it was fine cowboy, earning a big grin from him.
Sunday was busy with church, then Sam working, then Quinn working. They swam a little that evening at Tina's. Quinn was sitting on the step, resting her arm on the pool deck. Sam swam up to her and sat on the step beside her.
"How do you feel? Are you ready for tomorrow?" he asked her quietly.
"Definitely ready…I want to know more…I want to see inside there and see what's going on…" she answered.
"Me too, Q…I can't wait…what time do we need to be there?"
"Nine o'clock…I'm freaking out a little about it…" she said.
"Why?"
She cleared her throat. "You know, what if they see something wrong…what if that number has went down?"
"What do you mean, see something wrong?" he asked, rubbing her leg.
She looked at him. He was forever optimistic. She didn't even want to bring up bad scenarios to him. She didn't answer him.
"C'mon Q…now you're worrying me…" he said, almost whining.
"Like, what if there's no heartbeat?" she said quietly.
He sucked in his breath and looked away from her, tears stinging his eyes already. "Why would you think that?" he asked her, still not looking at her.
"Sometimes it happens Sam…I don't know, I guess I just prepare for the worst and when the worst doesn't happen I'm happy…I feel fine though…" she said, working her good arm around his elbow.
He turned to look at her finally and she could see the tears streaking his face with the pool water. "It'll be okay, Q…" he said and swam away from her. She felt bad about putting that thought in his head but wanted to prepare him if something like that happened. It was hard for her to think about it, too, she just had to be realistic about it.
That night, in their love nest, he snuggled up next to her. She turned onto her good side and kissed him.
"I'm sorry for bringing that up at the pool, Sam…" she said softly.
"I know it's a possibility; I've read about it in the book. I guess I just choose to be hopeful…" he said, kissing her back. "We'll get some answers tomorrow, I suppose. Can they tell what the sex is?"
"I don't think so, not this early…do you want to know now or wait until he or she is born?" Quinn asked him.
"Umm…I'm not sure…how 'bout you?" he said slowly.
"In a way, I'd like it to be a surprise, like Finn and Rach did…"
"That's what we'll do then, let it be a surprise. We need to save money, too. And start thinking about your classes. Do we even know a due date yet?" he asked. She shook her head no. "We're finding out tomorrow…"
They quieted down and got some sleep since the alarm was going off at 7:30 the next day.
The next morning, they got up and showered together. That shower was about calming their nerves and getting close to one another on a whole other level before their appointment at the OB/GYN.
"Whatever we find out, Q, just know I love you and I love our baby. I know it'll all be okay," he said quietly, moving his hands over her naked body in the shower. "I prayed about it."
She laid her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. "I know, Sam…I prayed too," she whispered against him. "I just worry too much…"
He chuckled a little. "That's the mom coming out…"
She smiled. "I guess…"
They dried off and got dressed and left for the appointment.
At Dr. Shields' office, she signed in and sat down with Sam. He had picked up a magazine called Baby Talk and was flipping through it. He saw articles titled has your water broken?, counting and timing contractions, and epidural pros and cons. He was reading an article about breastfeeding (really just hoping to see a boob) when Quinn was called back for the lab draw.
"You can wait here, Sam…I'll be right back out…" Quinn told him.
"Okay, Q…" He flipped through the pages but didn't see any boobs, just babies attached to them. He wondered what Quinn planned on doing, breast or bottle.
She came back shortly and sat down with him. "They said once the test is finished, they'll call me back for the ultrasound." She exhaled. He put the magazine down and held her hand.
"Deep breaths, Q…it'll be okay…" He was beginning to think that was his mantra in stressful situations. He looked around the waiting room, thankfully empty except for him and Quinn that morning, and saw a newspaper. He went to check it out and found the sports section from the day before. Thank you god, he thought. He had read about three sentences when they called Quinn back again. The sports section was forgotten and he went to her and put his hand at the small of her back to walk back with the nurse.
The nurse took them to a room with an exam table and some chairs and ultrasound equipment. The nurse handed Quinn a gown and told her to take off shorts and underwear and put on the gown. The doctor would be in shortly. Sam sat down in a chair and watched Quinn strip off her clothes and put on the gown.
"Are you going to be okay with this?" she asked him.
"Of course…I want to be here, Quinn," he said.
"I just hope it doesn't hurt," she mumbled.
There was a light knock on the door, and Dr. Shields entered the small room with a nurse. He shook both their hands, saying good morning, sitting down at the controls for the ultrasound.
"Didn't I see you two recently?" he asked.
"Um, Rachel Hudson's birth…we were there…" Quinn answered.
"Oh! That's right! Looks like they can repay the favor in a few months," he said, smiling. "Okay, first things first…your hCG level came in today at…" he checked the paper he had in his hand "…59,680…excellent number for 6 weeks 1 day!"
Quinn took a deep breath.
"Wait…59 thousand?" Sam asked incredulously, standing up at Quinn's bedside. "Wasn't the last one like 1865?"
