Chapter 14:

"How was it?" Taylor asked from her seat on the sofa when Quinn walked in, using her own key this time.

"It was okay." Quinn replied, tossed her keys into her purse, her purse on the floor and then walked quickly to plop down next to Taylor, who didn't look up from her computer.

"Don't think I didn't notice how you did that all nonchalantly, but secretly, you're really excited that you just walked in our front door."
Quinn laughed and rested her head on Taylor's shoulder as the laptop was closed.

"It was obvious, huh?"

"That you missed me and couldn't wait to get home to me? Yeah." She turned, forcing Quinn to lift her head. "Did you have fun?"
"Yeah, it was nice. Rachel and Jesse filled me in on the Broadway world and her run for a Tony and Santana was there and-"
"Santana was there?"

"I knew she was going to be there. I should have told you, but I wanted to talk to her about… everything I guess and it went well. She's feeling better, I think and I told her about us and me staying and she said she's okay with her and I just being friends and that she was going to be nice to you, but I wouldn't get your hopes up. She's not really nice to anyone."

"So, you guys have made up?"

"I guess. We'll see how it goes. I'm not really one for ultimatums, but I basically gave her one."
"What do you mean?"

"I told her I didn't want to have to choose between the two of you, but that I couldn't be around her if she was going to keep acting how she's been acting."

"What really happened that night in your room? I know she tried to kiss you, but that can't be all of it for how you've been acting." Taylor put the laptop on the table and turned toward Quinn.

"She did try to kiss me, but yeah, there's more, but it doesn't matter, Tay."

"It does to me." She shrugged her shoulders.

"You've guessed it already then." Quinn rested her head on her hand and her elbow on the back of the couch. "She suggested she and I should be together."

"Even though she just got married to someone else."
"Yeah, but she knows it can't happen now. She's trying to get over what happened with Brittany and she knows I'm with you."
"That last part doesn't really seem to bother her that much."

"And that's why I went to talk to her tonight. I wanted her to understand that you and I are serious and she needs to back off and she got it."

"But she's still into you?"
"Taylor, I can't control how someone else feels about me."
"No, I know. It's just it can be hard to hear. How would you feel if my best friend was in love with me and we were hanging out all the time?"
"Well, considering I haven't met your best friend, I don't really know."

"Don't be like that. You know how it would feel and you haven't met her because she lives in New Hampshire. Her name is Charlie and we've known each other forever, just like you and Santana and you can meet her the next time she's in town or when we go to New Hampshire someday."

"We're going to New Hampshire?" Quinn questioned with a sudden need to take a deep breath.

"Someday, yeah. It's where I grew up. Don't you want to take me to Ohio?"

Quinn took that deep breath and then snapped out of it.

"God no. If I could avoid going back, I would."

"Didn't I hear Rachel say the other night that you guys go back like every other week or something?"

Quinn laughed.

"We used to, but that's over. I really only plan to go back to visit my family."

"Well, I'd like to visit your family one day then." She lay down on Quinn's lap and Quinn hung her free arm over her body. "I appreciate you talking to Santana about us."

"I'm sorry I had too. I honestly had no idea this was going to happen."
"Which part?"
"Huh?" Quinn looked down at her.

"Me or her?"
"Both. I thought I'd come to New York, do the work and go back home to my summer class. I didn't think anything would happen here beyond me meeting my internship requirement."

"And now?"
"Now, I have a girlfriend, which is… crazy and I have a best friend that is going through a very difficult time and may be just transferring her misplaced feelings onto me."
"Do you really think that's what it is?"

"You're the grad student. You tell me." Quinn told herself to calm down and started playing with Taylor's hair.

"I think it would be wrong to dismiss them as genuine. She may be going through something right now, but that doesn't mean her feelings for you aren't real. I guess the question I have for you is did you ever return them?"

Quinn stopped playing with Taylor's hair.

"Yes."

"Do you still?"

"I'm with you."

"But do you have feelings for her too? You kissed her before you and I got together."

"I don't know what I feel for her right now."

