I do not own Glee or the original characters, it all belongs to RIB and Fox. Anyone you don't recognise are my own creations.

Thank you so much for your continued interest in this story, your reviews make my day!

A few of you commented on this so Just to let you all know, the line "Tries to pull her arms free from Quinn's surprisingly strong grip" didn't have any hidden meanings behind it and wasn't a hint that Quinn was on drugs, it was just a simple statement saying that, to Santana, Quinn is stronger than she looks. Their relationship is intense but still relatively new so it was just another thing that Santana was finding out about her. :)

Flashbacks are in Italics. R&R please.

Chapter 25

Quinn swipes at the finger prodding her shoulder, attempting to roll away from the offensive digit and almost falling off the edge of the sofa. She whines loudly as Santana shakes her, an impatient sigh leaving the latina's full lips as she tries to get her wife to open her eyes.

"Why are you sleeping on the couch?" Santana asks curiously.

"You kicked me out of bed during the night, I accidentally nudged you and you demanded that I leave" Quinn huffs, cracking her eyes open and glaring at her wife, her gaze softening when she spots the pained expression on the tanned woman's face. "How are you feeling?" she asks softly, struggling to her feet and cupping Santana's cheek and kissing her gently.

"It hurts like a bitch" the latina pouts, "And you put my pain pills on the bottom shelf, it hurts to bend all the way down" she adds sadly, accepting the careful hug her wife offers her. "When we have kids we're gonna hunt that brat down and make them beat him up" she states causing Quinn to chuckle softly.

"I'll make sure of it" the blonde replies, internally freaking out at the mention of kids, something they had only spoken about very briefly in the past.

"We could always get Mike and Tina's munchkin to do it" Santana muses, a smirk tugging at her lips. "You know he'd do it" she says.

"Only because he worships the ground you walk on" Quinn smiles, "I'm pretty sure Tina would kill you if you got him to beat up some kid"

"Yeah, you're right" the latina sighs as her wife leads her into the kitchen, eyeing the hard wooden chairs in disdain and choosing to lean against the fridge while Quinn hands her a glass of water and her pills. Quinn watches as Santana places the pills in her mouth and chases them back with most of the water in her glass.

"You'll feel better soon, you'll be able to go back to work and make more interns cry and make them do every disgusing job you can think off" the blonde smiles, laughing at the grin that spreads across the other woman's face. "You love the fact that they're scared of you, don't you?"

"I have to admit, it's huge confidence boost when a full grown man trembles at the sight of you" Santana laughs, frowning slightly as she thinks about the night before. "I'm sure Adams is getting a kick out of me being a patient last night" she murmurs.

"I'm sure you'll make him pay for whatever laughing he does at your expense. Now why don't you go lay on the couch while I make some breakfast. You want coffee?"

"Yeah, thanks baby. I'm sorry I kicked you out of bed" Santana murmurs with an embarrassed blush spreading across her face.

"That's alright" Quinn chuckles, leaning a warm kiss on the Latina's forehead. "Go get comfortable" she smiles, watching as her wife awkwardly shuffles out of the kitchen. She thinks about what Santana said as she prepares the pancake mix, still reeling over the fact that her wife mentioned kids. She's not really sure how she feels about having kids, after everything she went through with Beth she hadn't ever really thought about whether she wanted another baby or not. The blonde is surprised that the drama she caused with Beth hasn't put Santana off of having kids. Sighing, she decides to forget it until her wife is no longer in pain before starting a discussion about it, giving herself more time to think about it as well.

Santana leans against the counter as she drinks her coffee, thinking about last night's events with a deep frown on her features. She knows that she needs to speak to Quinn but at the same time she needs to work out exactly what she's feeling and thinking before she does that. The latina sighs heavily as she listens to her girlfriend moving around upstairs and wonders if she is also thinking about last night. Was it some sort of cry for help or did Quinn just get carried away in the moment? The sound of the blonde's footsteps get closer and Santana pushes away from the counter and pours Quinn a glass of orange juice as the other girl walks into the kitchen.

"Morning" Quinn mutters, accepting the glass and slumping down at the kitchen table, feeling her girlfriend's gaze on her and trying to ignore it. Santana grabs the blonde's vitamins from the cupboard and sets them down in front of the other girl, sitting down opposite her. The latina studies her girlfriend, noticing that she is avoiding eye contact with her and she reaches across the table to take a pale hand into hers.