The doctor checked his notes. "You are correct! With the hCG level, we should see it double every 48-72 hours and it's been a little over a week. At six weeks gestation, the level should be around 56,000, so Mrs. Evans you're actually running a little ahead."
The nurse opened the stirrups and handed Quinn a light sheet to put over her knees.
"Okay, guys, this is a transvaginal ultrasound. Since it's so early in your pregnancy, Quinn, we're doing a transvaginal ultrasound instead of an abdominal ultrasound. We'll do one of those later in the pregnancy." He held up a long white device, roughly 12 inches long. "This is what we call a wand. It's mostly handle so don't get squeamish on me. The other end has what is called a transducer, which sends the sound waves to produce the images we see. I'll insert this into your vagina up to the cervix so we can take a look at what's going on in your uterus. No one has ever had any pain with these things, very simple procedure. Are you ready?" He squeezed goopy gel on the business end of the wand.
She looked at Sam; he actually looked squeamish. "Yeah, I'm ready, Dr. Shields," she said nervously. The nurse helped her find the stirrups with her feet. She then dimmed the lights.
"Just relax Quinn," Dr. Shields said moving the wand under the sheet over her knees. He gently inserted the wand into her vagina and advanced it slowly. Sam stayed standing to watch the monitor and reached for her left hand, squeezing it. She took a few deep breaths but realized she couldn't even tell the thing was in her.
Images appeared on the monitor. The doctor twisted the wand different ways, clicking buttons on the keyboard as he went. They heard a quiet sound; he turned up the volume. It was a fast heartbeat. It filled the room.
"That's your baby's heartbeat," the doctor said, quietly. "Looks like 108 beats per minute, very good. It'll actually be a faster heart beat as the pregnancy progresses." He paused, finding a slower heart beat. "That's Quinn's heart beat, 70 beats per minute. Hear the difference?"
Sam felt like his heart was beating a million beats per minute. He leaned down and pecked Quinn on the cheek, whispering oh my god to her.
"Okay, guys," the doctor stilled an image on the monitor. "That little thing right there is your baby…" They both stared at the image on the monitor in awe. "The round circle around it is the gestational sac and it looks like your offspring is about 5 millimeters long. Hang on…"
Sam pried his eyes off the monitor to look at Quinn and found tears running down her face. She looked up at him and saw the same thing. We're both emotional wrecks, she thought. The doctor was maneuvering the wand around inside her and she did feel a little discomfort with that. He finally stopped and stilled the image on the screen.
"Look closely if you can guys," the doctor said. "That fluttering is the baby's heart beating."
That literally took Sam's breath away; Quinn heard him inhale as he leaned over her to get a better look. She kept trying to see the fluttering but her tears were obscuring her view.
"Right now, the heart is still developing…in about 3 weeks, it will have fully developed," the doctor told them. "Well, we have good measurements, a good hCG, a good heartbeat...we have viability…this is good news, no?"
He removed the wand from Quinn, handing it to the nurse. All Sam and Quinn could do was nod.
"Oh, Dr. Shields, what would be my due date?" Quinn asked him.
He pulled a circular tool out of his jacket pocket and asked what the first day of her last menstrual period was. She was so tired of telling that to people.
"July 17…"
He flipped the wheels around on the tool. "We're looking at April 22nd, folks." He paused. "Any other questions right now?" They looked at one another.
"No, we're good," Quinn said.
"Okay…well, I want to see you back in 2 weeks, Quinn, for prenatal lab work and we might do an abdominal ultrasound then to take a quick peek. Keep taking your prenatal vitamins. Sound good?" They nodded. "Call sooner if you concerns or problems come up. You two have a wonderful day!"
The doctor left, and the nurse told Quinn she could get redressed and the nurse-practitioner would be in to see them in a couple minutes. Before the nurse left the room, she checked the ultrasound machine and said, "Well, I guess Dr. Shields forgot these and I'm sure you'll want them." She laughed and handed Quinn a stack of printouts from the ultrasound.
Quinn sat up on the side of the bed and Sam hugged her long and hard.
"See? I told you it would be okay, Q…oh my god, a heartbeat…a picture of our little embryo…I just don't even know what to do right now," he said, laughing a little.
"It's just…awesome, truly awesome, Sam, to think we created that…I'm so excited!"
"We're gonna have an April baby!" he said, happily. "Let me see the pictures while you get dressed." She handed them over and pulled her panties and shorts on and took the gown off. He looked at the ultrasound pictures of a tiny blob that the doctor had marked baby.
"How long is 5 millimeters?" she asked him.
"I have no clue…maybe the size of a pea? Maybe smaller even?"
"Lemme see…"
He handed her the pictures. "I think this one is where he stopped and said we could see the heart fluttering…he printed something off then. Wow, this one looks like a teeny tiny shrimp!"
There was a knock on the door. The nurse-practitioner entered, carrying her ever-present clipboard and a generic-looking diaper bag full of things.
