Author's note: okay, so after a couple of fluffy chapters I had to start bringing in a little drama to change it up a bit, so with that in mind, here's chapter nine. Enjoy!
Chapter Nine: Reality Bites
Whatever romantic notions Quinn had envisaged regarding living with Santana quickly faded as January got underway. Both girls were still happy and contented with their living arrangements – Quinn had surprised herself with her tolerance of Santana's innate inability to put anything away after she'd used it, and Santana insisted she was making an effort to be considerate of Quinn's inner control freak when it came to things like turning off light switches and keeping the drapes closed to keep the heat in whilst they were out at school.
School, however, was keeping them both far too busy to consider wasting a whole Sunday in bed, and Santana was still working nights at the Coyote Ugly bar; despite her best efforts, by the end of the first week Quinn had given up waiting up for her girlfriend at night after almost falling asleep in her contemporary literature class. The apartment was twelve blocks from school but it was easier to walk than contend with the subway during rush hour, and Santana had to leave early to make the trip downtown to NYU anyway, so Quinn found herself traipsing through slushy, grey snow most mornings, leaving her feet cold and damp for the whole day.
Then Quinn got her job back in the school library, and that curtailed her time with Santana even more. Three weeks into the semester, reality had definitely bitten.
One Thursday night towards the end of January, Quinn was working on a paper for her social anthropology class and listening to rain pelt against the windows when Santana arrived home soaked to the skin but inexplicably beaming.
"Guess what?" she asked, shaking out her dripping hair all over Quinn and her textbooks, causing her to squeal indignantly.
"What?" Quinn asked grouchily, blotting at her damp book without looking up from the passage she was trying to read.
Undeterred, Santana plucked Quinn's glasses from her face and held them out of reach to get her attention. It did the trick. Quinn closed her book, sighed indulgently, and turned to face her girlfriend.
"What?" she asked again, unable to keep a small smile from playing at her lips at the sight of Santana's obvious excitement.
"I got a new job," Santana announced gleefully, pulling Quinn out of her seat and into a wet and messy embrace.
"You did?" Quinn asked excitedly. "Doing what?"
"Waitressing," Santana explained. "Rachel put me on to it – one of the girls in the chorus at Funny Girl told her about it and she thought it would be perfect for me."
"Why?" Quinn asked in confusion. "Not that I don't think you'd make a fantastic waitress but…"
"It's called the Spotlight Diner," Santana continued, oblivious to the growing puddle on the floor at their feet, although Quinn couldn't help but be distracted by the water seeping into her socks and through her t-shirt. "The waiting staff get to sing to the patrons, and apparently a bunch of producers and casting directors eat there, but the best part is the schedule is really flexible, so we might finally get to spend some time together."
"That's great, San," Quinn told her, smoothing her dripping hair back from her face, and kissing her happily. "When do you start?"
"I have to work my two weeks notice at the bar, but I start induction at the diner next Monday so I'll be doing double duty for a week," Santana told her with a grin as Quinn helped her out of her wet coat. "It's going to be great, Q. I met some of the staff and they seem really friendly. I can't wait."
"You'll be amazing," Quinn agreed, nudging Santana to get her to lift her arms over her head, to enable Quinn to divest her of her damp sweater. Santana suddenly seemed to notice that Quinn's t-shirt was clinging to her skin, having soaked up the rainwater from Santana's clothes, and her new job was forgotten as she ran her hands over Quinn's curves. "Stop that," Quinn chastized gently, slapping her hand away playfully. "I'm trying to get you out of your wet clothes so you don't get hypothermia."
"Me too," Santana grinned wolfishly, reaching for the hem of Quinn's shirt once again. This time Quinn allowed her to remove her shirt and let her lust for her girlfriend take over.
Hours later, the girls lay in bed listening to the still pounding rain and letting their hands wander sleepily. Quinn didn't think she'd ever get over the rush of being able to cuddle up to her girlfriend under the covers with no risk of interruption.
"I'm so proud of you, sweetie," Quinn whispered into the darkness. "They're lucky to have you. You're a star." She felt Santana duck her head against her shoulder and wished, not for the first time, that her girlfriend could truly see how talented she was. Santana knew she could sing, but she'd always been in Rachel's shadow, and as much as Quinn had grown to care for their friend, she'd sometimes wondered how different things may have been if Rachel Berry had chosen some other high school rather than McKinley. She prayed that this new job might give Santana the confidence to finally pursue her dreams whole-heartedly.
After her first shift at the Spotlight Diner the following week, Quinn took Santana out for a late dinner to celebrate. Santana was full excitement for her new job and raved endlessly about her co-workers.
"There's a guy called Mike who was in the chorus of the Lion King – he moved out here from Iowa three years ago, was in his high school glee club and he makes Finn sound like nails on a chalk board… come to think of it, Frankteen always did sound like that," she rambled and Quinn snickered. "And then there's Kate, she goes to NYU too – she's in the drama programme, you'd like her; and Dani is just amazing on the guitar and has a fantastic voice, you'd have to hear…" At that moment their food arrived and Santana was distracted for about five minutes before she started up again, enthusing endlessly about her co-workers, until Quinn sidetracked her with a kiss and asked if Santana was ever going to take her home to bed.
