Quinn held Beth's hand as they walked up to the impressive looking house. She had dressed Beth in a navy-blue party dress leaving her long hair blonde hair down. She had changed her own outfit at least five times. She had eventually settled on her red geojacuard print fit and flare dress. She hoped it had the right balance of being dressy enough but not too revealing. The only parent she had ever met was Puck's Mom when she was 16 and pregnant. She felt like a silly teenager being so nervous, but she couldn't help it.
As if sensing her nerves Beth squeezed her hand back and gave her a big smile. Quinn pulled herself together. If her 9-year-old could hold it together then she needed to.
Quinn knocked on the door. A beautiful older looking woman with her hair in an impressive updo opened the door.
"Hello" Quinn greeted her with a smile.
Antonio appeared in the doorway. He had spotted Quinn from across the room.
"Mom" He said appearing beside the older woman "This is Quinn and her daughter Beth, Quinn this is my Mother Camila"
"It's very nice to meet you" Quinn smiled.
"It's nice to meet you too" Camila replied with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Excuse me I need to check on the caterers"
"Come on in" Antonio told her taking her coat. "You look beautiful"
"Thank you" She replied as he kissed her cheek conscious of the fact that Beth was there.
"And you must be Beth" Antonio said smiling at the smaller version of Quinn "I'm Antonio, it's nice to meet you"
"Hi" Beth said with a bright smile "My mom's really nervous, but she's been smiling all day"
"Really?" He laughed "Well I was a little nervous too, but I'm glad I got to meet you"
"Are you really a detective?" Beth asked.
"I am" He replied with a smile.
"So, you catch bad people?" She asked
"I try to" He told her.
"That's cool" She said with a smile.
"Come on honey, take your coat off" Quinn said.
Antonio took it from her and hung it up by the front door.
"That is a very pretty dress" Antonio told her earning himself another beaming smile.
Beth looked over to the living room and saw a group of children around her age playing games.
"Mom can I go and play?" Beth asked.
"Wow she's not shy, is she?" Antonio laughed.
"Not even a little bit" Quinn smiled "You can if you want to sweetie"
"Come on and I'll introduce you to everyone" Antonio told her.
Quinn smiled as he took Beth over to his cousins and second cousins as well as friends' children. He obviously came from a big close family. Quinn was a little sad that Beth didn't have anything like that. She watched as he sat with Beth joining in the conversation about whatever they were playing. Just relaxed and being silly. It was probably the most attractive he had ever looked, just relaxed being the family man that he was.
"Hi" Eva said shyly coming over to her.
"Hi Eva" She said warmly.
"My Dad told me you're dating" Eva said.
"Are you ok with that?" She asked worrying how Eva was taking the news "I know it might be a little strange for you"
"What do I call you?" Eva asked
"Well we're not at school so you can just call me Quinn if you want to" She told her.
"Can I still talk to you now?" Eva asked.
Eva had confided in Quinn a lot over the year. She would hate it if Eva felt like she couldn't do that anymore.
"If we're in school or not you can still talk to me" She reassured her "Same rules as school, as long as you're not in any danger or it's something effecting your health, whatever you tell me stays between us"
"Then I don't mind" Eva told her "But don't you think my dad's a little old"
Quinn giggled as Eva wrinkled her nose.
"No, I don't" She laughed before pointing out her daughter "That's my little girl Beth, I know she'd really like to meet you"
Quinn smiled shaking her head as she walked over with Eva. Antonio had only intended to introduce Beth to the kids her age and then come back to Quinn. But Beth had him joining in with their game of charades.
"Hey Beth honey I think maybe Antonio has to go and talk to some other people" She told her gently.
"Ok" Beth shrugged with a smile.
"I want to introduce you to someone" She told her.
Beth told her new friend to wait for her. Quinn really admired how Beth could just settle in anywhere. She had no idea how she did it.
"This is Eva" She said introducing Antonio's daughter "Eva this is my daughter Beth"
"You have really pretty hair" Beth told her with a smile.
"Thanks" Eva laughed "So do you, can I be on your team?"
Beth nodded taking hold of Eva's hand and letting her join in their game.
Antonio put an arm around Quinn's waist and pulled her in to kiss her cheek. He took her hand lacing his fingers through hers and led her through into the hallway where the most amazing Christmas tree she had ever seen was standing.
