AN: Just when you thought you could finally write this fic off...an update.
Okay I know I say this like EVERY time, but I really do apologize for the long delay between updates. Why I thought it would be a good idea to write a kid fic when I know virtually nothing about them, I have no idea. So my dread at facing this chapter allowed me to keep putting it off. Luckily my beta rocks and totally saved my ass with all sorts of guidance/fixing of my portrayal of Libby.
And just so you know your continued reviews and prods really do help, if you guys hadn't kept after me I wouldn't have felt like a total heel and thus compelled to finish this chapter instead of playing my newest video game. Harassment/encouragement really does work!
Chapter 9 – Three's Company
Rachel opened the door to her apartment and closed it silently behind her. Watching her noise level was definitely a new experience for the brunette, but her recent interactions with Quinn had made her aware that others may not appreciate her normal morning regime.
She had awoken that morning, eager to get back in to her regular routine, since going to retrieve Libby had derailed her normally ordered existence. As she laced up her shoes and grabbed her IPod with the accompanying headphones, she had realized that Libby's bedroom was adjacent to her workout space. Her elliptical, while top of the line and relatively quiet, might still make enough noise to wake the small child.
Quinn had still been trying to settle the girl when Rachel had gone to bed, so the last thing she wanted to do was wake Libby with her morning exercise; she was not eager to experience Quinn's ire again so quickly since the two had been getting along relatively well since their last altercation. Rachel had made the decision to eschew her normal elliptical workout for a run in the park instead. While she usually didn't exercise outdoors; summer was too hot and humid, winter too cold, fall was the one season that she actually enjoyed.
As Rachel made her way to the kitchen for a glass of water she made a note that changing up her regular routine might need to be a more frequent occurrence now that she had others to think about in her living space. Though she was religious about working out every day her body was pleasantly sore in places; indicating that her normal workout might have sent her body into a bit of a rut and her elliptical was merely not doing its job anymore.
When she entered the kitchen she was surprised to see that Quinn was already up and moving about. She figured the combination of the late night and the early hour would have kept the blonde in bed much later.
"I hope I didn't wake you up when I left," Rachel said, reaching into the refrigerator for the water pitcher. "I tried to make sure I didn't make too much noise." Pouring a glass, Rachel took a healthy swallow of the liquid; her workout had definitely been more taxing than normal.
Quinn shook her head and sent a small, exhausted smile the brunette's way. She reached for the coffee pot, which she had been waiting for to finish brewing, and poured herself a cup. "No you were fine. I just couldn't sleep all that well. Don't get me wrong, I am beyond thrilled that she is back, but she didn't want to be left alone, and I had forgotten just how much of a bed hog she could be.
Rachel nodded her understanding and sent the Quinn a sympathetic look. "I heard you still trying to get her to settle down when I headed off to bed, I figured you may have been in for a late night and a much later morning."
Quinn ran a hand wearily through her tousled hair. "You could say that, she was not happy about not being able to go home. I tried to explain to her that we lived here now, but I think it was just too much for her to process."
"It's a lot for anyone to take in, let alone someone her age. I think she handled it all with great alacrity and effulgence."
Quinn looked at the brunette with a quirked eyebrow. "Did you just quote Bring It On?"
Rachel took another drink and nodded her head, a smile twisting her lips. "I did. You're familiar with it?"
Quinn rolled her eyes and scoffed. "If by 'familiar with it' you mean have I watched it enough times to have it memorized then yes, I am indeed familiar with it." Seeing Rachel's questioning look Quinn clarified, "I was a cheerleader, it was a requirement that you be able to quote from just about any movie having to do with cheerleading."
Rachel's eyes flashed playfully as she gave the blonde an appraising look. "A cheerleader? I didn't really peg you as the type."
"What makes you say that?"
Rachel shrugged, not really able to articulate what it was about the blonde that didn't seem to fit the cheerleading mold. "I don't know, you just don't seem to have the…attitude I associate with the girls who were involved with cheering at my school."
Quinn laughed, and shook her head. "Oh trust me if you had known me in high school you would have had no doubts whatsoever. All the popular kids envied me, and everyone else feared me."
"Feared?" Rachel questioned curiously.
A flash of what Rachel interpreted as regret chased over the blonde's features. "You've had the displeasure of meeting my parents. Let's just say that they are not unique in my hometown. Anything that was viewed as different or abnormal was not tolerated. If anyone showed any kind of weakness or deviation from the norm it was expected that they would be punished."
"Punished how?" Rachel prodded when Quinn trailed off.
A wry grin, completely lacking in amusement twisted Quinn's lips. "Oh you know the usual, daily slushies, trips to the dumpster, general public ridicule and humiliation."
Rachel frowned, not being entirely able to reconcile the behavior Quinn was relating with the woman she had come to know over the last several weeks. While they had gotten off to a rather bumpy start in Vegas, Quinn had never seemed overly cruel. "The dumpster, ridicule, and humiliation I can work out, but what exactly is a slushie? That doesn't really seem that bad."
"Oh trust me, if you have ever had a 32 ounce Big Gulp filled with frozen slush, corn syrup and red dye number 40 thrown in your face first thing in the morning you would have a much different opinion."
Rachel's eyebrows hiked up and she leaned back against the counter. "Yes…that does sound rather…unpleasant."
"It was," Quinn replied with a frown. "I'm glad that part of my life is behind me, looking back I really don't like the person that I was in high school."
Rachel nodded sympathetically, having met Quinn's parents, regardless of the blonde's own social status; it couldn't have been easy to walk that tight rope. "Did you know?" Seeing the blonde's questioning look Rachel clarified, "That you were gay."
Quinn drew in a deep breath and pondered the question. "I mean looking back? Yes, there were definitely signs that if I had been more aware of myself would have clued me in, but at the time it wasn't something I was willing, or able to admit."
"What types of signs?" Rachel was curious. Raised the way she was, in an extremely open and understanding household, she had never had to hide her feelings or who she was attracted to. She had always known that no matter what, her parents would accept her. When she realized that she was attracted to girls, and had told her fathers they had barely batted an eyelash.
Quinn pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Let's just say I didn't watch Bring It On as much as I did because it was my duty as head cheerleader."
Rachel laid a hand on her chest and adopted a scandalized expression. "Why Quinn are you implying that you were 'ogling their goodies'?"
Quinn barked out a short burst of laughter, charmed by Rachel's teasing. "I was indeed."
Rachel leaned forward conspiratorially. "Torrance or Missy?"
Quinn considered the question for a fraction of a second. "Missy, no question."
Rachel nodded. "Me too, although I liked her character on Buffy the Vampire Slayer better."
Quinn tilted her head to the side, before shrugging slightly. "I was always more of a Buffy fan, I mean she was a cheerleader so it was like practically required," the blonde joked. Quinn looked at Rachel questioningly for several moments. "So are sarcastic brunettes your type?" Rachel crinkled her brow in confusion, not really understanding the line of questioning. Seeing her apparent confusion Quinn continued. "Santana?"
"Santana?" Rachel repeated, still feeling like she was missing the plot. After a few more moments of contemplation enlightenment dawned, confusion making way for disbelief. "Me and Santana?" Rachel questioned, her voice rising along with her eyebrows. "Oh god no…just…no."
"Well I know that's what you told your dads when they asked but I wasn't sure…" Quinn trailed off a note of something Rachel couldn't quite identify threading her tone.
Rachel shook her head. "Well I really was telling them the truth. I really do view her as a sister." Rachel canted her head to one side. "What about you and Brittany?"
Quinn choked on the sip of coffee she had just taken. "Okay yeah, I see your point. Definitely no."
"Besides it would never work anyway," Rachel replied confidently.
Quinn looked at her curiously. "And why is that?"
"It's like an unwritten rule or something," Rachel insisted. Seeing that Quinn needed a little bit more than that, Rachel continued. "Think about it, Xena and Gabrielle, Torres and Seven, Buffy and Faith, Olivia and Alex, Lucy and Amy, Brooke and Sam, Spencer and Ashley, I'm sure the list goes on."
Quinn looked at Rachel like she had lost her mind. "Okay first of all you do realize that none of those are real people right?" Rachel huffed but did eventually nod her head. "Second of all, with the exception of the last one, none of them were couples either. Thirdly, what exactly is that supposed to illustrate?"
Rachel rolled her eyes, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Blonde and brunette, each and every one. You never see blonde with blonde or brunette with brunette."
Quinn laughed despite herself. "So that's all it takes to make a successful pairing? Mismatched hair color?"
Rachel pouted. "Well when you put it like that it sounds ridiculous."