Taylor sat up, turned and faced her.

"Would I be wrong in asking you not to hang out with her alone? I don't want to be this person, but-"

"You don't trust me?"

"I trust you, but I don't trust her."

"I can't guarantee I won't ever be alone with her."
"Not ever. Just until she moves on or finds someone else."

"That might take a while. Brittany really did a number on her."
"Apparently so did you, Quinn." She paused and then took Quinn's hand in both of her own. "It would just make me feel better. We're still so new, Quinn. You and I. We're just starting out and things are already complicated."

"I know. I won't see her without you."
"I don't want to be a chaperone. I just would feel better if you two…"

"Had a chaperone?" Quinn laughed.

"Yeah, God this is so stupid. I'm sorry. You're right. I trust you."

"It's okay. I'll make sure someone else is there. Rachel or Kurt and Blaine or that we meet in a public place where there are security cameras." She smirked.

"Okay. Okay. I get it. I'm crazy." Taylor laughed and wrapped her arms around Quinn's neck and pulled her toward her. "I've never felt this way. I've had girlfriends. I've been in love before, but I've never just fallen for someone like this, Quinn. I didn't expect this summer to be this eventful either. I was just supposed to advise a group of undergrads so they could earn credit and I could get some extra points with Dr. Rhodes and maybe use those to get into a Ph. D program and then I met you and you were prim and proper on that first day, but you were gorgeous and I was nervous immediately and then you put me on the spot and I thought, this girl could give me a run for my money and I liked that, but I didn't think I had a chance. You don't exactly exude gay, you know?" That comment made Quinn laugh. "When you asked me out, I couldn't believe it and then we kissed and I knew I wanted this. All of it. I know it's been less than a month, but I don't want anything to come between us and what this could be."

"Neither do I." She made no comment about the fact that that was just one of the monologues she'd heard today.

"So, let's just call it a night and stop dealing with this heavy stuff because tomorrow I have to both win a meet and spend the day with my family."

"Okay."

"My mom's name is Elizabeth, but she goes by Liz. My dad is Henry, but call him Hank."

"I got it, Tay."

"And Connor and Emily-"

"Yes, I know. Are you more nervous than I am? I'm the one that has to sit with them while you go boating."

They were walking in the grass toward the meet location. Quinn wanted to wear one of her patented sundresses, but Taylor told her not to bother dressing up. Her parents weren't really the dressy types anyway and they'd be outside most of the day and Taylor had negotiated a break between the meet and dinner so she could shower and change, which would allow Quinn to do the same. So instead, Quinn wore one of Taylor's crew t-shirts with a pair of jean capris and boat shoes she'd bought at a store the other day because she felt they were fitting. Taylor promptly made fun of her, but liked that Quinn was getting into it for her.

"There they are." Taylor pointed. "Mom. Dad." She started taking faster steps and Quinn rushed to keep up with her. Taylor must actually like spending time with her parents unlike Quinn who sometimes wondered how she was even related to her own. Hank and Liz were both in their 50s, each with brown hair though of different shades. Liz had the brown eyes to Hank's blue and they were both dressed casually with Hank wearing flip-flops.

"Hey Tay!" Liz embraced her only daughter in a hug while her father waited for his turn.

"Where's Connor?"

"He's coming. He and Emily ran to the bathroom before the meet." Her mother answered.

"Mom, Dad, this is Quinn." She introduced.

"Quinn, it's nice to meet you. Taylor's told us so much about you." Liz pulled her in for a hug despite the fact that Quinn was about to put out her hand for her to shake. Hank waited and again, she was given a parental hug.

"It's nice to meet you two." Quinn replied customarily.

"So, you're at Yale, right? Did Taylor tell you they rejected her?"

"Mom!"

Quinn laughed.

"Yeah, she told me. Obviously, they made a pretty big mistake."

"Well, she's landed on her feet here." Hank shared.

"Baby sista!" Connor was taller than Hank. He was thin like Taylor and had the same color hair, though he'd inherited his father's blue eyes.

