A/N - Hello! :) I had a wonderful follower ask about the name Jaxon. One of my best friends named her son Jaxon and I just loved the way she decided to spell it! I think the 'x' adds a badass-ness to the name.

Okay… Now… Who's ready for Rachel to see Jaxon for the first time?

Let's go…

Chapter 10 – The Park is a Little Boy's Castle

The family all jumped in the car and headed to the park. Jaxon was so excited as he stared out the window, grinning at all the passing cars and all the people walking along the road. It was a sunny day and he got to spend it with his three most favorite people in the world.

As soon as the SUV parked in an available space in the parking lot, Jaxon couldn't contain his excitement any longer. He tried desperately to unbuckle his seatbelt, ready to go play; but the problem was – he didn't know how to undo his seatbelt. Excitement quickly turned to frustration. "Get out, go play on slide!" he called out to whoever would listen as he tried to push his way out of his seat, but it was no use, he was strapped in good and tight.

Santana walked around the car and opened Jaxon's door. She swore the little boy was about to have a diva meltdown. "Mijo, calm down," she told him. "You have to hold still so I can unbuckle you."

Reluctantly he agreed. But as soon as he was free, he pushed out of his seat and jumped out of the SUV. His head whipped back and forth as he tried to determine where the slide was. It was only a moment before his eyes landed on the large play equipment, and his face lit up as he took off running.

"Jaxon!" Quinn called after him as she pulled the basket of food out of the back.

"It's okay, Quinn," Brittany told her. "I'll go with him." She took off jogging after the little boy.

Quinn found a nice spot in the grass under a large tree that, thankfully, would provide some shade on this very hot day. She spread out the blanket and pulled out Jaxon's toys. She decided to leave the food in the basket for a while, until they got hungry.

As soon as everything was set up, Santana headed over to her girlfriend and Jaxon at the slides.

Quinn pulled out a novel and leaned back against the tree, ready to just relax and read. She was so captivated by the story that she didn't notice someone sit down on the blanket in front of her. It wasn't until she felt a hand on her knee did she glance up.

"Holy shit!" she exclaimed, startled by the unexpected touch - but more by the person who touched her.

Rachel Berry smirked. "Hello, Quinn."

"Rachel! You scared me to death!" the blonde exclaimed, holding her book against her chest. But as the singer continued to grin, Quinn found that she began to relax and a smile slowly crept onto her face. "What are you even doing here?"

Still not removing her hand from Quinn's knee, Rachel said, "I was across the street at the music store and saw you sitting here. I thought I'd come over and say 'Hello'. So… Hello."

Quinn's smile quickly vanished when the sound of Jaxon's happy squeal reached her ears. She glanced over toward the playground and saw her son and best friends sitting in the sandbox making sculptures. Her heart jumped up into her throat at the realization that Rachel would see Jaxon. And that was the last thing she wanted to happen. "Uh… Hello to you too, Rachel. Now… goodbye. I'd hate to keep you from your plans," she said, trying to somehow get Rachel to leave.

Rachel tilted her head. "Are you trying to get rid of me?" she asked, a fake pout firmly in place. "Don't you want me to stay?" When the blonde didn't say anything she continued, "Quinn, don't you think it's strange that we hadn't seen each other for over three years, and now in the space of a month we've randomly ran into each other three times? I think it's fate telling us something."

Quinn's heartbeat quickened as her eyes roamed over Rachel's body. The singer was wearing short jean shorts, a dark green tank top that was covered by a thin white button down shirt, a pair of sneakers and a Yankee's baseball cap. She looked so hot. Quinn absentmindedly licked her lips, but then was pulled back to reality when she heard Rachel softly chuckle. She shook her head, willing her inappropriate thoughts to disappear. She hated that her emotions seemed to be going haywire. She didn't know if she should jump into Rachel's lap, or grab Jaxon and run away. "You, uh… you should go, Rachel," she said finally said.