Quinn chuckled and waived her hand. "No, no. This all seems very scientific and well thought out, I will be sure to keep it in mind." Quinn pondered quietly for a moment, before smiling playfully at the brunette. "So I guess this means we're soul mates then? I mean a blonde and a brunette, it's like fate."
Rachel felt her skin flush slightly at the blonde's teasing as her mind helpfully supplied some less than appropriate images. She could readily admit, at least to herself, that she found Quinn attractive, and under less complicated circumstances she may have even pursued something with the other woman.
Not wanting to take the conversation down a serious path she deflected the question with some teasing of her own. "Or maybe you and Santana?"
Rachel smiled triumphantly when she saw she had rendered the other woman speechless. Finally shaking off her shock, Quinn could only shake her head. "No, I'm pretty sure we would kill each other before we ever even got out of the gate." Quinn paused for a moment, still contemplating. "Though it might be fun while it lasted."
Rachel frowned deeply, not she had made the comment as a joke, and she found she didn't like the fact that the waitress has apparently given it even an ounce of serious thought. Before she could think of a response to the blonde's flippant reply they were joined by someone else.
"You leave," a small voice accused grumpily.
Rachel turned her attention to the doorway and noted a decidedly unhappy toddler, stuffed cat clutched firmly around the neck, looking at her mother. She looked like she wanted to go to Quinn, but wasn't sure how to accomplish that without going past Rachel, a decidedly unknown quantity.
Quinn placed her now empty coffee mug in the sink and walked over to greet her daughter good morning. As soon as Quinn was within reach Libby wrapped her arms around the blonde's legs and buried her face against them.
Quinn smoothed her hand over the top of Libby's wild curls, trying in vain to tame the sleep tangled mass. Rachel took in the scene silently, not sure what to do in this situation. It was clear that her presence distressed the small child, and after all that she had been through in the past month the last thing the singer wanted to do was add more stress.
"Can you say good morning to Rachel?" Quinn queried her daughter, continuing to stroke her hand comfortingly over her daughter's head. The only response she received was an emphatic shaking of a small head, face still firmly hidden.
Rachel caught Quinn's attention and pointed towards the doorway. "I should go, I don't want to upset her, and I need a shower anyway."
"How about you go take your shower, while I make some pancakes?" At the word pancakes Rachel saw the small girl still momentarily, her attention clearly caught. "Then when you are done you can join Libby and me for breakfast."
Rachel looked at the pair uncertain. "Are you sure? I don't want to intrude." In truth Rachel had no idea how to behave around the child, and was probably more nervous about the situation than Libby was.
Quinn shook her head dismissively. "Don't be silly, this is your house Rachel you can hardly be intruding. Now go, shower, breakfast will be ready when you're done."
Rachel bit back any further protest and went to do as commanded.
Freshly showered and feeling a little bit more settled, Rachel made her way back to the kitchen. She hesitated briefly at the doorway, taking a moment to affix what she hoped was a cheerful and non-threatening smile on her face. Quinn was standing at the kitchen island, stirring what Rachel deduced was pancake batter in a bowl and while she couldn't see Libby, she heard the excited chatter of the two year old who was presumably sitting at Quinn's feet.
From the conversation, Rachel could only assume that since Quinn would only occasionally look down with a smile and a nod while sometimes answering the babbling tot, the conversation Libby was having was mostly directed at the inanimate object perched on the floor beside her. "And Mommy's has to give you bath time because you dirty Tubby or no pancakes for you, right Mommy?"
Quinn smile down at her daughter again with a chuckle, "I said no such thing. I said you were going to need bath time after you're done eating."
"But I not dirty," the curly headed tot looked up to her mother with a serious questioning frown.
Quinn only chuckled. "Not yet sweetheart, but we know you will be with syrup involved."
"Did you find everything you needed?" Rachel asked as she made her way to the coffee pot. The pot was half filled so she knew it was one of Quinn's "specialty" blends. Reaching into the cupboard she grabbed her favorite mug and poured a small amount, sniffing the contents cautiously. Detecting only the faint scent of cinnamon over the aroma of the coffee itself, she figured it wouldn't be too bad and filled the cup. Rachel took a sip as she pulled out one of the bar stools and sat at the kitchen island.
Quinn nodded as she gave the batter a few last strokes before setting the bowl aside. Turning toward the stove she cut a pat of butter and put it in the pan warming on the stove. "I did. Your kitchen has just about every pot, pan and gadget imaginable, and I went shopping for some basics the other day."
Rachel took a larger swallow of her coffee; maybe Quinn wasn't wrong about some of these flavored blends. "Yes, those are my Dad's failed attempts to get me to cook. He insisted that I just had to have all of it as it was essential. I can pretty much manage microwaving without burning down the house."
"That would explain why everything looks new. You don't mind if I use it?"
Rachel waived her hand broadly, gesturing to encompass the whole kitchen. "Please do, my dad will be utterly thrilled that it's finally getting some use." Rachel watched as Quinn tested the temperature of the pan, and finding it to her liking, poured small pools of batter onto the hot surface. Knowing that she couldn't avoid it forever and seeing that Quinn was now occupied preparing breakfast, Rachel stood up and made her way around the island.
Her earlier assumption had been correct and she could see Libby sitting quietly on the floor. However, she noted that as soon as she'd made her presence known, the excited chatter had stopped. As she rounded the corner she saw Libby get up from her sitting position and hastily cross the small distance to stand and attach herself to her mother's legs again while peeking slightly past them at the newcomer.
Rachel flicked her gaze to Quinn, and seeing the blonde was still preoccupied and probably used to the clutching toddler, she crouched down self-consciously. She really had no idea how to interact with the small girl. The endless hours she had spent socializing with the crème of New York's theater community had definitely not prepared her for this.
While Rachel had spent the better part of yesterday traveling with the mother and child, she had remained largely separate from the pair. It was clear that Libby was still recovering and adjusting, and Quinn had had her hands full trying to keep the small child settled.
"Um…Hi Libby, I think you may have forgotten someone," Rachel finally said, picking up the stuffed animal that she decided did indeed need "bath time". She held it out to the toddler and watched her reaction. Libby's little hands clutched at the fabric of Quinn's clothing tighter while she looked up with big brown eyes at her mother. "Mommy?" The child whined in a soft, distressed tone at the mere fact that someone else had her lifelong friend in their clutches, even if it was the stuffed cat's previous savior.
"It's okay honey, Rachel won't hurt him," Quinn soothed as she ran a hand over the curly mane. "She's just trying to give him back, right Rachel?" Quinn then looked to the other brunette occupying the kitchen for confirmation.
"Of course!" Rachel exclaimed brightly. "I would never hurt this lovely creature. I only wanted to make sure he was safe and back with you." She extended the cat in the direction of the little girl and waited for her to take him.
Libby looked up to her mother again for confirmation that it was okay to approach the stranger. When Quinn nodded her head that it was okay, Libby reluctantly pulled one arm away, careful not to stray too far away from her mother and held out her arm. Apparently that was as far as she would allow herself to venture near the unknown woman.
Rachel only smiled as genuinely as she could as she watched Libby maintain her distance. She cautiously scooted further towards the little girl not wanting to subject her to any further discomfort while retrieving her stuffed animal.
As soon as Mr. Tubs was in reach, without taking her eyes off the unknown entity, Libby quickly snatched him away and took up her previous position wrapped around her mother's legs while clutching at her best friend.
"I'm Rachel, we met yesterday remember? It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Libby buried her head further against Quinn as Rachel spoke. Rachel was aware of Quinn pausing to glance at the pair, but she said nothing, letting the two brunette's work through the introduction on their own.
Several long moments passed and Quinn knew her normally shy around new people daughter wouldn't be the one to budge so she finally intervened. "Libby say hello to Rachel." Libby pulled back and a frowning gaze darted to her mother as if she was trying to make her eat vegetables. "Come on sweetheart, don't be rude. Rachel was the one who got back Mr. Tubs for you yesterday remember? She saved him, aren't you happy about that?" Quinn asked, playing on her little girl's good nature. The tot gave her mother one last look before her gaze settled on the singer still stooping uncomfortably in front of her.
"Hi," Libby finally said quietly causing Rachel to beam, feeling like she had cleared the first hurdle, even if it was at Quinn's behest.
"Do you like pancakes?" Rachel questioned, figuring that simple yes or no questions would be the easiest to draw the recalcitrant toddler out.
Libby paused briefly before looking back up to her mother, still silently asking for permission to interact with the other woman. Seeing Quinn nod her approval, Libby turned back to Rachel and gave a small nod of her own.