"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Evans. My name is Barb, I'm Dr. Shields' nurse-practitioner. All of this is for you," she laughed. "I do have a question. It seems the insurance you were covered under, Mrs. Evans, has either expired or been dropped. It was in your father's name. Maybe when you got married? At any rate, you'll need some kind of insurance to continue to be seen here. Since you're pregnant, you can apply for Medicaid. Dr. Shields sees Medicaid patients so there would be no disruption in your care. Can either of you be covered under health insurance where you work?"
Quinn just wanted to fall through a crack. She should have known something would happen like this.
"I'll just apply for Medicaid," Quinn said, quietly. "Where do I do that at?"
Sam stood there feeling 3 inches tall. He couldn't even provide health insurance for his pregnant wife and he was expected to raise a child? It felt like the walls of that little room were closing in on him.
"I believe at the welfare office…check online, there should be tons of information there," Barb told them.
Sam felt even smaller then. He did have experience with the welfare system when his family was out of money. It was one of the darkest times of his life.
"We'll figure it out, Quinn," he said quietly.
"When you speak with a caseworker, make sure to tell them you need it retro'ed back a couple months so they'll cover your all your visits. Just make your next appointment at the front desk and we'll see you in a couple weeks," Barb said brightly and left the room.
Sam helped Quinn off the exam table and grabbed the diaper bag Barb had dropped off. At the front desk, Quinn made her next appointment, and she and Sam went to her car.
"What are we gonna do, Sam? Medicaid?" she asked, looking over at him. He was behind the wheel, his jaw clenching, unclenching.
"It's not that bad…my parents put us on it when we were homeless, me and the littles. We have the rest of the day off, let's look into it and get it figured out. If that's what we need to do for the pregnancy, then that's what we'll do. I think Garrity's has health insurance but there's no way I could afford it, it'd eat up all my paycheck, probably the same with the bistro…" he said, driving toward home.
"I don't even know where the welfare office is in Lima," she said.
"I know where it is…" he mumbled.
At home, they took all their loot to the love nest, glanced through it quickly, and hid it away so his parents wouldn't happen upon it before they were ready to share their news.
"Are you hungry?" he asked. "Let's go get lunch and then we'll deal with Medicaid."
"Okay, Sam…yeah, I'm hungry…what's new, right?" she giggled. He smiled with her and they headed back out for lunch and to deal with Medicaid.
He dreaded going to the welfare office again. He had to go to babysit Stevie and Stacey when his parents applied for Medicaid and food stamps; even though Sam was 17 at the time his parents were still wary of the motel they had wound up in and didn't feel safe even leaving Sam alone there. His parents had reassured him it was temporary; they needed help with health insurance and help with feeding them and would be off it once they found jobs.
Now, as he found a place to park, with Quinn in the passenger seat, pregnant with his child, he was here again because it had never crossed his mind that they'd need some sort of health insurance, definitely for Quinn and the unborn child. He didn't care if he was covered or not, just wanted them to have the insurance.
She watched him thinking as he drove them there, the clenching of his jaw, the hard stare out the window. She hated that they had to go this route also. Her mother had warned her about her father cutting her off once she got married. But, if it needed to be done then so be it. She definitely wasn't the first one to have to do this and most certainly wouldn't be the last. She would just have to keep her dignity intact and get through it. She hoped Sam would see it the same way.
"Okay, we're here. You ready?" he asked her, trying to smile. If we have to do this, I'm gonna try to at least not be cranky, he thought.
"Yeah, I'm ready. You okay with this?" she asked him.
"It's what we need to do for now...it'll just be temporary," he said, getting out of the car and going to her door. I'll borrow that from the 'rents! God, this is so depressing.
They entered the tired looking building and saw even more tired looking people waiting. He saw the kids' playroom where he had sat with Stevie and Stacey. He had tried to keep them occupied but couldn't help watching the endless stream of people who appeared worse off than them filing in and out.
Quinn went to what appeared to be the front desk and told them she needed to apply for Medicaid. She was at the unemployment benefits window. They told her where she needed to go, and she and Sam headed that way.
"Now I feel like an idiot," she said to Sam, getting on a very dubious elevator. "And like I'm about to meet my death." The thing clanged and huffed up a couple stories, dropping them off on the third floor.
They found the Medicaid sign-up window, and she got the needed forms there. There were tables scattered about that room, so they sat down to fill out the application. She began answering the basic questions but then there were questions about their checking and savings accounts, what they owned, bills they paid, wages, taxes, and on and on. She looked up at Sam sitting across from her; he had one of the ultrasound pictures out looking at it.
"I need help, Sam...I don't know any of this..." He pulled the form over to himself, and she pointed out what she was talking about. He could fill in the checking account numbers; they had about $1500 there.
"Is the car in your name? Or maybe your mom's?" he asked her.
"I think my mom's; she always gets the license plates and insurance..."
"Your savings is going to kill us probably," he said, referring to the child support money she had, which was earmarked for her college tuition. "We'll find out, I'm sure..."
They finished the application and turned it in. They were told a caseworker would see them shortly. An hour and a half later, they were called back to meet with the caseworker.
She seemed to be a nice enough, a happy lady named Terri and she seemed willing to help them.