"Why don't you want to see me, Quinn? I thought we could get together again, hang out, be friends," Rachel was honestly hurt by the rejection.

Quinn was about to answer when Jaxon picked that exact moment to run up to her, throwing his arms around her legs.

"Mama! Mama!" he exclaimed, bouncing on the balls of his feet. He pointed toward the sandbox. "See sand castle! Me, Tana and Britt-Britt make it!"

Quinn looked down at her son and combed her fingers through his messy hair. "You built a sand castle?"

"Uh huh! It big!" he said, spreading his arms apart as far as he could.

Quinn looked over at Rachel, and her heart dropped when she saw that the brunette was carefully watching the little dark haired boy. Quinn immediately felt nauseous. She couldn't believe this was happening and she needed to get Rachel to leave. "It was good seeing you again, Rachel," she told the singer as she took hold of Jaxon's hand and began walking away toward the sandbox.

But unfortunately, Jaxon had looked up and saw the brunette woman standing there. He tugged back on Quinn's hand as he smiled at the woman. "She pretty, Mama," he said shyly, keeping his eyes on Rachel. "Hi. I Jaxon."

Rachel stared wide eyed at the little brunette boy. Since the moment he'd crashed into Quinn's legs, she couldn't take her eyes off him. He looked vaguely familiar, but she just couldn't quite place it. She smiled down at him. "Hi, Jaxon. I'm Rachel." She looked back up at Quinn. "I didn't realize you already had a kid the first time we…" Rachel's voice drifted off.

Quinn shook her head, "I uh… I didn't. He's only three."

Quinn could see the wheels working overtime in Rachel's head as the two women stared at each other. Rachel broke eye contact first, looking down at the adorable little boy in front of her. "You're three?" she asked him, crouching down to look him in the eyes. She was startled when she saw his were a deep chocolate brown.

Jaxon nodded and held up three fingers. "I three. Mama says I big boy," he stated like it was a non-negotiable fact and someone was trying to take his age away from him. Then he turned and ran back over to the sandbox to be with his two aunts who were making sand sculptures shouting "Bye!" over his shoulder.

Brittany was happily making a unicorn, whereas Santana's creation was entirely inappropriate for the viewing eyes of children.

Rachel's heart pulled as she watched the small boy run back to his sand castle and kiss the two women on the cheek before plopping down in the sand next to them.

"He obviously knows those two," Rachel commented, watching the women interact with him. When there wasn't an answer, she turned back to look at Quinn.

Quinn looked away from Rachel's chocolate eyes - identical to her son's. Their son's. She took a drink from her water bottle, stalling for a few extra moments as she thought about what to say. She twisted the cap back on the bottle, clearing her throat before carefully answering, "Yeah. Those are my best friends, Santana and Brittany. They've practically lived with Jaxon and I since Jax was born, so he has a strong connection with them."

"Where is his father?" Rachel asked bluntly, her arms folded across her chest. Something just didn't feel right.

Taken aback by the singer's abrupt and harsh tone, Quinn's defenses instantly shot up. "That is not any of your business, Rachel," she replied, crossing her own arms.

"Obviously he isn't around since your two friends are helping you raise him. It must be hard."

Quinn had been in some stressful situations before in her life, but if she was able to make it out of this without suffering a heart attack, it would be a miracle.

When Quinn didn't answer, Rachel turned her gaze back to Jaxon playing in the sand. After a few awkward minutes, she sighed, relaxing her shoulders. "He's really cute, Quinn. He seems like a great kid." Quinn nodded. "Well… I, uh… I guess I better be going. I have a meeting in a few minutes anyway."

Quinn was silent as she watched Rachel turn and leave, but she didn't miss the sad expression on the singer's face. She groaned. She felt horrible for doing this to Rachel.