As Quinn went to move to the refrigerator to get something she needed, she realized that Libby was not going to budge. "Libby sweetheart, Mommy needs to move so I can finish making your breakfast. Do you think you can let go of Mommy's leg so I can finish?" Quinn sighed and looked to Rachel when the abundance of curly hair swayed from side to side in the negative.
"Hey Libby?" Rachel asked as she stood. "How about we help Mommy make breakfast? Do you want to help?"
Once again the little girl looked up to her mom to gauge her reaction. "Of course she likes to help because she's Mommy's special big girl helper, right Libby?"
"I a big girl!" Libby announced enthusiastically as her grip lessened and she took a few steps back from her mom to look up at her. "I can help Mommy!" The little girl beamed at being able to assist.
"Okay then Mommy's big girl, why don't you help Rachel get the fruit and juice ready so I can finish the pancakes and then we can eat, okay?"
Libby turned her head to look over at Rachel, suddenly not liking the ideal that she had to interact with the newcomer. "No! I help Mommy!" the little girl insisted.
"I don't know Libby, I think your mom may have it under control. If you don't help me I think I may end up messing things up. Now where do these go?" Rachel asked as she held up a bowl and a pitcher of juice and seemed to be working it out in her head, hoping the little girl would play along.
Libby pulled at Quinn's leg and huffed at the strange new girl. "Mommy go, you go help," Libby tried her best to move Quinn but seeing it was hopeless she only watched with keen interest as Rachel continued to disarrange the fruit.
"Noooo," Libby wailed out unable to take it anymore and she hastily made her way over to Rachel. She held up her little arms so Rachel could hand her the fruit bowl. When she had it firmly planted between two chubby hands she looked back up at Rachel. "Mommy and BB do like this." And she pointed to the cut up piece of fruit that she could see on the island counter and pointed to the bowl, demanding they be put in.
"Ah so that's how it goes," Rachel agreed as she emptied the cut up pieces of pineapples Quinn had already cut up into the bowl along with strawberries and cubes of melon.
"Like this!" Libby held it out in explanation for Rachel to see.
"Okay, now I get it. How about we get this to the table," Rachel beamed as she pointed in the direction of the dining room and then we'll come back for more okay?"
"Kay," Libby agreed, satisfied that she was being listened to, and that the new woman, while odd, didn't seem to pose any real threat.
"Thank you," Quinn mouthed to Rachel as she passed by her on her way to the dining room.
Rachel Berry-1, Libby-0, Rachel nodded triumphantly to herself as she followed the toddler into the dining room.
Within a few minutes Quinn had joined them with the platter full of gently steaming pancakes. Rachel surveyed the spread of food in front of her, impressed with what the blonde had been able to accomplish in such a short amount of time. She was positive it was the most food her kitchen, or dining room, had ever seen prepared.
"This looks really good Quinn, thank you," Rachel offered sincerely.
Quinn blushed faintly and brushed her hair behind her ear. "It was really nothing much."
"My morning meal usually consists of coffee and some type of breakfast bar, so you can definitely color me impressed," Rachel insisted.
Rachel watched as Quinn reached onto the floor to retrieve a small plastic block and place it on the chair beside her. "It's a booster seat," Quinn supplied when she saw Rachel's questioning glance. "It helps elevate her up high enough so that she can reach her plate." With Libby finally situated Quinn took her own seat, directly across from Rachel.
Rachel watched as Quinn quickly and efficiently prepared a plate for Libby, making sure to cut up the pancakes into small bites.
Quinn picked up the syrup bottle and immediately felt tiny hands wrap themselves around hers. "I can do it Mommy!" Libby exclaimed as she tried to pry the bottle away.
"I know you can sweetheart, but Mommy's just going to help you okay?" Quinn placated the little girl and allowed her to take the bottle but wrapped her hands around Libby's to monitor the out pour. The blonde remembered the last time her daughter was allowed to dispense her own syrup. Before she and Brittany could stop her, Libby had managed to dump almost the entire contents of the bottle on her plate.
Once Quinn was done and had served herself, Rachel reached for the platter and placed several of the golden brown cakes on her own plate.
"Oh my god," Rachel mumbled around the first bite. "This is so good." Quinn flushed slightly at the praise but didn't say anything. Rachel looked at Libby, who had already managed to get syrup on her face and hands. "Libby you agree with me right?"
Libby merely nodded her head at hearing her name, too busy trying to get a piece of pancake onto her oversized wooden fork with her hand, and ultimately into her mouth.
Rachel looked triumphantly back at Quinn. "I am going to take her silence and immense concentration as an implicit sign of agreement."
Quinn laughed. "Yes well she's two, and has probably been eating nothing but bland oatmeal for breakfast for the last month." Rachel watched Quinn shutter in distaste at the mention of the bland breakfast. Rachel flicked her gaze to Libby and saw the small brunette was making a similar face at the mention of the breakfast staple.
Seeing the question in Rachel's eyes Quinn answered the unspoken query, "My parents, or rather my father, don't believe in spoiling children, so breakfast was always oatmeal. Always."
"Well they don't know what they're missing," Rachel declared, continuing to eat. "Because these have to be the best pancakes I've had in ….well maybe ever." Rachel paused briefly. "Just don't tell my dad, he would be crushed. Where did you get the recipe?"
Quinn shrugged. "I've worked in quite a few diners over the years, so it's just the result of picking up things here and there."
"So it's your recipe then," Rachel clarified, not understanding the blonde's modesty.
"I guess, but it's not like it's a big deal, pancakes are pretty basic," Quinn insisted.
"Well I disagree, and anytime you want to make them I will be more than happy to help Libby eat them." Rachel looked at the toddler, her plate half eaten, and smiled. "You'll help me eat them right Libby?"
Again the small child nodded her head in the affirmative, not wanting to waste time replying verbally while there were still pancakes to be eaten.
Rachel placed the last of the dishes in the dishwasher. Breakfast had concluded without major incident, though she had been shocked at the amount of mess the small girl had managed to generate in such a short period of time. She counted it as a small victory that Libby had actually spoken to her a couple of times, though granted at Quinn's urging. She wasn't exactly sure why she felt compelled to get the toddler to warm up to her, but she was determined that she wouldn't fail.
Quinn had started to clear the table at the end of their meal, but Rachel had quickly insisted that she would take care of it. She hoped Quinn hadn't been offended when she had insisted that maybe Libby would like a bath to remove some of the sticky residue that had seemed to coat the small girl from head to toe.
Since it was a Sunday, Rachel didn't have any of the usual vocal lessons or acting classes that comprised the majority of her week. Though she knew that the blonde had the day off work, she wasn't sure what Quinn's plans were for the day and was debating about seeing if she wanted to go and do something with Libby. Plus, it also made sense that she be comfortable around the child as well.
Rachel was mindful of Santana's insistence that the pair spend more time together, so that their interactions wouldn't seem forced or awkward. With only a week before their public debut, between Rachel's schedule and Quinn's work and childcare obligations, there wasn't going to be a lot of opportunity to practice their couple persona.
She pondered possible child friendly activities that would allow her and Quinn to talk but was interrupted by a knock at the front door. She frowned as she made her way over to find out who was there. She wasn't expecting anyone, and she never got drop in visitors. Her fathers had called yesterday, Leroy had been particularly keen to determine that everything was okay after she had abruptly ended the call placed at the Fabray residence, but she had convinced them that the three of them needed a bit more time to settle in together before entertaining visitors.
She knew that she wouldn't be able to hold her parents off forever however, and it was only a matter of time before they demanded to meet the newest, littlest addition to the family.
She opened the door surprised to find Santana and Brittany. "Since when do you knock?" Rachel questioned the Latina as she stepped back to allow the pair entry.
Santana rolled her eyes and pointed at her companion. "She insisted, claimed it was rude to just barge in. I told her it's not like we would be interrupting anything since I'm fairly sure neither of you have even entertained taking advantage of your new living arrangement and the fact that you're actually supposed to be a couple, if you know what I mean."
Rachel merely raised her eyebrows in response knowing exactly what Santana was referring too, but chose to ignore it. Instead she focused on the fact that Santana had had a key for years, and never once knocked before barging in to Rachel's apartment. "Hi Brittany, nice to see you again," Rachel greeted Quinn's friend warmly.
Brittany smiled in response. "I hope you don't mind me just dropping by like this, we tried to call but couldn't get an answer, Santana insisted that it was fine."
"It is more than fine. I'm sure Libby will be thrilled to see you, Quinn had a hard time settling her in last night, so I'm sure the sight of another familiar face will be more than welcome." Rachel looked back and forth between the two curiously. "You came together?"
"I figured she would want to see the rug rat, and since I had some things to discuss with you and Quinn I figured I would do my good deed for the week and offer her a ride," Santana supplied before the blonde could answer.