"I'm so sorry about the wait; I had another client and then I reviewed your application and entered your information into the system. I'll need to make copies of your driver's licenses and Social Security cards. Tell me why you need Medicaid," she asked them. She took their licenses and Social Security cards and scanned copies of them quickly.
"I just found out I'm pregnant and we're not covered. The doctor I see takes Medicaid patients and they told me to apply..." Quinn said.
"I see you're both working but I'm sure health insurance from your employer is too expensive for what you make. The only thing putting up a red flag is your savings account balance, Mrs. Evans. I have to have a reason how you came into that kind of money...was it a gift? earnings?"
"It's child support payments my father made...I'm trying to save it for college..." she mumbled.
"I see," Terri said, entering that into her computer. "And those payments stopped when you two married, I assume?"
"Yes..."
More typing into the computer.
Sam and Quinn sat there in silence as Terri examined different things and then printed stuff off.
"Okay, here's what we can do for you: Quinn can be covered under Medicaid through the pregnancy until a year after the birth for all things pregnancy or birth related. Once your baby is born, they will be covered for a year and at that time you can reapply for benefits or maybe you'll have private coverage by that time. You also qualify for food stamps since you're an expectant mom and the state of Ohio wants healthy moms...looks like $348 per month," Terri said to them, smiling. She pushed another sheet across her desk, one that she had highlighted items on. "We will need copies of the items highlighted within the week."
This is unreal, Sam thought, health insurance for Q and the baby, help with food costs...unreal. Thank you Ohio and our crappy jobs!
Quinn had to sign some forms. She asked about the Medicaid coverage, if it could retro'ed back to when she found out she was pregnant in the ER.
"What day was that?" Terri asked.
"Umm...August 17...I broke my wrist that day and they did the pregnancy test before x-rays...we didn't even know..." Quinn explained.
"Medicaid will cover the pregnancy-related costs; you'll probably have to pay for the costs related to your wrist," Terri told them, almost apologetically. Sam was thinking he'd gladly pay for the ER visit that day since Ohio was going to pay for the birth of his child.
Terri then handed Quinn a small wallet-sized card. "That's your temporary Medicaid card to give to the doctor's office so they know you've applied and have been approved and you're just waiting on the official card, which will be sent to you within 2 weeks."
She then pulled out what looked like a credit card and typed some numbers into the computer, handing it to Quinn. "That's the food stamp card, retroactive to August 1st, so by tomorrow morning there should be $348 on it. The money is deposited alphabetically by your last name, and I think the E's deposit on the third of every month. You'll need to call the number on the back to activate it and choose a PIN."
Sam sat there stunned. Stunned that someone just handed them a card full of money for the grocery store. He and Quinn didn't spend that much on groceries; his parents did actually but now at least they could contribute. Quinn was stunned too.
"I don't know what to say...thank you..." she said quietly.
"I'm happy to be able to help you both today...that's what we're here for," Terri said, still smiling. Sam wondered if she ever didn't smile. Not once did she make them feel bad for being there. She shook their hands and they were free to leave.
In the car, before Sam left the lot, Quinn turned to him and said, "That wasn't so bad...at least we'll have help with the doctor's appointments and hospital and when baby gets here."
He looked at Quinn, who was obviously relieved, and smiled the best he could. "I know it'll be helpful...just makes me feel...like I'm not doing enough for you and for baby. I should have health insurance for us...didn't even expect food stamps...we must be really fucking poor." He shook his head, looking down at his hands in his lap, fiddling with the keys.
She reached for his hand. "Just temporary, right? Someday we'll be in the position to help others; right now, it's just our turn." Where is my optimistic Sam? everything will be okay Sam? she thought.
"Yeah, our turn. Feel like swimming?" he asked her, driving toward home.
"If by swimming you mean sitting on a step in Tina's pool, then yeah, that sounds cool," she said, laughing. She heard him chuckle and hoped he was feeling better about the whole Medicaid crap. She looked at her arm propped on the open window, the purple cast already looking a bit ragged. She looked at the signatures on it, thinking about those people and how they'd react to her and Sam's news.
At home, while they were getting their swimsuits on and getting their stuff together to take to Tina's, Sam pulled the free stuff out that they had been given at Dr. Shields' office. There were a couple tiny diapers, small cans of formula, those magazines that were ever-present in the waiting room, a pacifier, a rattle, lists of safety concerns, the poison control center phone number on a magnet, and more. He looked at the formula and asked Quinn what she planned on doing, bottle or breast.
"I guess I'll try to breastfeed and see how that goes...Ari picked up on it right away and Rachel had no problems with her nipples or..."
"God, please Q, don't tell me about Rachel's...boobs..." he whispered the last word, afraid someone somewhere might hear him mention them. He gathered up all the free stuff and put it back into hiding.
"C'mere..." he said to Quinn. She was standing at the table in her bikini, putting towels and sunscreen in a bag to take to Tina's.