As Rachel headed toward the exit, she looked back over her shoulder at Quinn, then over to the little boy. Something felt different, but she just couldn't figure out what it was. It was like she was being pulled back toward Quinn and her son and she didn't understand why.

~~~~~QR~~~~~

After the family returned home and Jaxon was upstairs playing games with Brittany, Santana confronted her best friend. "Am I going crazy or was that Rachel Berry I saw you talking to at the park today?"

Quinn let out a sigh. "You're not crazy, it was her."

"The Rachel Berry? The one who knocked you up four years ago and then split?" she asked in disbelief.

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Yes, that Rachel Berry."

The Latina just stared back at her, waiting for an explanation. And when Quinn didn't respond, she prodded, "And?... What did she say? I can't believe she even recognized you."

Quinn took a deep breath. She'd never told her two best friends that it was Rachel she'd left the Halloween party with. She had just made up some random girl's name to give them. "Actually… I uh… I saw her a couple of days ago at the gallery. And I was just as shocked as you are that she even remembered me."

Santana's eyes were wide. "You saw her a couple days ago and you didn't say anything about it?"

"I knew if I brought her up, you'd want to have some deep discussion that night and I was too tired to endure that."

The Latina was hurt that her best friend felt she needed to hide something from her. She then reminded herself that Quinn was an adult, so she pushed down her annoyance and asked, "Why was she at your gallery?"

Quinn walked into the living room and fell down on the couch, suddenly exhausted. "She came in looking to get something for her mom's birthday. I think she was just as surprised to see me as I was to see her."

Santana sat down next to her, a smirk planted on her face. "So, did she convince you to have a little quickie in your office? Is that why you didn't tell me?" she asked with a wink.

Quinn looked at her in bewilderment. "Where in the hell did that come from?!"

"I was just pointing out that the hobbit is extremely good at getting girls in the sack. And seriously, Q, Jaxon doesn't need a sibling quite yet."

Quinn narrowed her eyes, she didn't appreciate Santana's sarcasm and it wasn't helping their conversation.

Santana just shrugged. "So you just helped her pick out a picture or something for her mom and then she just left? That's it?"

"Yeah, that's it," Quinn told her, hugging one of the couch pillows to her chest.

"So what did you guys talk about today? And how did she even find you?"

"She said that she saw me from across the street and wanted to come and say hi. And just my luck, Jaxon came over, and then she started asking me questions about him. She kept eying him pretty closely, and I was just waiting for her to say something about how he looked like a male mini-her."

"What kinds of things did she ask about?"

"Honestly… she was mostly curious about who Jaxon's father was," Quinn told her.

Santana raised her eyebrow. "Really? Wow. She's a lot smarter than I gave her credit for. It sounds like you better put your big girl panties on, Q, and tell her the truth soon."

Quinn sighed. She knew Santana was right. "She did leave me her phone number and said that she hoped we could be friends. But… I don't know if I can do that, San. I still have so many emotions swirling around inside me and…" She let out a frustrated breath. "I think it would be best for everyone if she just stayed out of our lives."

The Latina scoffed. "Bullshit, Q!"

Quinn's head snapped up, her eyes narrowing. "Excuse me?"

Santana's expression was dead serious. "I said bullshit, Quinn. You don't think I've known this entire time that you've been harboring feelings for the dwarf. She's never left your mind since the day Jaxon was conceived. You think I was that blind?"

Quinn sat shocked. "But… how?"

"Oh please," Santana rolled her eyes. "You're an open book, Blondie. You know you want Rachel in your life, you're just too damn scared to face up to your mistakes. And you know that eventually she will find out about Jaxon and when she does, she's going to be majorly pissed that you kept her son from her all this time. And I'm pretty sure she'd rather hear it from you than from some gossip magazine."

~~~~~QR~~~~~

It was close to noon when Mike walked into Quinn's office. He'd been watching his friend closely all day and could see that something was really bothering her.

"Okay, spit it out," Mike said as he flopped down on a chair across the desk from Quinn.

Quinn looked up from her paperwork. "Spit what out?" she asked, arching her eyebrow as she continued typing on her computer.