"What happened last night babe?" she asks quietly.

"I don't know, I guess I got carried away" Quinn murmurs, her guilt filled gaze lifting from the table to meet unreadable brown. "I wouldn't have forced you, you know that right?"

"Yeah, I do. Are you struggling with things Quinn?" Santana asks, figuring it's best not to beat around the bush. The blonde sighs, holding Santana's gaze for a moment and thinking about the question.

"No" she finally states.

"Are you sure?" the latina asks carefully, concern in her dark, almost black, eyes.

"I'm fine. I promise I will come to you if I need to" Quinn tells her. "I'm so sorry about last night, I got carried away but I swear that's all it was" Santana eyes her doubtfully for a few seconds before nodding, their arrangement needs trust to work and that trust has to go both ways.

"Okay,good. I appreciate your apology, how about we just put this behind us?" the latina suggests, Quinn nodding in relief. "What time are you babysitting tonight?"

"Around six, could I borrow your car so that I can pick Puckerman up on the way?" Quinn asks, "I figure it'd be best if I went with him rather than turn up before him and have to make awkward small talk with Shelby"

"Yeah, that's fine. Are you going to be okay doing this?" Santana questions lightly, wanting to make sure her girlfriend can handle this but without making her nervous about it.

"Yeah, I think so. Puck will be there so If I need to leave, I can" the other girl responds with a small smile.

0-00-0

Quinn swallows heavily as she stares back at the child in her arms, Beth staring back at her with wide inquisitive eyes that are so much like her own. She watches as the little girl she gave birth to eyes her curiously, as though trying to work out if the teenager should be trusted. The young woman sits down on Shelby's sofa with Beth still in her arms and she rocks her gently, still amazed that she's seeing the child after giving her up eighteen months ago with no expections of ever having contact again. Quinn smiles as small chubby fingers play with her hair, Beth squealing excitedly when the teenager tickles her sides.

"Alright, I think I have everything I need" Shelby states as she walks out of her bedroom. "Are you sure you'll be alright without Noah?" she asks.

"Yeah, I'm good. If I struggle with anything it's alright for me to call Santana, right?" Quinn questions.

"Of course. From what I've seen she's certainly someone that can be trusted" Shelby smiles, grabbing her keys and stuffing them into her purse. "Emergency numbers are on the fridge and you can help yourself to anything in the kitchen, my laptop is in the study and there's hundreds of dvds on the shelves. Are you sure you're alright?" the woman asks, searching the younger woman's face for any signs of discomfort.

"We'll be fine" Quinn replies with a smile.

"Alright, call me if you need to" Shelby says, bending down to kiss Beth's head, "Bye baby girl, be good for Quinn, Mommy loves you" she murmurs before sending Quinn a reassuring smile and leaving the apartment. Quinn sighs softly and checks her cell phone and sends a quick message to Sheila and standing up with Beth and pacing back and forth with her until she hears the knock at the door and she rushes to open it.

"She's gone, her car turned left so you have a clear route to the bus station" Sheila tells her as she brushes past the blonde. "Wow..she looks just like you Q. Go grab what you need, I'll take her" the girl adds. Quinn nods and hands Beth to the skank, leaving the room and heading into Shelby's bedroom and looking around for a suitcase. She finds a duffel bag under the bed and starts rooting through the drawers, grabbing as much of Beth's clothes as she can find and stuffing them into the bag. Quinn notices a picture of Rachel sitting on the bedside table and she picks it up, noticing it is from regionals in sophomore year by the outfit Rachel is wearing. Somewhere in the back of her mind she can hear Santana's voice yelling at her to stop what she is doing but in her cloud of desperation she doesn't want to listen, thinking she's doing the right thing and this picture only ensures the insane notion. Shelby obviously misses the child she gave up and would understand her need to have Beth back where she belongs, with the woman who gave birth to her. Quinn zips up the duffel and throws it over her shoulder, placing the photo back on the bedside table before walking back into the livingroom and taking Beth into our arms and nodding in the direction of the carseat, Sheila taking the hint and picking it up.

"Come on sweetheart" she murmurs soothingly to the little girl, leading Sheila to the door and out into the apartment stairwell. "We'll need to be quick, before anyone finds out I lied about Puck being here" Quinn tells her friend quietly.

"We only need enough time to get you to the bus station and then we're good" the girl responds. "You and your daughter will be out of here"

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