She walked over to where he was standing in the middle of the room and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him, asking "S'up, loverboy?" He looked way too serious and peeled her arms from around his shoulders and dropped to his knee in front of her. He grabbed her hips and pulled her close to him, pressing his lips on her belly just above her bikini bottoms. He glanced up at her and then began speaking to her belly:
"We saw you today, baby, for the first time. You kinda looked like a tiny shrimp to mommy and daddy. We saw your heart beat today and heard it. I've never heard anything so beautiful in all my life, except for maybe your mother singing. I'm gonna do all I can for you, baby...I was kinda feeling like a failure but I have a picture of you that makes me feel like a winner. I love you, baby..." He kissed her belly again and stood up, hugging Quinn tightly, feeling her hiccup cry against his shoulder.
"I hope you realize that's gonna happen a lot now...I want that baby to know my voice when he or she is born..." Sam told her.
"You're no failure...don't ever say that again, Sam Evans," she whispered into his shoulder.
"You don't know how it feels, Q, to be responsible for giving you something as basic as health insurance and not being able to do it. And then food stamps, like I can't provide food for you. It makes me wanna barf..."
"It doesn't make you any less of a man, Sam...please try to understand that. It takes a man to walk in that place and admit they need a little help. Keep telling yourself it's only temporary," she said to him.
"I'm trying but it's not helping a whole lot, Q," he sighed.
They got to Tina's pool and Quinn took her spot on the step and watched Sam float around, not really interacting with his buddies, just floating. As he floated around the pool thinking, he decided he needed to talk to his bosses at Garrity's and probably tell them their secret.
The next day, he did talk to them, about their health insurance options. They gave him the information and told him if he could keep up his full-time hours while taking classes at college he'd qualify for the full-time employee premiums; otherwise, it would be the part-time employee premiums. There were premiums for coverage for just the employee, employee and spouse, or employee and family. The part-time employee premium for employee and family was $250 per month, which would leave him bringing in $150 per month. The full-time employee premium for him and his family would be $60 per month, do-able but he'd be trying to work full-time and go to school full-time. He thanked them for the information, knowing it just wasn't feasible. At least, they didn't ask why he was all of a sudden interested in health insurance; he kept their secret safe. His wife and kid would be covered by the state for at least a year; that thought depressed him but he was coming to terms with it after seeing how much private health insurance would cost him.
A week later, he was brushing his teeth, getting ready for work, when Quinn bolted into the bathroom, heaving into the toilet.
The sound of that was enough to make him puke, but he sucked it up, pulling her hair back for her until she was able to stand up. He got a cool wet washcloth for her, and she put it over her face, sitting on the toilet.
"So sorry Q..." he mumbled.
"S'okay...it'll pass eventually..." she said from under the washcloth.
The next time it happened she was at Rachel's playing with Arielle. Arielle was nearly 2 months old, and Rachel had her lying on the floor on a blanket playing with toys when Quinn hopped up and ran for the bathroom. She returned telling Rachel that it was probably something she ate.
They were staying in one night, and Sam brought spaghetti and garlic bread downstairs for them. The smell of it sent her running to the bathroom. The only thing that sounded good to her was Sprite and saltines most days.
One night, just as Sam crawled into bed with her, it hit her.
"I am going to die if I don't have an Oreo right this second!" she told him.
"You're gonna die?"
"I am craving them, Sam! Please?" He crawled back out of bed, found some clothes (shirt inside out and backwards, shorts inside out), and drove to the nearest gas station and bought her five small packs of Oreos. Standing in line behind some guy and girl buying condoms, he thought I'd rather get out and buy her Oreos than tampons. And smirked to himself.
He got them back to her, and she devoured all five packages in bed, then brushed her teeth. Six hours later, she barfed them up.
"That is so not fair, Sam..." she mumbled, crawling back into bed next to him.
"I know, it's gotta suck..." he mumbled back, still half asleep. "Wait...what's not fair?"
"I just threw up those Oreos you got me..." He had been asleep the entire time she was in the bathroom retching.
"Oh god, Q...when does this part end?" he asked, waking up more.
"Around 12 weeks..." she sighed. "Maybe..." They were closing in on the 8-week mark.
He moved down to her low belly to talk to their baby. "Good morning, baby. Mom's getting sick a lot...take it easy on her...let her eat her Oreos...we'll be seeing you soon...be ready." He kissed her there.
"I ought to write that down, Sam," she said in her teary voice.
"The stuff I've been saying to baby?"
She nodded.
"I've been trying to, when I remember..." he chuckled. He looked at her, running his tongue over his lips. "How're you feeling now?"
"Better, not pukey..." She looked at him. "Why?"
He looked down at the bed, trying to contain his smile. "I just have to get up soon for work, no sense in going back to sleep, you know...if you wanted to, like, fool around a little?"
He didn't even finish his sentence and she had moved up on top of him, grinding on his groin.
"Yeah, Sam, now..." she growled at him. Who is this woman and where is Q? he thought. Not that he ever had any complaints about what they did together and loved it when she took the initiative but at the present time she was trying to tear his t-shirt off.
"Get it off..." she said in a low deep voice. She sat back on him so he could sit up and yank off his shirt, watching her the entire time.
"Your arm..." he started to say.