He rolled his eyes. "Oh give me a break, Quinn. I know you a lot better than that. Something is gnawing at you, and not just something small, something life changing. You're not pregnant again, are you?" he asked jokingly.

Quinn huffed out a laugh and leaned back in her chair. "Not that I know of."

"So then, tell me."

She licked her lips and her eyes darted around the room. "I saw Rachel Berry yesterday."

Mike's eyes widened. "Seriously?"

Quinn nodded. "San, Britt and I were at the playground with Jaxon and she saw me and came over to talk."

"Did she see Jax?"

"Yeah. He actually ran over and spoke to her," she said.

"He talked to her?" Mike asked surprised. "He never talks to people he doesn't know."

Letting out a soft chuckle and shaking her head, Quinn said, "I know. But he just looked at her, said hi and told her his name. She just kept watching him the whole time she was there. I think she knows something's… familiar about him."

"So what are you going to do?"

She took a deep breath, rubbing the tiredness out of her eyes. "I'm going to tell her. She deserves to know. I'm going to be honest and I'm sure she's going to be angry with me, and I don't blame her at all. But… I'm going to tell her straight out that if she wants to be in Jaxon's life, we'll have to talk about visitations and all that complicated stuff."

Silence filled the room.

"I can't believe I didn't tell her about her own son, Mike," she said, shaking her head. "What kind of a person does that?"

Mike stood up and pulled Quinn into a hug. "It's okay, Q. You did what you believed was right at the time. Rachel was a one night stand, you didn't know anything about her. She could've been a drug addict or something, for all you knew. You wanted to protect your son, and no one could fault you for that."

