The ringing of the telephone woke Quinn and Artie up at 5:55am the next morning. Thinking something was wrong, Artie grabbed the phone, answering it without even looking at who was calling.
"Daddy, it's almost time for your alarm to ring and I'm ready to come home now!" Avery's cheerful voice rang out through the phone. "Are you awake? Grandma said you wouldn't be yet, but I wanted to phone you because I knew you would be!"
"Hey, Princess," Artie murmured, a small smile forming on his face as he yawned. "We're awake," he added, glancing over at Quinn, her eyes still closed. "I think it's a little early for us to come over there and pick you up. Are you ok to wait a little while longer, and we'll come get you and go out for some breakfast?"
"Yay!" Avery's voice could be heard, as well as something that sounded like the phone falling to the ground, followed by some rustling around. "Sorry, Daddy, I dropped the phone, and then I was accidentally too noisy and I think I woke up Grandpa," she whispered, giggling.
Artie chuckled slightly, hearing the voices of both his parents in the background.
"Can you put Grandma on, Princess? We'll come pick you up in a couple of hours, ok?" he asked, shifting slightly.
"Ok. Bye, Daddy! I love you!" Avery said, handing off the phone to her grandmother before Artie could answer.
"I told her you were probably still asleep," Beth said, watching as Avery climbed into bed with her grandpa. "But she insisted…we were practicing telling time yesterday, and she said that 5:55 is almost what it looks like when your alarm beeps."
Artie laughed, wondering how many times Avery had been in the room with him and Quinn, staring at the alarm, knowing that it would beep when it read 6:00.
"Well, she was right about that," Artie answered, stifling a yawn. "I told her we'd come pick her up in a couple of hours and take her for breakfast…is that ok?"
"Of course," Beth said, smiling as she took a picture of Avery and Steve cuddled under the covers with Daisy. "No rush, she's perfectly fine where she is right now."
Artie talked to his mother for a few more minutes, before hanging up the phone, turning to Quinn.
"Hi," he said quietly, as she pried her eyes open, looking at him. "We still have a couple of hours…do you want to go back to sleep?"
"No, I'm awake now," Quinn murmured, inching closer to him. "I think we should just stay here like this for a little while," she added, pulling his arm around herself. "But you need to get up first…just make sure you come back."
Grinning, Artie assured her that he would, before leaving the bed.
The two of them cuddled in bed for an hour or so, not really speaking much, before Quinn announced that they should get up and get ready to go pick up Avery.
"You want me in bed, you want me to get out of bed…make up your mind, Woman," Artie muttered, covering his face with a pillow once Quinn was out of bed. "We could easily stay here for another…five minutes."
Quinn laughed, before grabbing a pillow from the bottom of their bed and throwing it at him.
"I don't have to make up my mind, because I know you'll do whatever I say," she said, somewhat suggestively, standing over him. "But you do need to get up now, or we're going to be late."
"Fiiiiine," Artie gave in, removing the pillow from his face. He looked around for a moment, before wrinkling his nose. "I think I better have a shower before anything else happens here."
"I'm not going to argue that," Quinn murmured, playfully, backing away from the bed.
Laughing, Artie got up, and before long the two of them were ready to go get Avery.
"We still need to go get my car," Quinn observed, as they headed out to the van, the car having been forgotten the day before. "Maybe we can do that on the way home," she suggested. "We can just tell Avery that it had some problems and Puck fixed it. Right?"
"Right," Artie agreed, as he waited for the van's ramp to lower. "I'm really looking forward to spending a little time with my best girls this morning."
"You mean you're really looking forward to eating the biggest breakfast ever," Quinn teased, shutting the door once he was in the van. "But just so you know…your best girls are looking forward to spending time with you, too."
After a brief chat with Artie's parents, Artie, Quinn, and Avery headed off to breakfast, at a little diner that was a favourite of all of theirs. It was clear that Beth had wanted to ask her son all sorts of questions, but an imploring look from him made her hold them in…for now. She would talk about what had happened the day before with him later.
"Oh, Daddy! Grandma forgetted to ask you, but she said we should come for dinner tonight! Can we?" Avery asked from the backseat, as they pulled into the parking lot at the diner. "Can I phone her from your phone and tell her we can come?"
Exchanging a glance with Quinn, Artie turned to Avery once he'd parked.
"I think we can probably do that," he said, nodding. "But I think right now we should go get some breakfast."
Once they were out of the van, the three of them headed to the door of the diner, which Artie held open, while Quinn and Avery walked inside. He followed behind them to a booth, watching as his perfect little family got situated at the table. It was something he already knew, but watching them reminded him once again that he was perfectly happy, and would be, even if Quinn was never able to get pregnant.
He hadn't realized that he'd stopped, just watching them, until Avery's voice rang out.
"Daddy, we're over here," she called out, waving at him.
Grinning, he joined them at the table, as Avery spread out a menu for all three of them to share, studying the pictures, trying to decide what she wanted.
"I want waffles," she said, after a moment, pointing to a picture of a waffle covered in strawberries and whipped cream. "But I want bacon too…can I share with you?" she asked, looking at both of her parents.
"Wait, you want to eat my food?!" Artie asked, trying to look serious. "That's not allowed."