Rachel bit back a smile, knowing that if she let it show Santana would get irritated and defensive. Santana only went out of her way for people she liked, and driving clear across town to where Brittany's apartment was, and then drive her back uptown, was most definitely out of her way.
"Well I'm glad you guys decided to drop by, unfortunately you just missed breakfast. Quinn made pancakes," Rachel replied.
"Well isn't that just the most domestic thing ever," Santana quipped.
"Thank you Rachel, but we're fine we actually ate before we came over," Brittany responded, sending a chiding look at the Latina.
At this revelation Rachel did send a challenging look her friend's way, one eyebrow raised in question. Santana had no trouble interpreting the look and crossed her arms defensively across her chest. "What? I was hungry, girls gotta eat."
"Mmmm, I'm sure," Rachel replied, a smile peaking into her tone. "Brittany I'm sure Quinn is done bathing Libby by now if you wanted to wander down to her room and say hi." Rachel wanted a moment alone with her friend to grill her.
Brittany excused herself, leaving the two brunettes alone. Instead of bombarding Santana with questions Rachel just continued to gaze at the other woman, an expectant look on her face.
It didn't take long for the Latina to crack. "What? Stop looking at me like that. People eat breakfast, there's nothing noteworthy about that."
"It's okay Santana, you can admit it, there's no shame in it," Rachel replied soothingly.
"Shame in what? I have nothing to admit," Santana insisted staunchly.
"You like her," Rachel concluded happily, clapping her hands together twice.
Santana scoffed dismissively. "I think all this stress has finally gone to your head Berry. I simply offered to give someone a ride, and got hungry on the way over here, you are in traditional Rachel fashion blowing everything all out of proportion."
Rachel eyed her friend speculatively but refrained from pushing her any further. While Santana liked to claim that Rachel was the stubborn one, she had nothing on the other woman when she decided to dig in her heels about something. If she actually did like the blonde waitress, the last thing that Rachel wanted to do was push her on the matter and have her retreat simply on principle.
"If you say so," Rachel finally conceded.
"I do," Santana replied, arms crossed defensively across her chest.
"What brings you by this morning anyway?" Rachel asked, effectively changing the topic.
Santana eased her defensive stance, now that the threat to her reputation had been removed. "I wanted to check in on my favorite little social experiment and see how everything was going. You were freaking out pretty badly before you left." Santana eyed the surprisingly placid singer. "You seem to be holding it together pretty well; I was half expecting to find you locked in your bedroom."
Rachel sent her friend a glare. "I'm hardly that bad Santana, I can adapt to change." Seeing the frankly disbelieving stare she was getting from the other woman Rachel rolled her eyes. "I can," she insisted. If anyone wanted to dispute her adaptability she would argue the point all day long. Santana liked to talk a good game, but Rachel was almost positive the Latina couldn't have handled someone coming and invading her personal space the way Quinn had.
"So that's the only reason you stopped by? Wouldn't a call have been just as effective?"
"I'm gutted Rachel, are you not happy to see me?" Santana asked with mock hurt. "There was actually another reason I came by though, I wanted to make sure you and Quinn hadn't forgotten about that event on Saturday, and that you two were prepared for your public debut."
Rachel bit her lip. "We haven't forgotten about it, so much of the stuff with Libby has taken up so much of Quinn's attention that we haven't really had a chance to talk about it."
Santana nodded her head, her eyes narrowing slightly. "I figured as much. Well you two are just going to have to suck it up, because you need to be prepared to wow them." The Latina eyed the small singer thoughtfully. "Can you rearrange your lessons and classes this week? It would be great if you could free up some serious time to spend with Quinn."
Rachel nodded her head. "Well I can, but I'm not sure what Quinn's schedule is? We'll have to ask her."
"Ask Quinn what?" Quinn questioned as she came back into the room, Brittany trailing behind with a smiling Libby in her arms. The toddler was chattering animatedly to the tall blonde, clearly happy to be reunited with her friend.
Santana turned to great the new arrivals. "Holy shit!" the Latina exclaimed. "It's like mini-mini-me!"
"Santana!" Rachel cried swatting her manager in the arm. "Language!"
"Shit sorry," Santana replied contritely, only to immediately realize her mistake when the other three women continued to glare at her. "Right. I'll work on it."
"See that you do," Rachel insisted primly.
"What did you need to ask me," Quinn repeated as she made her way over to the couch and sat down. Brittany settled nearby on the floor with Libby and some of her toys, obviously just as happy to see the toddler as the girl was to see her.
Rachel took a seat on the opposite end of the couch, while Santana dropped into one of the chairs situated across from the pair.
"If you could rearrange your schedule this week; you two have your first public appearance on Saturday and I want to make sure you're prepared," Santana answered the blonde.
Quinn frowned and shook her head. "I don't see how, my boss is already freaking out that I had to take this weekend off, there is no way he is going to let me off any more shifts."
Santana let out an aggravated sigh. "There is an easy solution to this you know, if you would just stop being so damned stubborn."
Quinn crossed her arms across her chest and glared at the brunette. "I have already told you that I am not quitting my job. I have committed myself to making sure people accept us as a couple, and I will meet that obligation, but I am not going to quit my job because it's inconvenient for you."
Santana held up her hands in defeat. "Whatever, you're going to be the one that's exhausted because you insist on making this more difficult than it needs to be. Who am I to argue, just make sure you don't look like a hot mess on Saturday."
"I'm sure I can manage to look presentable," Quinn replied frostily.
Santana gave a short laugh. "Well it's my reputation on the line here too, so I am not going to be leaving that to chance. I'm going to need you to carve out sometime in the coming week. While I'm sure you really wow them at Rick's House of Salmonella I need you to look like you belong on Rachel's arm, so I have arranged for you to have an emergency appointment with my stylist." Seeing the blonde open her mouth to object Santana held up a hand to quell her response. "This is not up for debate. You need to look a part, and this is part of that. We also need to go shopping for a dress."
"Why can't I just wear something of Rachel's again?" Quinn questioned grumpily.
"Because while you might be able to get away with wearing one of Rachel's cast offs to meet the in-laws there is no way you can pull that with the kind of people that will be there on Saturday. They will be able to spot an ill fitting, out of place garment before you even take your first drink, and they won't hesitate to oh so kindly comment on it."
"Santana's right Quinn, these people are worse than sharks, they can smell blood in the water and they won't for a second hesitate to exploit any perceived weakness or difference." Rachel smiled warmly at the blonde. "Think of them as the more grown up, infinitely more polite but vicious versions of your high school self." Rachel wanted to make Quinn understand just what she was up against.
Quinn sighed, resigned. "Fine."
"My schedule is fairly flexible, and this is important, so just let me know when works for you and I will make it happen," Santana replied. Santana looked toward the floor, where Brittany continued to keep Libby entertained. "And no rug rat."
"She's not a rug rat," Quinn forced out through gritted teeth, "she's my daughter."
Santana waived her hand dismissively. "You say daughter, I say persona no grata, make sure you find someone to watch her."
Quinn rubbed her temples, trying to ease some of the tension that was building. "Brit do you think you would be able to watch Libby for me at some point this week?"
Brittany looked up from her spot on the floor and furrowed her brow, trying to remember her work schedule. "I would Quinn but I think we are both on days this week."
"Don't you send her to like school or something?" Santana questioned.
"She's not even three yet," Quinn replied archly.
Santana shrugged. "Well daycare or something then, I mean what do you do with her while you are off saving the world from palatable foodstuffs?"
Rachel looked at the blonde, curious as to the answer. She honestly hadn't given a lot of thought to who would be looking after Libby. Quinn hadn't really said anything about it, so Rachel had assumed that it was all worked out. Judging by the blonde's reaction to Santana's last minute outing however, it would appear that perhaps the waitress's child care situation wasn't as taken care of as Rachel had thought.
"Brittany and I usually tried to work opposite shifts, and when we couldn't arrange that, there was a lady in our building who would fill in," Quinn answered. The blonde ran her hands through her hair, disturbing the blonde locks. "I have been so focused on just getting her back that I haven't really thought too much about what I was going to do. I guess I just assumed Brittany and I would keep the same arrangement."
Brittany looked up from her spot on the floor. "You know I'm fine with that Quinn, I love watching Libby. I will call tomorrow and see if I can get my shifts switched around."
Quinn smiled at her friend but shook her head. "No, but thank you for the offer, I don't want to cause issues for you at work. You know how unreasonable Carl can be about rescheduling shifts." Quinn exhaled loudly, followed by a steadying inhale. "I will call Mrs. Bellings and see if she can watch her this week."