"Don't care...get these off me..." She pulled up the bottom of her shirt so he assumed she meant her panties, then pulled her shirt over her head, letting it hang off the cast on her right arm. He was confused, turned on, possibly a little scared all at once. She scooted back off his now hard dick in between his knees and he pulled her panties off fast. She grabbed at his boxers, pulling them down fast, fast enough that his penis sprang out, falling against his lower belly. It had been about a week since they had had sex, mainly due to her feeling the effects of morning sickness all day long, and, to him, she was acting like he felt when it had been awhile.
"I want you in me, now..." she said to him, moving back over him. He supported her right arm at the elbow since she couldn't put her weight on it. She straddled him, grabbed his cock, aligned herself, and pushed down on him hard.
"Oh jesus Q...holy shit..." he mumbled, eyes rolling back in his head.
She immediately was rocking back and forth on him. "Fuck Sam, I wanted this so bad..." she mumbled. "Push in faster and fucking harder!"
He really was beginning to wonder who had replaced Quinn with this apparently sex-starved maniac bouncing on his cock. She leaned into him and kissed him hard on the mouth, their teeth smashing together, her lip bleeding. "God Sam...I love you...I love this..." He opened his eyes, seeing her bloody lip and her boobs swaying in front of him. They are actually bigger! he thought excitedly and leaned up to her to take one in his mouth, sucking her nipple while working the other nipple between his fingers, then gripping her swollen breast gently in his hand. It was all feeling very good and he had to lean back into the pillows to catch his breath to try to control what he was feeling but it was just coming on stronger and stronger.
"Come on me Q...I wanna make you come..." Now, he was getting into it. Since finding out she was pregnant, the sex had been pretty plain, the main goal to get close to one another and enjoy the pleasure that comes from that coupling but keeping it gentle. This time was much more passionate, almost bordering on rough, he thought. He briefly wondered if he should dial it back a little...too late, he was about to explode into her.
"I'm so close, Sam, so close...god, I wanna come so bad..." she said through her panting on his lips.
That did it for him. "God yes Q...oh fuck yes..." He grunted but didn't stop his movement. She felt the warmth spill over inside her and wondered if she died when her orgasm blasted through her.
When she finally opened her eyes and met his, she kissed him again, saying "I don't know what came over me..."
"It was kinda like in The Exorcist when that girl gets possessed and..." Sam said, smiling.
"I get it, Samuel. Just be glad my head didn't spin around and I puked everywhere..." My Quinn's back! he thought.
She sat up on him. He had drawn his knees up, and she leaned against them. "Why's your mouth bleeding?"
"Not mine...yours..." She reached up to her lip - it did feel sore - and had blood on her finger.
"What the hell?" she mumbled.
"You kissed me super hard and just kinda bashed me in the face..." he said, laughing. "You'll be okay," he leaned up to look at it more closely. "Doesn't look anything like my love bite..."
She had forgotten about that incident. She had accidentally bit down on his lip when she climaxed during some hot prom night sex their junior year.
"You'll never let me forget that, will you?" she asked, climbing off him when the alarm went off.
"Heck no, I looked like I had went 10 rounds with Holyfield!" he laughed, joking with her. "I told the dudes at school that Stevie kicked me in the face."
"Oh my god, Sam!" She stretched out on the bed after pulling her shirt over her head. He crawled over her, kissing her on the way, to get ready for work.
She didn't join him in the bathroom, like he thought she might, to clean off her mouth, so he went back to the bed with a warm washcloth and found her asleep. He gently cleaned the dried blood from her lip; she only mumbled a bit but didn't wake up. He figured when she slept hard like that her body was working hard on the baby-making stuff.
That night when she got home from work, she asked him if he wanted to go to the grocery store with her since at the time she was feeling up to it. They had only used the food stamp card sparingly to that point, to them it felt odd to spend money that was just handed to them, that they really hadn't earned. She decided with her cravings she could pick up some stuff and maybe get some healthier foods to eat. The grocery store was probably the last thing on Sam's list of things he really wanted to do but since it was with Quinn he went along.
"You got your Medicaid card in the mail today," he told her, handing her the envelope. "Guess who brought me the mail?"
"Please don't say your parents..." she mumbled, opening the mail and looking at the card.
"My dad...saying something about Quinn getting something from the Medicaid office. Then, he looked at me weird. Do you think they know?" he asked her.
She shrugged. "Maybe. They're not dumb about this stuff. If they ask, we can just say I'm off my dad's insurance and I needed some kind of coverage because of my arm."
"Yeah, but the Medicaid is only for baby stuff...we'll be getting bills soon about your arm stuff."
"Ugh...that's right...I can't believe I fell off that curb..." she said, looking at the cast.
"I think it had to do with the pregnancy, Q...like baby's way of telling us..." Sam said, moving close to her and hugging her.
"You're weird, ya know that?" she said, giggling. "I guess if your parents catch on, we just tell them. I really wanted to wait until we got to like 12 weeks or so..."
"Hopefully, they don't figure it out yet...let's go sweet thang and get this over with..." he said, leading her upstairs.