She let out a deep breath. "I hope Rachel sees it that way too," she murmured, already knowing that wasn't the reaction she was going to get.

~~~~~QR~~~~~

Later that night Quinn was still really nervous, but she'd pulled herself together after her talk with Mike and finally got up the courage to call Rachel.

She invited the singer out to dinner so they could get to know each other better. And Quinn was relieved when Rachel eagerly agreed.

When Rachel arrived at the Italian restaurant the following evening, she saw Quinn waiting for her at the bar. She smiled as her eyes raked over the blonde's exquisite body. She had no idea how anyone could possibly be so beautiful.

Quinn Fabray was the only person who'd ever taken her breath away.

Tonight Quinn was wearing a simple sleeveless black cocktail dress that stopped just above her knees. Her short blonde hair framed her face perfectly and Rachel's heart stopped when Quinn turned around and looked directly at her with those piercing hazel eyes.

That was all it took. In that precise moment, Rachel knew she was falling hard for Quinn Fabray. They barely even knew each other, but she could feel an intense connection between them.

Quinn smiled when she caught Rachel staring at her. It made her feel beautiful the way the brunette's eyes lit up when she saw her. She noticed that Rachel was wearing black skinny jeans and a short-sleeved stylish shirt that accentuated her assets - and they were very luscious assets.

She shook her head, willing those dirty thoughts out of her mind.

Rachel strolled over to the bar and kissed Quinn lightly on the cheek. "Thanks for inviting me," she whispered in the blonde's ear, causing chills to run up Quinn's spine.

"You're welcome."

Dinner was perfect. The food was delicious, the atmosphere was light and casual, the conversation and flirting was never-ending. They talked about everything from their likes and dislikes to sports to art to music. They had a lot of laughs but they also had serious conversations. It was just perfect.

Quinn was delighted and amazed at how much they had in common. They still had pretty opposite personalities, but they just seemed to fit together. And as dinner progressed and she learned more about the singer, the less she worried about telling her about Jaxon.

"How long have you owned the art gallery?" Rachel asked, taking a bite of her tortellini.

"Almost five years now."

"Really?" Rachel asked surprised. "Why did you decide to run one?"

Quinn took a sip of her wine. "I've always loved art. And while I was at Yale, I was able to work at one of the galleries close to campus. I just fell in love with the diversity of the local artists and gained a greater appreciation of how much emotion and story goes into a piece of art."

Rachel raised her eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I was able to meet a lot of the artists when they would bring their pieces in and several of them became good friends of mine, and still are to this day. I carry a lot of their works in my gallery. Anyway, we would become friends and they would tell me why they created a certain piece or what they were feeling during the artistic process. I found it fascinating. I just couldn't get enough of that environment."

Rachel could understand that, her being a songwriter and all. "So you decided to start a gallery of your own?"

Quinn nodded, taking another sip of her wine. "Yeah. My good friend, Mike, was also at Yale getting his masters degree in business and one night when I was telling him about all these incredible people I was meeting and mentioned to him that I thought it would be fun to be able to help them share their dreams and artwork with the world, he suggested that I start an art gallery. Of course I brushed the idea off at first. I was an art major, I had no idea how to start - let alone run - my own business. But after a while he convinced me, told me he would be my partner and handle the business side so I could just concentrate on the creative process that I loved. So I decided to minor in business so the entire weight of the financial side didn't fall on Mike's shoulders, and I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. People always teased me about majoring in art and minoring in business since they are pretty opposite of each other, but I loved it. I still do."

"Do you create your own artwork?" Rachel asked, intrigued.

Quinn blushed a little and looked down, concentrating on her plate. "I have a few pieces," she said shyly.

Rachel perked up. "Really? I would love to see them!"

Quinn shook her head. "No. I uh… I don't show them to anyone. They're not that good."

Rachel looked at her in disbelief. "Are you kidding? I'm sure they are fabulous. Come on, please?" she pleaded with puppy dog eyes that looked exactly like Jaxon's when he was wanting something.

Quinn couldn't help but giggle. "Maybe. We'll see."

Rachel grinned.

After dinner, Rachel didn't want their evening to end. She was enjoying her time with Quinn and wasn't ready to let her go just yet. "I would really like to continue our conversation," she said as they walked hand in hand out of the restaurant. "Would it be okay with you if we go to my place, have some more wine and talk?"

Knowing that going to Rachel's house would be a bad idea, Quinn surprised herself when she agreed anyway. Rachel beamed her mega watt smile and pulled the blonde over to her black Mustang.

Twenty minutes later, Quinn was gawking at the beauty of Rachel's house. It was large and tucked away in dense trees, away from any prying eyes.

"Your house is so beautiful. I uh… I didn't stop and appreciate its beauty the last time I was here," she said embarrassed, remembering the morning she ran away after their night together at Halloween.

