Disclaimers: Glee is not mine.
Spoilers: All of season two. AU.
Summary: Fluffy flashback!
Thank you all so much for favoriting/reviewing! My appreciation for it knows no bounds. :D
Quinn laid on her stomach on the thick blue carpeting, typing away on her laptop while she translated the latest data from Jonah into a bare bones article they'd planned to submit to the Journal of American Medicine. Their research was coming along nicely with continued progress, if it was a bit slow going at times. It was harder for her lately. Having been out of the lab for a few months then diving back in six weeks ago was unplanned and she was still adjusting. She'd like to say her brief vacation was restful, but no. The first month was an unseasonably humid September. It was uncomfortable, spent mostly in bed, and left her feeling more stuffed than a Thanksgiving turkey. The rest of it was sleep deprived, loud, and stressful. Despite these few downsides (plus Josh's occasional bouts of jealousy and increased possessiveness of his mama), the Fabray-Berry household had taken up permanent residence on cloud nine.
A shrill but not entirely unhappy squeal to her left brought a small smile to her face and she turned, looking at the source. She saved her work and powered down the computer then twisted, resting on her side and propping her head in her right hand. The other reached to splay over the belly of the miniature person next to her. She covered it; the width of her palm and the length of her fingers surpassed the rounded stomach and chest as she rubbed in circles. "Hi baby."
Dark, clear eyes stared up a the brightly colored shapes dangling from the crossbar mobile above the fabric floor mat the child was lying upon. He wasn't the biggest fan of tummy time, but he loved lying on his back and watching the plushy, imaginative Dr. Seuss creatures hanging down before him. At nearly five months old, Daniel was a pretty tranquil baby. No, cuddling never lasted long, and he'd rather sit facing away from whomever was holding him, if he was in the mood to be held at all. But he loved to laugh and peek-a-boo was the greatest thing in the world to him. He didn't babble like his brother had, but if there was one thing she'd learned in her time as a pediatrician it was that each baby was different from the rest, siblings included. But he loved his mama's voice. He may not have initially responded with turns of his head or fidgeting his body to get closer, but he calmed and would settle to the sound of it if an irritable temperament presented. Even if unhappy tears were rolling down the round hills of his cheeks, all Rachel had to do was sing and he was as golden as the flecks in his eyes.
They were a rich brown to match the mess of hair so dark it was nearly black. It curled everywhere. There were frizzy kinks at the back of his neck, and whirly ringlets encompassed the rest of his head, some already long enough to dance over his forehead. He was so soft, too. The bumps of baby acne he'd had as a newborn were gone and the smooth skin was now only decorated by a single, miniscule mole on his right cheek. It mirrored his mama's perfectly, as did his tan complexion and lengthy ebony lashes.
Quinn smiled at his sporadic gurgles. Although she and her wife had no plans to ever find out for sure, she knew their son wasn't genetically hers. Put him next to Joshy and it was obvious they were brothers, being from the same donor and all, but nothing about him was Fabray-ic.
She'd felt it from the beginning of the pregnancy. While the self-proclaimed psychic diva was guaranteeing another boy, Quinn had been convinced from the get-go that, son or daughter, this baby was her wife's. Carrying him had been so different than carrying Josh. She loved them the exact same — which was infinite — but there was an added thrill knowing she had Rachel'schild growing inside her because she was keeping her promise: she was having Rachel's baby.
A spit bubble popped and a gummy grin appeared beneath her. Danny looked up at her and kicked his feet in the air. Quinn was absolutely charmed. "Hey sweet boy."
He actually tilted his head at the sound while he angled his body to raise his legs in the air. His hearing was fine, he was just developing a very determined personality that seemed to be a little single-minded so far and didn't consistently react to speaking voices. Sing to him though, and he was all ears. Infant hands grabbed infant feet and Daniel curled like a potato bug as he rocked side to side, very much a happy baby.