They went to the SuperTarget and started going up and down the grocery store aisles.
"What all are you craving, Q?" he asked her.
"Well, the Oreos...mmmm...except for barfing them up. Oh! That cheese in a can, you know, that sprays out..."
"Really?" he asked. "That's probably the most disgusting thing I could think of right now..."
"And Bugles! Those sound good...and Thousand Island dressing!"
"Maybe some fruits and veggies? Salad? You probably need protein too," he said, picking up some boneless skinless chicken breasts. "See? You like grilled chicken." She looked over at him and saw those raw pink pieces of chicken and ran off. I just totally made her puke at Target, he thought. He put the chicken back and went to the ladies restroom where he assumed she had run to. She came out of the restroom, pale and sick looking.
"Sorry Sam..." she mumbled.
"It's okay, Q...I'm sorry for showing you the..."
"Don't say it..." she cut him off.
"Let's get what you want...are you okay?" he asked.
"Just queasy..."
"Hey...what about bacon? Didn't you like bacon when you were..." He trailed off because she had run back to the restroom. Guess bacon is out this time around, he thought. He felt bad about touching on things that were making her sick. He knew she needed some kind of protein though; she couldn't live on Bugles and spray cheese. Now I feel sick.
She finally returned to his side, looking a little better. He had found a bench by that time and was just sitting waiting on her. Barfing in a public restroom...it can't get worse than that, he thought.
They wandered back to the food and picked out stuff they both liked, Sam being very careful to cover up any meats with other food. She did add grapes and bananas for herself and a gallon of cherry vanilla ice cream.
"That just looks so good, Sam!" she said, adding the ice cream to the cart.
"Are you going to eat pickles with it?" he laughed. He watched her turn green.
"Oh god, Q...I'm sorry!" He caught up with her a few minutes later at the restrooms.
"You ready to call this done and go home?" he asked her, now feeling really bad for her.
"Yeah, Sam...I just wanna lie down..." she said quietly.
They checked out and got home, Quinn going directly to the couch in their love nest. Sam brought in all the groceries and put everything away, later being questioned by his mom why they had bought so much and so many random things, like spray cheese. He told her Quinn kind of liked it and thought he'd try it out (thinking to himself no way in hell am I tasting that shit). He grabbed some saltines and a couple cans of Sprite and headed downstairs.
"Here ya go, mom," he said, smiling at her.
"Thanks Sam...perfect..." she said, sitting up.
"Are you looking forward to tomorrow?" he asked. The 8-week ultrasound was the next morning.
"Definitely..." she said, leaning into him.
"Me too..."
"You know what?" she asked, sitting up suddenly.
"What?"
"I want to tell someone...I want to tell someone we're having a baby! Do you?" she asked, suddenly excited.
"Well, yeah, I guess so...who though?" It's gotta be the hormones making her act this way, he thought.
"That I don't know...someone who won't tell anyone else right now...who do we trust like that?" They both sat there, in deep thought, for a few minutes.
He snapped his fingers. "I know who!"
She clapped her hands, clearly excited. "Who? Who?"
He laughed. "You sound like an owl...tell me if these two are okay..."
"Two? Two people?" She was confused by this.
"Yeah...Blaze and Kourt! We'll tell them! They won't tell...I totally trust both of them...is that okay?"
"Okay, yeah! How're we gonna do it though?" she asked.
"We can call them...what time is it? 9 o'clock...they should be up...you call Kourt, I'll call Blaze..." he said, pulling out his phone. She got hers out of her purse. They found Blaze and Kourtney's names in their phones and pushed call.
In Tennessee, Blaze's phone began ringing, then Kourtney's. Blaze scrambled from the back seat of his Jeep to find their phones.
"God, it's Sam...should I take it?" Blaze was breathing heavy, tends to happen when sex is interrupted.
"Mine is Quinn...yeah, we better," Kourtney said, taking a deep breath before hitting 'okay' to answer the call.
They both answered at the same time.
Sam and Quinn said hello to them and asked if they were together.
"Um, yeah, you could say that," Blaze answered. Sam and Quinn were oblivious to what was happening in the back seat of Blaze's Jeep.
"Listen, we're dying to tell someone this but you have to swear not to tell a soul..." Sam said to Blaze.
"Wait, I can hear Sam..." Kourtney said to Quinn.
"Yeah, he's right here...we called to tell you guys something but you can't tell anyone at all for awhile..." Quinn replied.
"Spill it, dude," Blaze said.
Sam and Quinn looked at one another and said into their respective phones, trying not to shout it, "We're having a baby!"
Kourtney was screaming on Quinn's phone; Blaze was trying to talk on his phone but was drowned out by Kourtney. When things calmed down, Quinn took her phone and sat on their bed while Sam spoke with Blaze on the couch.
"I knew it! I knew you were preggo Quinn Evans!" Kourtney said.
"Well, I didn't! I fell and broke my wrist and when they did the x-ray they did labs and did a pregnancy test. I was only like 4 weeks pregnant then...I thought I was on my period!"
"Wow...how far along are you now? When are you due?"