Rachel actually looked a bit shy. "Well, yeah. I bought it after our last tour a few months ago. It's not too far from where my mom lives, so it works for me. I get to live close to her, but not too close. It's also big enough for my best friend, Cassie, who's staying here with me while her apartment is renovated."

Quinn's eyebrow arched at the mention of a friend living with the singer. "Is she here now?"

Rachel shook her head. "No. She's actually out of town for a few days visiting her brother. But even if she was in town, we're both so busy that we really don't see each other much anyway."

She escorted Quinn into the house and gave her a quick tour. Since Rachel hadn't lived in the house very long, most of the rooms were pretty bare, but she told Quinn that one of her friends, who was an interior designer, was going to get it all decorated and put together in the next few weeks. They soon ended up on Rachel's living room couch, laughing and drinking wine.

One funny story led to another, then it progressed to heavy flirting… and it wasn't long before they were making out like teenagers.

Quinn knew it was part lust, part attraction and a whole lot of wine. But she couldn't care less. She wanted Rachel. She needed to have her, if only for tonight. She knew that once Rachel found out the truth about Jaxon, the singer would more than likely never want to see her again.

Quinn's dress and bra were already somewhere on the floor, along with Rachel's bra and shirt. "I want to have sex with you, Rachel," Quinn panted as Rachel's mouth covered her breast, sucking and licking perfectly to her delight.

Rachel's arousal soared, her erection becoming painfully hard. "Anything you want, babe," she growled. She pushed Quinn down onto the couch and began to unbutton her own pants.

The wine swirled in Quinn's head. She knew this was wrong. She knew the night of the Halloween party was wrong. But this was so much worse. Now she was just playing with Rachel's emotions. She really really wanted to be with Rachel, but she knew she needed to tell her about Jaxon before they could possibly go any further in their relationship.

"Rach?" Quinn murmured as the singer tossed her pants on the ground and crawled back on top of her. Quinn moaned as she felt the delicious pressure of Rachel's lady cock as it strained against the brunette's boxers and rubbed on her thigh. "Rachel?" Her mouth was then covered as the singer kissed her passionately. She reached up and pushed on Rachel's shoulders to get her attention. "Rachel!"

Rachel snapped out of the thick fog of lust at the urgency in Quinn's voice. "W-What? A-Are you okay?" she asked, concern heavy in her voice as she stared down at the goddess beneath her. Clearly seeing emotional pain and conflict in Quinn's eyes, she quickly sat up.

"Rachel, I can't do this," Quinn murmured. She sat up and took the brunette's hand in hers, squeezing it gently to let Rachel know that she hadn't done anything wrong.

"I'm sorry. I… I thought you wanted to."

Quinn let out a puff of air, chiding herself. "I do, Rach. So badly. I want to make love to you… but…"

"But what?" Rachel asked when Quinn trailed off.

Staring into soft warm brown eyes, Quinn's heart broke. Her heart broke over her lies and her guilt and the pain she was going to put Rachel through. "But, I need to tell you something before we can go any further."

Rachel watched her closely, trying to read the pain behind her eyes. "Okay. Um… you can tell me anything, Quinn. You know that, right?" she asked, entwining their fingers together, making sure Quinn felt their connection.

The blonde nodded, but tears started rolling down her cheeks.

Rachel panicked. "Oh, baby. It's okay, please don't cry," she said, pulling Quinn into her lap and holding her.

"I'm such an asshole, Rachel. And you're going to hate me," Quinn whispered. She needed to get out of there. She didn't deserve Rachel's comfort and concern. She pushed out of the singer's lap and quickly began gathering up her clothes.

Shocked at the sudden change, Rachel couldn't move from the couch. "How could I possibly hate you, Quinn?" she asked, desperate not to let the girl leave her again. "Please. I want to be with you." She jumped up and grabbed Quinn's hands, turning the blonde to face her. Gazing into sad hazel eyes, she was sure her own eyes mirrored just as much emotion. "I don't want you to leave, Quinn. Please stay… I want us to be together. I know we haven't known each other long, but… I want to be with you."

I am the biggest bitch in the world, Quinn thought to herself as she saw the pleading and love shining so obviously in Rachel's eyes. "Oh, Rach. I would love to with you…" The diva's eyes lit up, but then the blonde continued, "… but… after I tell you… I know you'll change your mind."

"Please, just tell me, Quinn. No matter what it is, we can get through it together. I know we can." Rachel was surprised by the vulnerability she was showing, by how much she was opening her heart up to this woman. She'd never even come close to loving someone as much as she did Quinn. And it was scary, but it felt right.

Quinn bit her lip and stared up at the ceiling. She was a coward. She couldn't do it. "I uh… I can't tell you tonight; I just can't… not tonight. But… meet me tomorrow night at 6 for dinner and… and I'll explain then."

Rachel swallowed the lump in her throat, relieved that Quinn still wanted to see her… be with her. "Okay. Tomorrow. Can I bring you anything?"

A small smile touched Quinn's lips. "No. It will just be low key; you, me and Jaxon at my house. I'll text you the address."

The diva was surprised at the mention of Quinn's son. "Jaxon? He'll be there?"

The blonde nodded. "Yeah. He'll be there."

Rachel smiled. "Okay. That sounds good. I look forward to meeting him again."

Quinn bit her bottom lip, praying everything would go well.

~~~~~QR~~~~~

A/N - Let me know your thoughts!