"Did you want me to call an agency for a nanny?" Rachel offered hesitantly.
Quinn glanced quickly at the singer but shook her head. "Again, thank you, but no. In addition to the cost, I really don't want to leave Libby with any strangers at the moment. She needs as much routine and familiarity as possible right now."
"You know there is a really simple solution to this," Santana couldn't help but interject one more time.
Quinn glared in the other woman's direction, but Rachel interrupted before the two could get into another verbal altercation. "That's fine. Just know that the offer stands if you want to revisit the option," Rachel offered.
Santana leaned back in her chair. "So what did you three have planned for the day?"
Rachel looked to Quinn, wanting to defer to the blonde.
"I hadn't really planned much beyond spending time with Libby and getting her settled in, why?"
Santana shifted forward in her chair, letting her hands dangle between her legs. "Well like I was telling Rachel, you two need all the "couple time" you can manage before Saturday. So if you have nothing else pressing on your schedule it would seem like today is the perfect opportunity to venture forth and practice pretending like you didn't just meet at a bar and have a drunken hookup."
"Do you mind?" Quinn questioned frostily as she angled her head towards her daughter.
Santana rolled her eyes. "I'm sure she doesn't know what I'm talking about." The Latina eyed the young mother speculatively. "Or maybe she does and you have been leaving out some pertinent details."
Quinn glared back at the other woman, not appreciating the insinuation. "She most certainly does not, but that's not really the point. They are like small information sponges at this age, so if you could kindly watch what you say around her it would be greatly appreciated."
Santana huffed. "Fine. It would be a perfect opportunity for you three to spend some quality family bonding time. Better?" Santana questioned sarcastically.
"Much," Quinn bit out shortly.
"I was actually giving this some thought earlier," Rachel interrupted the quarreling duo. "I just wasn't sure what would constitute an age appropriate activity for Libby."
Quinn looked at the brunette singer in surprise. "You were?"
Rachel nodded, fidgeting with her hands nervously. "I thought it might be nice to do something fun with Libby. The past month couldn't have been easy on her." Rachel wasn't sure how Quinn would take her involvement. She didn't want the blonde to think that Rachel was overstepping her bounds, or trying to interfere with Quinn's parenting style.
Instead of getting annoyed or angry Quinn simply sent the brunette a small smile, and Rachel breathed a sigh of relief.
"I usually just take Libby to play in the park on the weekends," Quinn offered. "So if you didn't have any objections we could do that."
Rachel pondered the question. "I don't have any objections to that," Rachel answered. "But if we are going to the park anyway, how would you feel about going to the zoo? The Central Park Zoo is smaller than the Bronx Zoo, but I remember enjoying it when my dads would take me there."
At the word zoo Libby's head popped up and she looked at her mother intently. "We go to zoo Mommy?" she questioned hopefully.
Quinn looked between the two brunettes and blew out a breath. "Well I was planning on taking her to the zoo for her birthday, but I suppose it won't hurt to go a little early."
Rachel bit her lip contritely. "Oh Quinn I'm sorry I didn't intend to spoil your plans."
Quinn waived off the apology. "It's fine. She deserves a treat anyway, so this actually works out well."
"If you're sure? We can do something else instead," Rachel offered.
"No, we go to zoo!" Libby demanded.
Quinn sent Rachel a wry look, and reached over to run her hand through her daughter's hair. "Yes baby girl, we can go to the zoo." Libby squealed happy at the news and jumped up, her toys and play time with Brittany quickly abandoned.
"We go now," she insisted grabbing her mother's hand and trying to pull her off the couch.
"She doesn't just take after Rachel in looks," Santana quipped sarcastically.
"We'll go in just a little while," Quinn informed her daughter. "First you have to put your toys away."
"Kay, be right back," Libby quickly complied. The toddler immediately returned to her small pile of toys and bent down to gather them in her arms. She started to head back down the hallway, but realizing that she would be all alone in a strange place she froze. She looked imploringly at Brittany. "BB you come too."
Brittany pushed up off the floor and turned to Quinn. "I'll help her put her stuff away."
"Thanks," the mother responded gratefully.
Santana watched the pair disappear down the hallway before turning back to face the couple on the couch. "So did you want us to tag along?"
"To the zoo?" Rachel exclaimed in surprise. She was definitely not wrong about her friend's feelings toward the fair haired waitress. Rachel didn't even think Santana had enjoyed the zoo when she'd actually been a child.
"Yes to the zoo," Santana scoffed. "Someone has to make sure the two of you don't spend the entire day keeping a polite distance and making inanely polite conversation. You two have been cohabitating for a few weeks and you hardly seem any more comfortable around each other."
Rachel turned to Quinn. The blonde and her friend had already gotten into a few verbal squabbles, and she didn't want to inflict the Latina on Quinn if it was going to add to the stress she was already under. "Do you mind if they go?"
Quinn gave Santana a measured look, before shrugging her shoulders. "I suppose it would be okay," Quinn finally conceded. "Besides I'm pretty sure Libby is going to insist that Brittany go with us, besides she loves animals, so she'll probably enjoy it as much as Libby, if not more."
"Fabulous," Santana answered, causing Rachel to look at her dubiously. If Santana Lopez was excited about going to the zoo she most definitely had it bad. "Appearance is everything and we can't afford to have people questioning the validity of your relationship, which is not the type of press we want or need." Santana snapped her fingers. "That reminds me." She dug into her pocket and drew out a small cloth drawstring bag. She tossed the bag to Rachel to catch. "To keeping up appearances."
Rachel opened the small pouch and upended the contents onto her palm. Two platinum bands, both generously encrusted with diamonds winked back at her. Quinn leaned over to inspect what Rachel was staring at and drew back sharply when she finally saw.
"Please tell me those are fake," Quinn pleaded.
Santana laughed. "Are you kidding me? Maybe that's how they play it in that little bumpkin town you're from, but this is New York. If you tried to wear CZ they would blacklist you so fast you wouldn't be able to see it coming."
Quinn swallowed nervously, eyeing the wedding bands like they were deadly snakes, ready to strike at any moment. "I'm not sure I'm comfortable…"
"Well you better get comfortable, because you two need to be sporting some bling when you show up on Saturday. Everything is a competition with this crowd, and this is about as modest as I was willing to go, so suck it up and deal." Santana waived her hand dismissively. "Plus they are insured so don't worry too much about it." She paused for a moment, considering. "Though it might not be a smart idea to wear this to your workplace, probably not the type of attention you want to be attracting."
Seeing the two just sitting there Santana grew impatient. "Well stop just sitting there and staring at them, put the damn things on."
Rachel shook of her momentary stupor and examined the two bands closely. Finally selecting the one that she thought would fit her finger she experimentally slid it on. Finding that it did in fact fit she handed the other hand over to Quinn.
The blonde took it gingerly; still acting like it would bite at any moment. Reluctantly she slipped it onto her ring finger, looking up the Latina in surprise when it was a perfect fit. Seeing the unspoken question Santana answered simply, "Brittany."
Rachel gathered her wits first and sent an appreciative smile towards her friend and manager. "Thank you Santana, it hadn't even occurred to me how odd it would look if we showed up without wedding rings."
"That's what you keep me around for. And don't thank me yet, you might want to wait until you get the bill."
Seeing Quinn pale slightly at the announcement Rachel was quick to reassure the blonde, "I'm sure they weren't that expensive."
Santana laughed. "Believe what you want to; just don't say I didn't warn you." Santana stood up from her chair and shooed her hands at the duo sitting on the couch. "Don't just sit there, you two are going to need all the help you can get, so the sooner we get going the sooner I can start observing the mating habits of the lesbianis undersextus."
Quinn stood slightly to the left of the zoo's admission gate, waiting for Rachel and Santana to return with the tickets. She had tried to pay for the outing or at the very least for herself and Libby, but Rachel wouldn't hear of it, insisting that this had been her idea so she should pay.
"Mommy let's go," Libby whined and tugged impatiently on Quinn's hand.
"We will Libby, just a little while longer, okay?" Quinn looked down at her daughter and seeing her huff, she smiled and ran hand through her hair. She couldn't seem to stop touching her daughter, still not quite able to believe that she was finally back. Quinn vowed that if for some reason the legal proceedings didn't go her way, she was going to just disappear with Libby; there was no way she was going to allow her to be sent back to her parent's.
Yesterday had been extremely difficult with Libby vacillating between withdrawn and clingy. When Libby realized that she wasn't going home, but instead to another new and different place, she had had a mini-meltdown and Quinn had to spend the remainder of the evening trying to calm her down.
She seemed to be doing better today, seeing Brittany again had done wonders for calming her down. Her daughter had clearly missed her oversized playmate.