"Connie."

"And that's enough of that." He hugged her.

"She couldn't say Connor when she was little so she called him Connie. He hates it so naturally she does it all the time."

Quinn laughed.

"Connie, this is Quinn. Quinn this is my brother and his wife Emily." Taylor introduced again. Emily was shorter than Quinn with reddish, blonde hair and light blue eyes. She looked like she should be an elementary school teacher. It was as if she'd picked the perfect profession for her body type.

"Nice to meet you, Quinn and I can't wait to embarrass my sister in front of her new girlfriend. It's one of my favorite past-times."

"It's nice to meet you." Emily put out her hand for Quinn to shake, which she did.

"Well, I hate to do this to you, but I should go meet the team." Taylor looked at her. "Probably gonna pay for this later, aren't I?"

"It's fine. Go." Quinn told her.

"Thanks and be nice, Connor." She kissed Quinn on the cheek and ran off with her bag bouncing over her shoulder.

"I'm always nice." Connor stated.

Quinn looked over at him.
"Connor, leave your sister alone. Come on, Quinn. Let's go get seats." Liz pulled her along.
"This should be fun." Connor added and took Emily's hand to walk behind them.

"Quinn, tell us everything about you. These things can get pretty boring sometimes. You can keep us entertained."

Quinn thought about how sharing her life story would definitely be entertaining to them, but probably wouldn't win them over either.

"Oh wow." She replied.

They sat on a blanket Taylor had remembered to bring and Quinn told them about Yale and that she was from Ohio. She talked about the New Directions and her friend, Rachel Berry, the Broadway star. She'd asked Rachel to get them all tickets for the show that night, but found out later that they were only in town for the day, driving back that night because they had a previous engagement that Sunday. They talked about Taylor growing up and how she won a science fair and was in math club and Quinn couldn't imagine the Quinn Fabray of old ever associating with that Taylor in high school. This version of Quinn found the stories of her girlfriend endearing and couldn't wait for a moment alone to bring up some of them.

"When she came out to us, we weren't surprised." Hank spoke up. "Not that she'd been overtly anything in high school. She didn't, you know, fit any of the-"

"Stereotypes. He's trying to be nice because you're gay and he doesn't want to offend you." Connor clarified.

Quinn didn't feel the need to share her possible fluid sexuality with them.

"Oh, it's okay." She told them.

"Anyway, we just raised open-minded children and wanted them to be comfortable telling us anything."

"Honestly, when she sat us down, I was worried she was going to tell us she was pregnant at 17. I was pretty happy that wasn't the case." Liz shared.

Quinn gulped, but said nothing.

"She'd been spending a lot of time with Andrew and he'd come out a few years prior." Hank expressed.

"Andy was the obvious gay." Connor explained.

"I assume Taylor's mentioned her older brother." Liz shared.

"Just his name and that he's about 5 years older." She recalled mention of Andrew, but Taylor didn't mention Andy much and had never told her he was gay too.

"Yes, the gay gene is strong in the Morgan clan. I think mom and dad watched me for years waiting for me to say something too."

"We're still waiting." Liz joked and glared at her son playfully.

"I'm married, mom. She's right here."

"I'm just a beard. He told me not to tell you." Emily joined in on the fun and Quinn realized she was a little more relaxed than she originally thought.

"Andrew lives in San Francisco."
"Because of course he does." Connor elaborated.
"He's marrying his partner next spring." Liz continued. "Save the dates should be going on soon. I'll make sure to tell him to send you one."

"Oh, I-"

"Mom, don't lay that on her right now. They just started dating." Connor told his mother.

"She can also RSVP with a no, Connor. An invitation is not a commitment. Now, stop giving me grief and watch your sister."

The meet had started and the boats Quinn knew little about were starting to appear in front of them. It took her a minute to spot Taylor's. They were all wearing green, skin tight shirts and rowing feverishly while being yelled at. Quinn wasn't sure what was so appealing about this sport, but she clapped along with everyone else as she watched.

"They came in 3rd." Liz announced as they stood waiting for Taylor to make it back to them.