"You know they named a yoga position after that?"
Daniel tried to eat his foot.
"Yes, you're ahead of the curve. Doing yoga before you can even sit up properly. Very modern. Maybe I'll stop pumping so we can switch your bottles to Starbucks or those gross kelp smoothies your mama drinks for when I'm at work. What do you think of that, boychick?" She tickled his belly and her soul carried away on his laugh. Nothing in the world made her feel as light and whole as hearing her children laugh. Except for Rachel. Her wife's laugh, so big and carefree, was definitely up there, too.
Daniel rolled back and forth, his direction switching to the side of whichever foot he was trying to shove in his mouth. Quinn frowned; his nose was running again.
As a doctor, she was used to bodily fluids from children. As a mother, she honestly didn't notice it much. She wiped away the viscous discharge with the cuff of her sleeve and pondered it a little. It wasn't a cold. He was too mild-mannered right now for it to be that, and so he certainly wasn't cranky enough to have an ear infection. She'd checked him again for one this morning anyway. He'd been more interested in her stethoscope, however, while Dr. Fabray examined her son. Playing with him, she'd swung it above him like a pendulum, using it to test his tracking just for the hell of it. If she had to, she'd say he already had the 20/20 vision most other children achieved at six months of age. Chances were he'd retain it well into adulthood just like Rachel. His brother, however… Quinn shook her head. They'd be lucky if Josh wasn't walking into walls by the age of twelve. Poor kid. Early adolescence would not be kind to him. However, she had faith Daniel would come out relatively unscathed. His mama was gorgeous, and he was already following in her footsteps.
The nonsensical sounds continued in their angelic, garbled strands. "Aww, you singing, baby?"
Kinda like whalesong, babysong was a language all its own.
"I like your song, Daniel." Quinn's lips twitched into a grin. "You have lots of songs, do you know that?"
More spit bubbles frothed like ocean foam.
"It's true. There's one very special one, too. In fact, it's how you got your name because your mama's crazy like that."
Danny furrowed his forehead and Quinn smoothed her fingertips over the wrinkles before tracing along his cheeks. The infant released his feet and captured her finger, staring at it with curious eyes. Then he took it into his mouth and gnawed away like a puppy with a chew toy.
"Are you hungry or just playing?" She glanced at her watch on the same hand. Feeding time was close enough, she supposed. The mother tugged her finger away and her son's cry pierced her ears. Definitely hungry. "Got it, thanks."
Feeding him as they were, lying down like this, occurred to her but she ultimately decided against it. He was too wiggly today and she really didn't feel like cleaning breast milk out of the carpet if he pulled away too quickly mid-snack. No, she'd rather wash her shirt or maybe even a burpcloth when that happened. If only one day he'd actually get the burpcloth instead of her.
"How come you never spit up on Mama, huh? It's always me." Quinn stood up and stretched. She grabbed the Boppy — an invention more genius and crucial to humanity than everything other than penicillin — off the floor. In her world, the only people who deserved more thanks than the fine manufacturers at the Boppy company were Louis Pasteur, Thomas Edison and Steve Jobs. She tossed the crescent shaped pillow to the couch and unbuttoned her shirt while the baby voiced his displeasure at being kept waiting. "I hear you, I hear you."
Her breasts felt fuller than they had three minutes ago. The wonders of the human body and its primal responses to certain stimuli. She swooped him up like a hawk catching a mouse, but lovingly so, not in a "hey I'mma gon eatchu" kind of way seeing as how the circumstance was rather the opposite.
"And here I was all excited to come home and see you stripping."
