This is a double shift day. There will be one more upload today: Roll On, White Chocolate.

"This Little Light of Mine"

21. Belongs to All of Us

She wouldn't leave her, not for as long as she could, as long as they'd let her. After they'd been split so suddenly and abruptly before, and after Hailey had found herself on the operating table as she had, Quinn wanted to sit by her, even without touch, letting her know that she wasn't alone anymore. She wished she could hold her hand, touch her, something, but she couldn't, not yet. So she sat there, and she looked at her…

"Quinn?" The sound of her voice jolted her back to reality, and she looked over her shoulder. There was Puck, pushing the wheelchair where Rachel sat, holding what had to be Hannah. The two best friends reacted immediately, tearing up with relief to have found each other once again. "Can we…"

"Of course," Quinn smiled. When Puck wheeled them up, Quinn reached out grasping the one hand Rachel held out before looking to the girl in her other arm. "She's beautiful," she cried, looking back to her friend who cried as well. Quinn looked up to see Puck was gazing into the incubator, to Hailey, and this made Rachel look to her as well.

"I'll leave you two… you four to talk," Puck gave a small nod to Quinn, who returned a thankful one. They were quiet for a moment, the new mothers both exhausted with the day on their shoulders.

"Can I?" Now it was Quinn asking, indicating the baby. Rachel beamed, leaning in for the hand off. She had to guess not being able to hold her own after all this would be difficult, and maybe this would help… "Hey there, Hannah… aren't you precious," she sniffled… The little girl had those eyes already, the sort of intense look one would expect from a child born of both Rachel and Puck. "Yeah you are," she held her hand. Rachel was drawn to look at Hailey, so small compared to Hannah…

"She's gonna get through this," she decided, looking back to Quinn. "And I… we'll all be here, okay? We're staying in Lima, no timeline… New York can wait."

"Are you sure?" Quinn blinked. This would mean giving up the part she'd been playing, the part she had been so eager to get she had been in tears when she'd called Quinn to tell her.

"More than anything," Rachel nodded. "It's for all of us, I mean… being home makes sense right now, and I'm going to need you as much as you'll need me. And there's Nora… She came to us before, and she made a good point… They shouldn't have to grow apart from one another."

"But what are you going to…"

"I'll figure it out when the time comes. Today it doesn't matter," she promised, beaming when she saw Hannah cooing lovingly at her aunt Quinn. "Well she loves you," she looked up to the blonde, who waved with a smirk to the newborn.

Down in the gift shop, Nora and Emily had been debating between the 'classic' teddy bears and going for something like an elephant and a giraffe, or an owl and a penguin, or… And then Nora had looked up to find her stepdad there. For a beat she had felt her heart ramming away, but going up to him she could see he looked happy. He had told her that Hannah had been born, and she was all good, and on top of that, Hailey had pulled through surgery and she was looking good. Nora had hugged her father, hugged her best friend. Finn had paid for the plush monkey and rabbit, and while he took Emily back to her aunt and uncle, Nora headed to find her mothers and her sisters.

When she had been let into the room, she walked so slowly feeling like she'd been allowed somewhere special, and at the same time just to know who she was about to meet… Quinn saw her coming, and she smiled. "Where's Harper?" she asked.

"With Dad," she revealed. "I didn't think they'd let me bring it in here." Quinn looked to Rachel, who now had Hannah back. They'd both waited on this moment about as much as Nora had.

"Remember how you have to hold her?" Rachel asked, and the girl nodded, putting down the bag she carried.

"Wait," she thought. She needed to look at Hailey, she needed to see her, before she had Hannah in her arms. She didn't know what to expect. But she looked at her, and as much as she was taken aback, it wasn't nearly as bad as she might have imagined. Knowing she would get better now, it helped. She smiled, looking to her mother, who rested a hand at the back of her head, kissing the top of it. "Okay, I'm ready now." Rachel motioned for her to come forward.

"Easy… There we go…" she spoke as Nora got hold of Little Hannah. The girl could not stop smiling, especially with how her baby sister rested so comfortably in her arms.

"I'm okay, right?" she had to check.

"You're doing great," Quinn promised. They would tell her later about Rachel and Puck and Hannah staying in Lima. For now all that mattered was that she was getting to meet her sisters.

"Is it okay if… Could I get a moment with them, just the three of us?" she looked between her mothers. "I wanted to talk to them, if I can…"

"Of course you can," Quinn promised, looking to Rachel, who had the same look on her face. "Come on, I'll give you the scenic tour," Quinn moved to wheel out Rachel. Nora watched them go before being drawn back to look at Hannah in her arms, as she gave a bit of a fuss, calming once Nora looked to her again.

"It's alright, I got you," she assured her, smiling as she offered her hand and she felt the tiny fingers graze at her palm. "I'm Nora, I'm your big sister. I'm both of your big sisters, actually," she got nearer to the incubator, turning so they were facing Hailey, even if they couldn't really see each other. "Now technically, you two aren't sisters, not by blood or anything like that. But when you grow up, if you see each other like sisters, then that's okay," she promised, smiling. "You're going to find out our family is kind of big, and we're not always related the way most family members are, but that's no different to us. We're all really lucky," she smiled to both of them. "Oh, wait…" she remembered.

She had gone and retrieved the bag. She took out the rabbit and placed it near the incubator, for Hailey. Now holding the monkey, she showed it to Hannah, who looked immediately fascinated. It made Nora laugh.

"It'll be all yours," she promised. "I think you're a little small to hold on to it right now, but I can help with that," she gave it a shake, and she swore it got a smile out of her.

The day had been long, for all of them. For her it had been so confusing and full of emotions, good ones, sad ones, happy, angry, sad, relieved, scared… Now standing where she was, with one sister in her arms and the other right before her, she had nothing but peace.

"I have something else, too, beside the toys. I learned a lullaby to play for you. I can't now, I don't have my guitar, but I wouldn't want to do it here anyway, I think. It would be even better if I did it for you once you're both home, not in a hospital, in an incubator, right?" Hannah stared at the monkey. "I want you to know… no matter what happens, or where we are, I'll always be there for you, okay? That's what sisters are for, right?" she smiled. "And I've got so much to tell you, and show you… You just wait."

THE END
(of this story, not the series ;))