"Not bad for a group of girls that spend most of their practice time goofing off." Connor shared. "When I crewed-"

"Not another story about how you guys were robbed of the national championship. Quinn doesn't need to pity you anymore than she probably already does, son." Hank interjected and laughed along with his son.

Quinn liked this kind of familial relationship. She'd missed this growing up with her own family. They could never joke with one another like this.

"Hey, you survived." Taylor greeted Quinn from behind and took her hand. "I'd hug you, but I'm sweaty."

"Thanks, I think."

"You lost, Tay."

"Yeah, thanks for that Connie. We came in third out of eight and it's just for fun so we don't really care all that much, but I'm glad you're still way too competitive for your own good."

"I represent for the family."

"He has a hard time running 3 miles now so I think you're okay, Tay." Emily mocked her husband and wrapped her arms around his mid-section.

"You guys going back to the hotel?" Taylor asked her parents.

"Nah, we'll just wander around the city and meet you at your place at 6 if you think you'll be ready by then." Liz replied.

"Sounds good." Taylor answered.

They six of them started walking toward the subway station. Taylor and Quinn had taken the train over so as to avoid having to find parking.

"We'll see you two later." The foursome began their walk around the city and Taylor and Quinn headed back to the apartment.

"Thank you for being so great today." Taylor told Quinn while holding onto her in the kitchen as Quinn drank some water.

"How do you know I was great. You weren't there. I could have told them I was a serial killer."

"I hope you did. I want them to fear you. Maybe they won't give you a hard time." She'd just gotten out of the shower and Quinn felt her wet hair on her neck as she held her from behind.

"I like them. They're very different from my parents. It was nice spending time with them."

"Really? You may be the first girlfriend in history that's liked spending time with the in-laws. In-laws in the wrong word, but is there a word for that besides just saying girlfriend's family? Seems too long." She used her fingers to illustrate the number of syllables. "Girl-friends-fam-i-ly."

Quinn turned around in her arms and leaned in to kiss her.

"My turn in the shower. You start getting ready." She kissed her again.

"Hey, can we talk for a second before you go? She held her in place.

"Okay?"

"After you got back from the bar, we almost… and then we stopped."

"Oh. That."

"I meant what I said. I'll wait, but I guess I'm just trying to figure out how long I'm going to wait. You've met my parents. We're staying together…"

"I know and I love your family, Tay and it's not that I don't want to."

"You're just not ready?" She paused. "I'm sorry. I'm trying to figure out how to say this because we got really close." She lifted her eyebrows for emphasis. "Like my hand was and then you stopped it and given what's going on with Santana-"

"Hey, it's not about that." Quinn put her hand on Taylor's cheek. "You know I've only ever been with one woman, Taylor and this is a big deal to me."

"I know. That's why I'm trying to hard to say this right. I don't want to sound like a teenage boy that's trying to get in your pants."

"I don't think that and I want to be with you like that, Taylor."

"Then, what's stopping you?"

Quinn thought about that question for a moment. She'd known this was coming. She knew Taylor would want to know why she stopped them on the couch when they were both in their underwear and Taylor's hand moved down to remove them.

"What if I'm not…good?"

"Quinn…" Taylor wrapped her arms around Quinn and pulled her close. "What are you talking about?"

"It's just it's been a long time and that night I wasn't exactly sober." She partly lied and hated herself for it. "I didn't know what I was doing then. I just kind of guessed and Santana kind of helped and-"
"And I know that. I don't think you're going to need any help. You already make me… On the couch, I was already… I was very turned on."

"You were?"

"When you had your leg between mine and you were… Yeah. That kind of worked for me. I'm nervous about this too, but I just need you to talk to me about it so I know that's what's going on, okay?"

Quinn nodded.

"Okay."

"So, can we revisit this after my parents are gone because, Quinn, you are so fucking hot sometimes and it's getting harder and harder to resist you."

"I'm hot sometimes, huh?" Quinn teased.

Taylor leaned in and kiss her.