Quinn looked away from her son to see Rachel shedding her coat and walking into the living room. The doctor cocked an eyebrow then rolled her eyes, mentally rejoicing that her wife still found her attractive even though not all the pregnancy weight was gone yet. Insecurity about her body still endured from a childhood primarily spent overweight, so knowing Rachel wanted her, thin or bloated like an inflatable pool toy (that couldn't float), was ego-boosting and encouraging. However, she was still getting rid of the baby weight as soon as possible. An existence as miserable little Lucy Caboosey was not something Quinn ever wanted to be subjected to or consider ever again. Moving to sit with her back propped against the arm of the couch and drawing up her knees, she maneuvered Boppy and baby until they rested comfortably, tucking in for feeding time. The fact that it hid her bit of a paunch was more than a bonus. "Sorry to disappoint, Rach."
The actress laid her coat on the far end of the sofa then tilted back her wife's face back and dropped a kiss on Quinn's mouth. "You never disappoint. Besides, if it's in the name of feeding our son then I guess I can let it go." She teased the point of her tongue across the blonde's lips then smiled. "For now."
The two shared another kiss hello, slow and sensual. Quinn shivered and opened for just a little bit more of her wife's taste. Then Daniel bit down.
She cursed into Rachel's mouth and pulled back. "Really, Danny? Really?" He didn't even have teeth but it was like a damn piranha was at her nipple.
"And how is our little vampire today?" The diva took care to keep her voice soft.
"Bitey. How was the read-through?"
"Bitchy. When is Joshua coming home?"
Quinn's face was both serious and excited. "San called and said since he was "so chill and not crampin' mah style too much," she wouldn't mind if he stayed for a while. I heard the Imperial March playing in the background so I'm pretty sure it's going to be a tía y sobrino bonding marathon for the rest of the weekend."
Rachel's jaw plummeted, her eyes wide. "She's keeping him the whole weekend?"
The blonde nodded. "So she said."
"Santana Lopez is a saint."
"Aaaaaand I'm pretty sure you just triggered the Apocalypse," the doctor said, only half kidding.
Rachel stuck her tongue out then asked, "What do you want for dinner?"
Hazel eyes turned playful and Quinn mmhmmmed. "Can you come around from behind the couch?"
"Okay... Why?"
"So I can see what I want for dinner."
The diva huffed and leveled Quinn with a good-humored glare. "You eat real food and keep that boy healthy…" She came around to stand behind the woman sitting on the couch, staying out of sight before leaning down and nibbling a sensitive, fair-skinned ear lobe. "And I'll give you whatever you want."
The blonde groaned and her head fell back. Rachel planted a few quick kisses to her neck then rested her chin on Quinn's exposed shoulder as they both watched their son eat his dinner.
"He's perfect."
"He is."
"He's ours."
"Yeah. He really is."
They were quiet for a while, content to gaze on in awe at the little boy suckling away. When it came time to switch breasts, Rachel climbed over the arm of the couch and trapped herself between it and Quinn's body.
"Lean back, baby."
Quinn complied, sinking into the warmth. The heat and pressure from the shorter woman made feeding comfortable instead of merely tolerable. They locked together, watching yet to close brown eyes haze over and become heavy. The nursing mother turned her head to nuzzle into her wife's neck, and Rachel slid an arm around to help cradle Daniel's head in one hand while the other threaded through the blonde's long hair.
"People smile and tell me I'm the lucky one…"
Quinn relaxed a little more, readily submerging herself in the peace of the moment as Rachel continued singing. Daniel was fighting sleep, but his mama was clearly making it difficult to stay awake. She, too, was falling victim to the lulling melody. So she closed her eyes and let the sweet voice take her away.
"And in the morning when I rise, you bring a tear of joy to my eyes and tell me ev'ry thing… is gonna be all right." Tender lips pressed to Quinn's temple and warm breath ghosted over her ear. "Yeah, it's gonna be all right."
The tired woman sighed, feeling the blessed, breathy snore against her breast. Their little boy was out. Her movements were slow as she shifted him to rest on her shoulder. His head nestled with hers and Rachel's, and she gently rubbed her hand over his back. "See Danny?" she whispered, tucking further into her wife and experiencing serenity in its purest form. "I told you you had a song."