"Mommy," Libby whined again, "wanna go in now," she grumbled.
"You need to be patient Rachel is doing it as quickly as she can." Truthfully Quinn was starting to wonder what the hold-up was as well. She could easily see the brunette at the ticket kiosk, and she had apparently been talking to the vendor for a few minutes. Longer than would seem necessary to simply purchase three zoo passes.
Taking the opportunity of some alone time away from the two brunettes Quinn turned to her friend. "So you and Santana?"
Quinn watched as a light blush bloomed on Brittany's cheeks. The other blonde shrugged her shoulders. "It's nothing. She was just being nice and offered me a ride."
Quinn scoffed. "I don't think that woman does anything just to be nice. She must expect something."
"She hasn't exactly hidden that fact, but I have told her I don't really do the casual thing."
"And yet here she is," Quinn replied suspiciously. Her friend hadn't had the best of luck with relationships, and she would hate to see her taken advantage of, especially if it was by Rachel's friend and manager. The situation they were in was delicate enough without adding unneeded relationship drama to the mix.
"We go in yet?" Libby asked, her big brown eyes looking questioningly as she tugged on her mother's hand again.
"A little bit longer peanut," Quinn reassured her daughter. "Which animals do you want to see first?"
"Mr. Tubs!" Libby exclaimed without hesitation. "And Baloo, and Dumbo," Libby listed off, recalling the animals from some of her favorite movies. "And the tall ones," the little girl lifted her arm in the air and stood on her toes to indicated height, "tall spotty ones, Mommy!"
Quinn laughed. "Well we can certainly go see if they have any cats like Mr. Tubs. But they may not have all those other animals here at this zoo. And the tall spotty ones are called giraffes," Quinn informed her daughter.
"We go see them now," Libby demanded once again. "C'mon BB, we go right now," the tot insisted as she grabbed onto Brittany's hand and tried to move the two adults forward.
Quinn looked up and breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted the pair of brunettes headed their way, not sure how much longer she could keep Libby from storming the gate. As Quinn watched the brunette cross the short distance to them, the light fall breeze ruffling her loosely curling hair, she brought a hand up self consciously to her own practical, but certainly less than stylish pony tail.
Santana's admonishment that's she wasn't quite in Rachel's league, and that if she didn't work on her appearance no one would ever buy them as a couple, echoed in her mind. Quinn knew that she was attractive, but she was also aware that she hardly had the time to spend on worrying about the little details, like manicures, salon treatments and the newest fashions. Even if she had the time between work and Libby to worry about them, there was simply no way to afford them.
A part of her wondered what the other woman thought of her, but she shook off the concern as foolish. It didn't matter what Rachel thought of her, or if she was out of the other woman's league. This was a business transaction, nothing more, and she just needed to make sure she held up her end of the bargain.
"Sorry that took so long," Rachel apologized brightly, her arms full of an assortment of materials. "I was all set just to get the standard day pass, but then when I explained how excited Libby was to see all the animals the ticket salesman was nice enough to tell me about the different family season passes available."
Quinn bit back a groan. She had done a fair amount of research on the various pricing options and she knew that family passes ranged anywhere from around $130-$1500. Something told her that the wealthy singer had not opted for the cheapest option.
"So I figured it made sense to get the Conservation pass, it lets us in to the four zoos, the New York Aquarium and there are options to attend special private events, or have personally guided tours and lectures. Plus they gave me this adorable t-shirt." Rachel held up the child sized garment with the picture of an adorable baby polar bear on the front.
"That was too much Rachel," Quinn protested weakly. She was seriously going to have to find a way to get the other woman to stop spending money; at this rate she was going to lose track and never have any hope of paying her back.
Rachel simply smiled and waved off the concern. "It was nothing." Rachel took a moment to sort through all of the stuff she was holding, handing the entrance badge, which was hanging on a lanyard to each of the adults to put around their necks.
"We go NOW?" Libby interrupted.
Rachel smiled down at the young girl. "Don't you want to put on your shirt first?" Rachel questioned, holding out the garment to the toddler. Instead of answering her Libby turned her back and grabbed Brittany's hand, effectively snubbing the brunette.
"C'mon BB, let's go see the kitties," Libby insisted, dragging her friend along. Brittany looked at Quinn to see if it was okay to go ahead without them and Quinn nodded her head in approval.
Seeing the slightly hurt look on Rachel's face Quinn hastened to reassure her. "She's just getting used to you. As soon as she warms up to you it will be fine." Quinn took the child sized t-shirt from the shorter woman. "Thank you for thinking of her though."
Rachel smiled weakly. "No it's okay. This has to be extremely confusing for her, the last thing she needs is some stranger trying to befriend her."
"This is really fascinating and all," Santana broke in, "but we did have a purpose in coming here, and it wasn't so that Rachel could figure out how to make friends." She pointed significantly at the two women standing in front of her. "You two need to get your familiarity on, and the sooner the better."
Rachel sighed at her friend as the trio began to make their way to the entrance gate, not wanting to let Libby and Brittany get too far ahead. They each flashed their entrance badges at the gate attendant and were waved through. Quinn smiled when she spotted Libby and Brittany standing a short distance away, studying the map of the zoo intently. Brittany was leaning down to talk to Libby, the two clearly debating which animals to see first.
"And what exactly do you suggest Santana," Rachel queried.
"Well for starters you could, oh I don't know, actually touch each other?" Santana snipped rhetorically. "I mean you keep a good two foot bubble between you at all times, and while that would be totally believable if you had been married for a few years, you are supposed to be newlyweds."
Santana clasped each woman firmly on the shoulder and pushed the two together. Seeing that they still weren't taking any initiative the Latina rolled her eyes. "Now hold hands," she ordered with forced patience.
Quinn looked at Rachel briefly before reaching down and lacing her fingers with the brunette's.
"This is weird," Quinn spoke first, stating the obvious.
"It's weird," Rachel confirmed, shifting her grip a little.
"Very weird," Quinn agreed.
"Fucking weird," Santana chimed in with an eye roll. "Which is exactly the point, this needs to be as natural as breathing. So for the rest of the day you two are going to remain attached."
"What if I have to go to the bathroom?" Rachel questioned.
Santana glared at her deliberately obtuse friend. "Except if you have to go to the bathroom."
"Oh okay, I mean I know you said we are supposed to get close, but that seems a little bit too close," Rachel rambled on.
Quinn raised her free hand and pointed to where Libby was bouncing up and down impatiently while staring at her mother, having finished her study of the zoo's layout. "We should probably get going before we have a riot on our hands."
Rachel and Santana nodded their agreement and the trio headed the short distance to meet up with the rest of their group. Quinn tried her best to not focus on the foreign sensation of someone else's hand entwined with her own. "So did you two figure out which animals you wanted to see first?"Quinn asked when they rejoined Libby and Brittany.
Libby jumped up and down in excitement. "Mommy we see kitties, and a bear, and monkeys," the toddler chattered excitedly, clearly forgetting her earlier list of animals. The child's excitement was momentarily dulled when she spotted her mother holding hands with Rachel.
"You not touch my Mommy!" She commanded Rachel with a glare and reached out to pull Quinn's away from Rachel's.
Quinn looked at her daughter in surprise. She hadn't really dated since she had Libby, so the young girl was not used to sharing her mother with anyone except Brittany, who she viewed as a beloved aunt. Quinn hadn't really given any thought to how her daughter would take her mother being close to someone.
Quinn reached out with her free hand and brushed back her daughter's curls, and also gaining the toddler attention. "Rachel is Mommy's friend," she explained to the two-year-old. "You know how you like to hold Brittany's hand?" Seeing Libby nod Quinn continued. "Well Mommy likes to hold hands with her friends too."
Libby looked at her quietly for a moment. "BB Mommy's friend. You hold BB hand," Libby offered with perfect child logic.
Quinn shook her head. "Mommy wants to hold Rachel's hand," she explained patiently.
Libby looked at the pair, still disgruntled by the situation. Seeing that her mother wasn't going to budge the little brunette huffed and grabbed her mother's free hand and pulled her forward. "We go see kitties now," she demanded.
Quinn allowed herself to be pulled forward and the trio, soon joined by Brittany who grabbed Libby's other hand, headed off toward the snow leopard habitat.
Santana, who had been left behind, scowled after the small group and crossed her arms across her chest. "What you're just going to leave me here?" she called after the departing quartet.
"The day not going quite the way you planned," Rachel teased her scowling and pouting friend. The pair was waiting for Quinn, Brittany and Libby to return with some lunch. Rachel had tried to pay, but the other two women insisted that it was on them.