The next morning, Quinn awoke to the sound of her cell phone vibrating on her nightstand. Santana growled under her breath as Quinn checked her messages, lighting up the darkened room.
"It's the middle of the night! Who's calling you?" she grumbled, burying her head in the pillows.
"It's six-thirty," Quinn corrected her, giving Santana a playful shove. "And it's Rachel – texting, not calling – she wants to know if I can meet her for lunch."
"Why?" mumbled Santana crossly, stifling a yawn.
"Because," Quinn rolled her eyes indulgently, "that's what friends do." She sent a quick reply to Rachel and prodded Santana again. "San, do you want to use the bathroom first?" she offered magnanimously. Santana gave an unintelligible response which Quinn took to mean 'no' so she hopped out of bed and headed to take a shower, shaking her head and chuckling to herself. Santana was definitely not a morning person.
Shortly after one o'clock, Quinn hurried breathlessly into the deli Rachel had suggested for lunch.
"I'm sorry I'm late," she said, giving her friend a quick hug. "The subway was a nightmare."
"That's okay," Rachel replied with a shrug. "How are you? You look good. I haven't seen you in weeks."
"I know, I'm sorry," Quinn apologized, smoothing her skirt as she sat down. "School's kind of crazy. Thank you for giving Santana the tip about the Spotlight Diner, by the way, she's loving it."
Rachel smiled. "Good, I thought she would. My friend Lizzie said she's made an impression on the staff too – Lizzie's friend Dani still works there and says Santana has an amazing voice."
Quinn beamed with pride.
"I think San mentioned a Dani," she remembered. The girls were distracted by a waitress coming to take their order and the conversation moved on to Rachel and her show.
The food arrived quickly and Quinn tucked in, but as she ate she noticed Rachel seemed a little anxious. She was picking at her food and shifting uncomfortably in her chair, but she seemed to be trying to hide it. The girl needed to take more acting classes if she thought she was managing it though. After several more minutes of listening to Rachel witter on inanely, Quinn had had enough. She put down her fork with an exaggerated sigh.
"What gives, Rach?" she asked, trying to hide her irritation. Rachel's dark eyes widened and she tried unsuccessfully to look innocent. Quinn simply raised an eyebrow in response and Rachel gave in.
"I didn't just invite you here for lunch," she said finally, her shoulders tense as she took in Quinn's displeasure.
"No kidding." That came out harsher than Quinn had intended and she instantly felt repentant. "I'm sorry, Rachel," she said apologetically. "What's up?"
"I have something to ask you and I don't know how you'll react," Rachel proffered, choosing her words carefully.
"Try me," Quinn suggested, giving the brunette her full attention.
"Shelby came to the show last night," Rachel began tentatively, her eyes widening slightly as she noticed Quinn bristle at the name. "You know she's living here in New York, running a day care for kids of Broadway parents?" Quinn didn't respond, so Rachel took it as a sign to continue. "Well, she asked about you – she always does – and I told her you'd transferred to Columbia."
Quinn sat silently as she listened to Rachel recount her conversation with her birth mother. Her hands were trembling and she placed them in her lap under the table so that Rachel wouldn't see. Both Quinn and Rachel had a complicated relationship with Shelby – she'd given up Rachel as a baby and was now raising Quinn's child, an irony that caused both girls pain.
"She gave me a photo of Beth to give to you," Rachel said gently, "if you'd like it?"
Quinn nodded. Her heart felt like it was stuck in her throat and she couldn't speak, but she managed a small smile as she took the photo with a shaking hand.
Her daughter was beautiful - soft blonde curls and big sea green eyes, full pink lips smiling at the camera. No longer a baby; Beth was now a happy and vibrant little girl. Quinn tried not to cry as she took in every tiny detail of the picture – the redness of her cheeks, the freckle on her nose, the chubbiness of her hands. Quinn felt a rush of love so intense that it made her stomach hurt. Rachel waited for Quinn to compose herself and look up before she spoke again.
"Shelby asked me a lot of questions about you," Rachel told her, reaching for her hand and squeezing it tightly. "She wanted to know all about you."
"What did you tell her?" Quinn asked hoarsely, blinking away tears. Rachel smiled.
"I told her you were happy," Rachel explained. "I told her that you were in love and that you'd moved here for Santana. I told her how much you'd changed…" She paused thoughtfully for a second. "She wants to see you. To see for herself, I guess, but if it goes well, she wants to know if you'd like to try again – to see Beth, I mean."
Quinn's heart skipped a beat and then began to pound furiously in her chest. She was trembling uncontrollably as she took in Rachel's words… she could see her daughter… maybe even get to hold her… she wanted that more than anything in the world. She couldn't answer, but she nodded fiercely. Rachel's own eyes were filled with tears but she smiled happily at her friend.
"She's going to give you another chance, Quinn, and you deserve it," Rachel grinned. "Beth deserves to know you. I know I told you once that Shelby is her mom, and that's true, but I also know what it's like to grow up not knowing where you come from, and that hurts… a lot. Beth deserves to see what a smart, beautiful, talented birth mother she has."
"Thank you," Quinn whispered, holding the photograph close and swallowing her tears.
Rachel beamed at her in response.