"Eight weeks and April 22 is the due date...we were just dying to tell someone...no one else knows," Quinn said, her smile plastered on her face. "The morning sickness has been hell..."
"So wait..." Kourtney said and Quinn could hear her whispering. "When do you think you got pregnant?"
Quinn giggled. "In Tennessee!"
"Oh NO WAY! You are kidding me! In Sammy's old bedroom?"
"Could've been there or somewhere else...I can't say...he'd kill me..." Quinn giggled.
"Oh my god...I know where...I'm not saying though...oh my god..." Kourtney said. Then, Quinn heard her kind of moan and she said, "Umm, Quinn...oh god...I gotta let you go...I'll talk to ya...oh my god...on Facebook, okay...bye!" Quinn could hear Blaze in the background then and all of a sudden it became totally clear what was happening in Tennessee in the back seat of a Jeep. Quinn walked out to Sam sitting on the couch. He was sitting there with the phone up to his ear, shocked expression on his face.
"Were they doing what I think they were doing?" he asked her. She nodded. He dropped his phone all of a sudden like it was burning him.
"That's just gross..." He sat there for a moment. "We are so doing it back to them someday!"
She laughed. "What did Blaze say about the news?"
"You mean in between the moans and the oh fucks and oh gods? I think I got a boner from all that..."
"Really?"
He looked at her like she was insane. "Uh, no! I think his mind was elsewhere but he thought it was cool. I'll talk to him again soon, hopefully when they're not, like, doing whatever...ewww."
"Yeah, really. Kourt totally figured out that you knocked me up in Tennessee," Quinn said, giggling.
"How in the hell did she figure that out?" Sam asked, shocked.
"I think it's just female intuition…so, which time do you think it happened?" she asked him, sitting down next to him on the couch.
"Chances are it happened on my old bed…" he said.
"Hang on…I need to pee…" she said, jumping up and running to the bathroom.
She returned to the couch. "What about at the little cabin?"
"Could've happened there…I really do think it happened before you fainted at the farm…so, let's think…when did we do it?" he said, putting his arm around her.
"Umm, when we first got to your grandparents…" she said, thinking.
"Then on Sunday…" he added.
"Monday was by the little cabin…" she mumbled.
"Is that it? Three times? In three days? I was supposed to bring it three times each day!" he said, laughing.
"No…wait…oh crap, hang on…" She jumped up and ran to the bathroom. On returning, she said, "I forgot about that…"
"About what?"
"All the peeing…" she said, sitting down. "It'll probably be constant until I pop this baby out."
He laughed. "Was there another time?" he asked.
"Yes…after we went to the burger place with Blaze and Kourt…you know, it started by the pool…" she said, rubbing his thigh.
"Oh my god, yes…bananas!" he said, that particular time coming back to him.
She giggled, kissing his cheek. "Yes, bananas…"
He turned to her, kissing her slowly, softly. "Bananas…" he whispered.
She leaned back on the couch and he went with her, making out until there was no turning back. The clothes flew off, and, despite a previous warning from his father, they made love in the open area of the basement on the couch.
Their breathing coming in gasps and pants and moans at the end, Sam mumbled, "At least we didn't get caught this time…"
She smiled, kissing him. "I think I need to pee, though…"
"Oh…sorry Q…" He pulled out slowly and moved to the opposite end of the couch so she could get up. She just grabbed her underwear and shorts and ran to the bathroom. He pulled up his shorts and waited for her to return.
When she did, she told him she was going on to bed since she was tired.
"I'll lay down with you 'til you fall asleep, okay?" he asked her.
"Sure, I'd love that…" she said, smiling and taking his hand.
In bed, he lay down next to her, stroking her left arm. "I can't believe we're having another checkup tomorrow," he said, quietly.
"I know…I can't wait, Sam. I feel so much better about the pregnancy now," she said.
"Even with the barfing and peeing and sore boobs?" he asked, wondering how she could enjoy the barfing.
"Those are just signs that things are going okay in there…" she said softly. "Signs that I'm gonna be a mom and you're gonna be a dad."
"Say that to me again, Quinn…"
"You are going to be a dad, Sam," she said, rolling toward him to kiss him. "A daddy…"
He kissed her back. "I'm gonna be a daddy…oh my god…"
To her, it sounded like the realization just hit him.
"It's kind of cool and scary and exciting all at the same time, isn't it?" she asked him.
"It's like I'm not Sam anymore…it's weird…" he said.
"We'll always be Sam and Quinn to each other," she told him, hugging him.
I'm gonna be a dad, he thought, drifting off to sleep.
A/N: So, they obviously had a fairly easy visit at the welfare office. Since this is fiction, we'll just think Ohio is a very helpful state, even when you have $15k sitting in your savings. LOL Also, I was at the grocery store today and totally saw Bugles and thought of Quinn. Art imitating life? Or maybe I'm just clinically obsessed with Fabrevans? You make the call! Didn't realize this was so crazy long...hope it didn't put anyone to sleep! Thanks again for the reviews and feedback...keep 'em coming! :)