"Wow" She said looking up at it "Your parents go all out"
"Every year" He nodded with a smile "Wait 'til you meet my crazy aunt and my sister"
He walked over to the bar that had been set up and got a bottle of beer for himself and a glass of wine for Quinn.
"Eva came around" She said with a smile.
"I didn't doubt it" He replied "Beth is a character"
"She's something" Quinn laughed "She's just perfect"
"She looks like you" He said with a smile.
Quinn lit up when she talked about her daughter. She was always beautiful but when she was around her daughter she was so full of pride and love she had an extra sparkle about her.
"Where's Diego?" Quinn asked taking a sip of wine.
Antonio led her to the library where Diego was playing chess with Antonio's father. Who was losing badly.
"Hey" Antonio greeted them.
"Well hello" Antonio's dad said standing up with a smile "You must be Quinn, I'm Ramon"
"Nice to meet you Mr. Dawson" She said shaking his hand.
"Ramon" He corrected pulling her into a hug.
"Ok Ramon" She laughed pulling back.
It was a much warmer welcome than she had received from Camila.
"You must be Diego" She said turning to the younger boy who was sat at the chess table.
"Hi" Diego said simply.
Quinn could tell it would take Diego a little time to warm up to her. She knew from Eva that he was struggling being away from his Mom, so it must be hard to meet his Dad's girlfriend.
"You looked like you would have beaten your Grandfather in five moves" She commented "Maybe we can have a game sometime"
"Three" Diego corrected her "You play?"
"Not for a long time" She replied with a smile "It would be nice to give it a go"
"You play chess?" Antonio asked.
"I was more than just a cheerleader" She laughed.
"You were that annoying perfectionist girl" He laughed.
"No that was Rachel Berry" She said shaking her head "I was a close second"
Quinn waved to Ramon and Diego as Antonio took her to go and find his sister. She knew that Gabriela was who Antonio was closest to out of everyone in his family, outside of his kids. She peeked through to the living room where Eva doing Beth's hair in some pretty clips. She smiled at them.
Gabriela was with her fiancé Matt Casey who was a lieutenant at fire house 51. She was a beautiful woman with shoulder length brown hair and big dark eyes. She was wearing an amazing little black dress that made Quinn feel like she hadn't made enough effort with her own dress.
"Gabby" Antonio said pulling his sister into a hug, before turning to shake Matt's hand "Matt"
"Tonio it's good to see you" Gabby said "You must be Quinn"
"Hi" She said with a smile a little overwhelmed at the number of people she was meeting, introducing her family would take seconds. "Antonio's told me a lot about you"
"He talks about you all the time" Gabby told her "So does Eva, it's nice to finally put a face to the name"
"You talk about me?" She asked raising an eyebrow.
"Quinn this, Quinn that "Gabby nodded "So amazing, so beautiful…."
"Ok that's enough" Antonio laughed "I don't talk that much"
"Eva does say you're her favourite teacher" Gabby told her sincerely "She's excited about something new she's writing every time I see her"
"She's so talented" Quinn nodded "She'll be off at an ivy league school and winning awards before you know it"
"You think so?" Antonio asked surprised, they had never spoken much about Quinn as Eva's teacher.
"Absolutely" She replied "She could already put my Yale application letter to shame and she's a freshman"
"Is that your little girl?" Gabby asked pointing to the little blonde twirling around.
"Yeah that's Beth" She said with a smile.
"She's adorable" Gabby told her "We should all go out for dinner one night, get to know you properly"
"You don't have to" Antonio told her.
"I'd love to" She replied.
Quinn and Gabby spoke for a little longer. Quinn thought she was a warm and funny person. She had a little of the Santana Lopez fire and confidence about her but was nowhere near at loud or crazy. She thought that Matt was a sweet guy and it was so obvious how much he adored Gabby. Quinn checked in with Beth who was having the time or her life. She made Eva promise not to spend too much time with Beth if it was a little much for her. Eva assured her that they were fine. It was obvious they were becoming fast friends.
Antonio decided to take Quinn to see the garden. He got her coat from the coat rack and took her through to the kitchen.
"He's just parading this new blonde around" Camila spat
"She's a nice girl" Ramon told her.
"A girl her age, not married with a child" Camila said "Antonio shouldn't even be divorced, this is all wrong"
"He's an adult Camila, he can make his own decisions" Ramon replied. "They're happy"
"She gets a man with a good job to take care of her, why wouldn't she be happy" Camila said "He's catholic, in gods' eyes he's still married"
Quinn froze in the door way. She tried to pull back, but Antonio didn't let go of her hand.