Santana responded with a dark glare at the small diva. "That kid is a serious twat block," the Latina groused.
"Santana!" Rachel scolded, surprised that her friend would actually say such a thing.
"Well she is," Santana grumbled. "Every time I try to make a little headway with Brittany the little ankle biter either scowls at me, or starts grabbing at Brittany to get her attention."
"Awww, has big bad Santana Lopez finally met her match in a two and a half foot tall toddler?" Rachel continued to tease her friend. Rachel actually thought it was good for the Latina to finally have met a woman that didn't instantly fall into Santana's bed. Libby–1, Santana Lopez–0.
"Laugh it up," Santana bitched. "Just be glad you aren't actually trying to make time with her mother, because I'm pretty sure if you weren't already used to never having sex you would die of sexual frustration."
Rachel drew herself up straight. "I think I am making wonderful progress."
Santana threw her head back and laughed. "Right. Progress. Is that what you call being completely ignored?"
"Well at least she doesn't try to run away every time I look at her," Rachel bit back playfully. "Brittany seems very impressed with your ability to frightened small children."
"Whatever," Santana groused. "I refuse to let her get the best of me, I will prevail." Rachel just laughed and shook her head. Leave it to her friend to get into a fight with a toddler over a woman.
"Well on the bright side Quinn and I are doing better," Rachel responded. "That was the reason you came along after all right? To monitor our progress and make sure it was to your satisfaction."
"You two have made some progress," the Latina begrudgingly replied, still clearly disgruntled by her own lack of progress. "Don't get complacent though you know how those people can be."
Rachel nodded. She and the blonde had taken opportunity of their forced closeness and relative privacy to discuss what to expect on Saturday night. The closest thing that Rachel could think to liken it to was their recent visit to Quinn's parents; something to be endured and hopefully over as quickly as possible and that no matter how hard you tried to befriend them or make a good impression they would still treat you dismissively.
The blonde had not looked happy at the prospect and had asked Rachel why she put herself through this time after time. Rachel asked herself that same question quite often, but she had told Quinn the same thing she always told herself. Someday it would all be worth it when her name was up in lights and they were all trying to curry favor with her instead of the other way around. It had to be worth it; otherwise Rachel had completely wasted her life up to this point. Failure was simply not an option.
Quinn gently wiped Libby's face with one of the many paper napkins they had brought back with them when they went to retrieve lunch. The small zoo hadn't had much in the way of concessions but she had managed to locate a vendor selling hotdogs and soda. Libby had been thrilled.
The end result of course was that now she had ketchup smeared all over her face and shirt, and Quinn was doing her best to clean the sticky red substance off her fidgeting daughter. Without conscious thought she brought one of the napkins to her mouth and wet it slightly, seeing that the dry napkin just wasn't going to cut it.
Finally satisfied with the result she released her daughter, who immediately ran to rejoin Brittany, who would never put her through the indignity of a public face cleaning when there were still tons more animals to see. Quinn turned to see the look of mild horror on Rachel's face.
"What is it?" Quinn asked concerned, looking down and wondering if she had food smeared all over her.
"You…you..just…you just …you cleaned her with spit!" Rachel said the last word in a horrified whisper, almost as if she were afraid someone would overhear.
"And?" Quinn asked confused.
"And! There is no and," Rachel declared excitedly. "That can't possibly be sanitary."
Quinn raised an eyebrow, not impressed with the other woman's reaction. "Trust me, parents have been doing it since the beginning of time." Quinn smirked playfully at the still disturbed woman. "In fact I'm sure yours have done it a time or two themselves."
Rachel drew her head back and squared her shoulders. "My father is a doctor, he would never do that. He is well aware of all the germs that are passed in human saliva."
"And she wonders why she had such a hard time finding a date," Santana quipped, doing her best to get Brittany to laugh and finally notice her. Unfortunately Brittany appeared to be in yet another intense conversation with her pint sized nemesis.
"Well as much as I would like to stay here and debate the germ carrying yield of the average drop of human saliva, I think we should probably move on. Libby is going to need a nap soon, but she really wanted to visit the petting zoo."
When they had gone to the snow leopard exhibit Libby has been enthralled by the big cat, but had been utterly devastated when it was explained to her that while it may resemble Mr. Tubs, there was no way she was going to be able to cuddle with this kitty.
Quinn had explained that while she couldn't pet the kitty there were other animals that she could touch. Libby had been on a mission to get there ever since. Not wanting to cave in to all her daughter's demands in an effort to make up for the recent disruption Quinn had held firm, and they had slowly made their way through the rest of the exhibits.
Libby had enjoyed visiting with all the other animals, but she had not forgotten her mother's promise of the petting zoo.
"Petty zoo, petty zoo!" the child exclaimed demandingly, having apparently forgiven her mother for the indignity, and returned to her side to pull on her hand.
"Fine," Rachel conceded, with one more skeptical look at the blonde mother. She bent down to smile at Libby. "You ready to pet go pet the sheep?"
"Yes! Yes!" In her excitement to actually get to touch the animals her apathy towards Rachel was momentarily forgotten.
Quinn smiled down at her bubbly child, finally starting to see the Libby she used to before the visit to her parents. She grabbed Libby's hand firmly in her own and reached out with the other to take Rachel's, having gotten used to it after spending the better part of the morning attached to the other woman.
When she saw the short brunette looking at it dubiously Quinn wondered what the problem was. Finally understanding dawned and she rolled her eyes, closing the short distance between them and grasping the reluctant woman's hand. "It won't kill you," Quinn chided.
"Besides," Santana interjected with a laugh, "even if you two don't remember it I'm sure you have already exchanged way more fluids than that."
"Santana!" Rachel scolded, scandalized.
"What, it's true," the Latina defended. Seeing that her pint sized competition was currently attached to her mother's hand, Santana sidled up to the other blonde in the group. She held out her hand invitingly. "I'm feeling kinda left out," she pouted, indicating that everyone else in the group was holding hands.
Brittany looked at the other woman appraisingly. Finally she held up one hand, pinkie extended. "I'll give you a pinkie, you have to earn the rest."
Santana smiled brightly and nodded her head. "I'll take it," she decided, hooking her little finger together with the other woman's.
Quinn shot the pair a sidelong glance, still not sure how she felt about the apparently casual woman trying to make time with her friend. She supposed it wasn't really her place to interfere but she promised herself she would kick Santana's ass if she actually hurt her kind hearted friend.
In a short time the group had reached the pens that contained the animals that were deemed safe to interact with. She heard Libby's awed gasp and smiled softly, glad that Rachel had suggested this activity for them today. While Libby would have enjoyed a day at the park, it wouldn't have as effectively captivated her attention and taken her mind off her recent trip to Quinn's parents.
Having finally spotted animals that were within her grasp, Libby dropped Quinn's hand and started to dash off. "Whoa there peanut," Quinn called out, reaching out to catch the back of her fleeing daughter's jacket. "You need to wait until Brittany or Mommy is with you."
The little girl looked like she was going to argue, but when one of the nearby animals let out a loud noise her eye's grew wide and she stepped unconsciously closer to her mother, wrapping one arm around Quinn's leg.
"Okay Mommy, you come too," Libby insisted, eyeing the animals with a little more caution.
Quinn rested her hand on her daughters head and tilted her face up to meet her own. "Why don't we start with the baby lambs, they are just your size."
Libby nodded her head solemnly. "Kay."
Quinn laughed and nodded her head while leading her daughter the short distance to the lamb pen. She released Rachel's hand so she could kneel down behind her daughter. She rested one hand lightly on Libby's arm, and the other on her shoulder, gently bracing the small girl while also providing moral support.
Noting the new arrivals, and knowing that new arrivals usually meant food, one of the tiny lambs had ambled over. Seeing the hesitation on her little girl's face Quinn rubbed her should gently and urged her arm gently forward. "Go ahead, it's okay to touch him."
Eyes wide Libby slowly extended her hand toward the small creature. When the lamb curiously nuzzled her hand to see if she was holding any of the food pellets that were usually offered she let out a surprised shriek and giggled, pulling her hand back.
"He licked me!" she exclaimed.
"He sure did. Why don't you try again." At her mother's urging Libby once again extended her hand, and again the small lamb nuzzled the toddler's palm. Emboldened the small girl cautiously raised her hand and patted the lamb firmly on the head.
Realizing that there was no food to be had the lamb turned away and went off in search of a new target. Libby frowned in disappointment and turned to face her mother. "Make him come back," she demanded.
"Why don't we let him visit some of the other kid's so they get a turn too, and go see one of the other animals," Quinn offered.
Libby considered the suggestion and finally nodded. "Okay. We go see a bigger one," she decided, having gained some courage from her recent success.
Quinn looked around and spotted the piglet pen nearby. "Want to go see the piggies?" she questioned as she bent forward nuzzled into toddler's neck, making playful snoring sounds.
Libby giggled wildly and tried to squirm away from her mother. "Stop momma, tickles," Libby cried out. Quinn relented and pushed herself to her feet. The small group made their way to the piglet pen, but Libby was deeply disappointed when she found out that she wouldn't be able to pet them.
Quinn was looking around for another animal for her daughter to interact with when she felt Rachel tap her on the shoulder. She followed where the woman was pointing and saw a pen that contained some alpacas. Nodding her head she leaned down to speak to her daughter.
"How about we go see those guys over there? They look kinda like big sheep." Libby craned her neck to see where her mother was pointing and nodded her head.
"I get to pet them?" Libby questioned.
Quinn nodded her head. "Sure do."
Seeing as the animals were taller than the baby sheep Quinn bent down and hoisted Libby up, resting her on one hip. Libby wrapped one arm around her mother's neck and extended the other toward the curious alpaca. She wrinkled her nose up and giggled again when it nuzzled her hand much like the sheep.
Much like the lamb the animal quickly lost interest when it realized that there was no food to be had. Libby's face fell as her new friend started to wander off, and she turned to her mother with a quivering lower lip.
"Momma he leave," she whined.
Quinn smoothed back her daughter's hair. "Well he has a lot of people to see baby girl."
"Make him come back!" The little girl demanded. Quinn sighed. She hadn't really thought to bring much cash with her to the zoo, and what little she had had on her she had used to buy lunch. She looked around for Brittany, thinking about asking her if she had some change for one of the nearby food dispensers, but saw her standing a small distance away in her own little world with Santana.
She hadn't even realized that Rachel had left her side until she suddenly felt the brunette tap her shoulder once again and present her with a small paper cone filled with the small brown food pellets. She smiled in thanks and turned to Libby.
"Look Libby, Rachel brought you some food pellets to feed the alpacas. What do you say?"
Libby looked at the smiling woman and held out her hand. "Give it," the little girl demand, anxiously wanting more interaction with the animals.
"Elizabeth Lucinda Fabray that is not how you talk to people when they're being nice to you. Do you want to leave right now?" Quinn scolded. Libby shook her head adamantly as she paid rapt attention to her mother. "Now apologize to Rachel?"
Libby looked to the other woman, her big brown eyes showing that she had been properly chastised for her rude behavior. "I sorry," she muttered, her eyes shining with unshed tears.
"It's okay, I know you're just a little anxious," Rachel explained, feeling bad for the little girl.
"Now what do you say?" Quinn asked a second time.
"Thank you," the curly head tot mumbled shyly.
"Thank you," Quinn told Rachel with a genuine smile and a little more convincingly than her two year had. "I promise she's not always this rude."
Rachel only nodded and gave a small smile to the mother and child duo.
"Okay, Libby hold out your hand like this." Quinn instructed the proper flat palm technique. When the little girl had correctly copied her mother's instructions, Quinn nodded her head. "Okay now make sure you keep your hand that way, we wouldn't want Mr. Alpaca to mistake your fingers for a food pellet."
Libby looked at her wide eyed and nodded her head. "Okay Rachel if you could just pour a small amount of food into Libby's hand." Quinn waited while Rachel did as instructed and then turned back to the animal pen.
The alpacas, having heard the telltale sound of food pellets in a paper cone, had wandered back over to investigate, and there was now a small group gathered around.
Libby eagerly extended her hand, careful to keep her palm flat like she had been instructed and squealed with delight when the hungry animals quickly crowded around and eagerly devoured the proffered food.
Her palm now empty she immediately turned and presented her hand to Rachel and silently demanded more. Rachel quickly refilled the girls hand and the procedure was repeated several more times. In just a few minutes the paper cone was empty, and Libby was frowning unhappily.
"Go get more," she demanded, staring at Rachel.
"Libby that is not how we ask for things," Quinn said with a frown, scolding her daughter once again for her lack of manners. "Now apologize to Rachel again," Quinn ordered.
"It's okay Quinn," Rachel dismissed the concern. "I can go get more pellets."
Quinn looked at Rachel with a shake of her head. "It's not okay. She needs to learn that she can't just demand things from people and expect to get them."
"Why not, Rachel does," Santana supplied finally rejoining the trio.
Rachel put her hands on her hips and turned to glare at her friend. "Santana I don't know why you must continue to paint me in the least flattering light possible. I am hardly as high maintenance and demanding as you like to make out…"
The diva's rant was prematurely interrupted by a wet smacking sound as a large gob of cud connected solidly with the side of her head. Quinn watched in horror as the globule slowly slid out of the other woman's hair, down her face, before finally falling to the ground with a plop.
Rachel froze, her words immediately cut short, and let out an unintelligible squawk. She slowly reached up to wipe at the side of her face, looking at her food smeared hand in disgust. Santana immediately doubled over in a fit of laughter, while Quinn handed Libby to Brittany and put a comforting hand on the shorter woman's shoulder.
"Oh my god, are you okay?" Quinn questioned in concern.
"Fine," Rachel replied, her voice tight.
"Hey Rachel," Santana spoke up walking toward the pair. "You have a little something on your face. Here let me help you with that. "With exaggerated slowness the Latina licked her thumb and reached forward, as if to use it to clean off the diva's face.
Rachel swatted her friend away irritated and with forced civility turned to Quinn. "While I have had a most enjoyable day thus far, I think it may be for the best if we called an end to our outing so that I may go home and properly clean up."
Santana nodded her head in agreement. "Good idea, no telling how many germs are transmitted in alpaca spit." Rachel stiffened her shoulders and clenched her jaw but otherwise made no indication of having heard her friend's jibe.
Quinn nodded readily. "That's fine; Libby is overdue for her nap anyway."
At hearing this, the toddler that had been laughing right along with the Latina froze and shook her head violently.
"I not sleepy! I want to stay at zoo."
Quinn looked at her daughter with a shake of her head. "Not gonna happen little girl, it's time to go so you can take a nap and Rachel can get cleaned up."
Libby crossed her arms defiantly and scowled at the brunette. "She go, we stay at zoo," Libby insisted.
Again Quinn shook her head. "Nope. We have to go home with Rachel." Quinn motioned toward the blonde that was holding Libby. "Now say good-bye to Brittany so we can get going."
At hearing that she was going to be parted from her beloved friend Libby pulled back and clutched the woman more tightly around the neck. "BB come with me!" Libby demanded.
"Sorry kiddo, Brittany needs to go back to her apartment, now say goodbye, you'll see her again soon," Quinn promised. Instead of complying, not that Quinn had really thought she would, the small brunette clung even more desperately to her tall friend.
"It's okay Libby," Brittany tried to soothe the upset child, "I promise I will come and visit you really soon."
Gently Brittany pried the small arms from around her neck and placed the girl on her feet. The child immediately made a move to wrap herself around Brittany's legs, but before she could establish a hold Quinn reached down and scooped up the reluctant toddler.
"BB no leave," Libby demanded, her lower lip starting to quiver.
Brittany shook her head in apology. "I have to go, but I will see you soon." Brittany leaned forward and offered her check to the upset girl. "Give me a kiss goodbye." Libby stubbornly refused and shook her head, crossing her arms across her chest and pulling away. Brittany smiled sadly and leaned away.
"Okay, well I'm going to go," Brittany said, turning away slightly. Quinn watched her friend pause and turn back after a few steps, wanting to see if Libby would change her mind, but the young girl remained staunch in her refusal. When it finally set in that Brittany was really leaving Libby began to fidget in her mother's grasp, trying to get down.
"We go with BB," she pleaded desperately. Quinn felt like the worst mother on the planet but she resolutely shook her head no, and started to walk off in the opposite direction, Rachel and Santana silently following. Almost immediately Libby began to cry loudly, not at all happy with the conclusion to the afternoon.
Santana paused after a few steps and motioned after the departing blonde. "I'm gonna go offer Brit a ride." The Latina made a hasty escape, clearly eager to escape the fussing child.
Quinn looked at Rachel and offered up a silently mouthed apology as Libby's wails started to increase in volume, the small girl starting to turn slightly hysterical. When she let out a piercing shriek Rachel turned her head and looked at the child in a measuring manner.
"While the pitch is definitely off, her ability to hold a sustained note is really quite impressive. Have you considered enrolling her in vocal lessons?"
Quinn considered Rachel for a moment before smile broke out on her face at Rachel's attempt to make light of the situation. "Let's go home."