"Mom" He said angrily walking into the kitchen.
Quinn felt mortified. All she wanted to do was leave, not be a part of some confrontation.
"Please Antonio" She said "I should just go"
"No" He said "We're together and this is the happiest I've been in a long time; everyone is just going to have to get on board with that"
"Quinn we're happy you're here" Ramon tried.
"Laura and I were miserable" Antonio told his Mother "We've been over for a long time; you need to move on too"
There was so much Quinn wanted to say to defend herself. But she didn't want to get into an argument with Antonio's mother.
"It's getting a little late" She said to Antonio "I'm going to take Beth home"
"Quinn…"Antonio started.
She turned to Antonio's parents and cut him off.
"Mr. and Mrs. Dawson, thank you for having us over this evening" She told them politely "You have a lovely home, I hope you enjoy the rest of your night"
She would not lose any of her class and dignity. She would not get upset and cry and she would not get angry and shout.
Antonio followed her into the hallway and pulled her into the empty library.
"Antonio" She sighed.
"You don't have to go" He told her "She shouldn't have said any of that"
"It's fine" She lied looking down.
"Quinn look at me" He said lifting her chin "I want you here, you mean so much to me, please don't think anything different"
"They're your family" She sighed not seeing how to move past his mother hating her. Not when he was so close to his family.
"My family love you" He told her.
She raised an eyebrow. Part of her wished she could just not take it so personally. Quinn was catholic. She understood those values. Especially since Antonio and Laura had been together for 15 years. But it was hard to not be given a chance. To be seen as some gold-digger when she had worked so hard to support her own family alone.
Antonio could see she was about ready to bolt out of the door.
"I love you" He told her.
"What?" She asked in disbelief.
"I know it's soon" He told her "But I know what I feel, and I know that I don't want to lose you, you make me happy"
Quinn had a few boyfriends over the years. She had even thought she'd loved some of them. The older she got she realized she hadn't, not really. But Antonio made her feel the way no one else had, not in a long time. He made her feel beautiful, confident and like she was special and worth something.
"I love you too" She said softly.
He put his hands on her waist pulling her to him. He gently lifted her chin and kissed her softly. A cough at the door made them both jump. Camila was stood in the doorway.
"Quinn could I speak to you please?" She asked.
"Mom" Antonio warned her.
"It's fine" She told him and turned to Camila "Of course Mrs. Dawson"
"Could you give us a minute?" Camila asked Antonio.
He looked like he had no intention of leaving the room.
"Could you check on Beth for me?" Quinn asked him.
He nodded slowly and left the room.
Camila took a seat on the oversized armchair and gestured for Quinn to do the same. Quinn took a seat resting her hands in her lap.
"I'm sorry" Camila told her.
Quinn could tell that it wasn't easy for her to say.
"Antonio was married for a long time and he's your son" She replied "I understand that it must be hard and you're protective over him"
"Are you a person of faith?" Camila asked her.
"I am" She smiled "Catholic"
"I know things are different now" Camila said "In my day you made your bed you could lie in it, I want to be happy that Antonio is happy, it's an adjustment"
"I love your son" Quinn told her "I don't want to jump into something I didn't think was worth it, I wouldn't put my daughter through that. I'm not looking for someone to take care of us, it's been just the two of us for 9 years"
"That must have been hard" Camila said.
"Beth has an amazing father who looks out for her" Quinn replied "But no it wasn't always easy"
"Can you forgive me?" Camila asked.
Quinn had been well and truly hurt by the comments that had been made. But she didn't want things to work with Antonio. Hating his Mother wouldn't be the best start to this new step in their relationship. She may not see eye to eye with Camila, but this could be a good start for them.
"Of course," She told her.
Camila went back to spend time with her guests and Quinn went to find Antonio. He looked nervous while he sat with Eva and Beth. Beth was talking happily completely oblivious to the atmosphere. Eva on the other hand could sense that there was something wrong with her Dad. Quinn sat down beside them. Antonio searched her eyes trying to figure out if she was going to leave, not just the party but him. Quinn took his hand lacing their fingers together. She didn't say a word about the conversation with his mother. Instead she turned to the girls.
"Beth Puckerman" She said with a smile "Who did that beautiful braid?"
"Eva" Beth replied happily "She's so good with hair"
"What game are we playing?" She asked ready to put the earlier events aside.