"But you always share with me," Avery giggled, looking at the menu some more. "I know you're going to get this," she added, pointing to a picture of some eggs, pancakes, bacon, and sausages. "And then you're going to let me have a sausage and some bacon, and Mommy will get this," she added, pointing to a picture of some waffles covered in assorted fruit with a side of bacon. "Right?"
"I think we come here too often," Quinn said, leaning over to talk to Artie, while Avery examined the maze on her kids' place mat. When the waitress came over, they ordered, and soon Avery was carefully tracing the maze with her finger, trying to figure out how to get to the end.
"They have the best breakfast in town," Artie said, taking a sip of his coffee. "Well, I mean, besides the breakfast that I make. Right, Avery?"
"Yes, Daddy, you make the best breakfast ever…just not pancakes," Avery answered dutifully, grinning at her parents. "I'm hungry! Is it almost food time?"
"Almost," Quinn said, glancing over at the clock. "Do you want a crayon to do that maze?"
"Yes, please," Avery said, as Quinn handed her a crayon. "Thank you!"
Quinn helped Avery with her maze, and before long, the food arrived.
"Daddy, can you please help?" Avery asked, pushing her plate closer to Artie and handing him her fork and knife. "It's slippery!"
Artie chuckled slightly as he cut the waffle into little pieces, and then gave the plate back to her.
"Thank you, Daddy," she said, taking a bite. "These waffles are soooo good! Try some!"
After Artie had tried some, Avery offered some to Quinn, and then they each gave her some of their bacon, along with a sausage from Artie's plate. They continued to eat, chatting about all sorts of things.
After breakfast, the three of them headed to the grocery store to pick up a few things, to pick up Quinn's car, and then back home, where they decided to do a little digging around in the garden.
"Daddy, we forgetted to phone Grandma and tell her we can come for dinner," Avery called out, across the yard, running towards Artie. "Can you call her now, and bring me a band aid?" she added, holding out her finger. "A stick bit me. I need a Hello Kitty band aid."
Surveying the small cut, Artie frowned slightly.
"Why don't you come inside with me, and we'll get that cleaned before we put a band aid on it," he suggested, before looking over at Quinn. "We're just going to go inside and take care of this," he said, gesturing to Avery's finger. "We'll be right back."
Standing, Quinn headed over to have a look, biting back a laugh as she looked at it.
"It's just a scratch," she said, grabbing a tissue and wiping Avery's finger. "See? It's not even bleeding, really."
"I'm still going to clean it," Artie said, as Avery climbed into his lap. "Just to make sure it doesn't get infected."
"I need a band aid," Avery affirmed, nodding. "So it doesn't get affected."
"Well, alright then," Quinn said, leaning down and kissing Avery's cheek, before doing the same to Artie. "Just hurry back...I can't do all of this work myself!"
"We will!" Avery assured her, settling herself across Artie's lap.
Quinn watched as the two of them headed inside, smiling at the fact that, in her opinion, their little family was pretty much perfect. Even if they couldn't have another baby...she couldn't have been happier with what they had.
After Artie had cleaned Avery's finger and put a band aid on it, he sent her back outside to help Quinn, before picking up the phone. It rang a couple of times, before someone answered.
"Hello?" his mother's voice could be heard through the phone.
"Hi, Mom," Artie answered, smiling a little at the sound of her voice. "I was given the order to call you because you...forgetted to invite us over for dinner," he added, shifting slightly.
"I did!" Beth exclaimed, laughing. "I figured Avery would bring it up and we'd be hearing from you."
"Sorry, we were out for breakfast, then did some shopping, and are doing yard work now," Artie explained. "Or...Quinn and Avery are doing yard work, and I'm doing whatever little miscellaneous jobs they give me. Just finished organizing the shelves in the shed, because Avery said the grass was too wet and cold, and I might get cold if I helped with the weeding."
"Well, she does have a point," Beth answered him, imagining her son's expression at that moment. "It is kind of wet and cold out there. And I'm sure the shelves needed to be organized."
"Not really...I think it was just a make work for Artie project," Artie said, chuckling. "But it does look better in there now."
"Sometimes everyone needs that kind of projects," she said, thinking about it. "So, you're coming for dinner, then? Because I've already got a bunch of things marinating. Michael is here, and he said he's going to barbeque."
"Oh...we don't want to intrude on your time with Michael, so maybe we shouldn't come," Artie said, a little too quickly. Pretty much the last thing he wanted to do was be around his brother. If he was there, that meant someone had probably told him about what Quinn and Artie had going on...and that was the last thing he wanted. He didn't want his brother knowing about that, ever.
"Sweetie, don't be silly! We'll have a nice family dinner," Beth said. "Besides, he wants to see you guys."
"Avery didn't mention that he was there," Artie said, feeling slightly panicky for a moment.
"That's because he's only been here for a couple of hours," Beth answered him, frowning. "Don't you want to see him?"
"Oh...no, of course we do," Artie muttered. "Mom, I have to go help Quinn and Avery finish up, because it looks like it's going to rain," he added, looking out the window at the mostly cloud-less sky. "I'll see you later, though? What should we bring?"
Wondering what exactly was going on, Beth agreed.
"Alright, Sweetie, we'll see you guys when you get here. And you don't need to bring anything," she added. "I love you."
"We'll find something. I love you too, Mom," Artie said quietly, before hanging up the phone and heading back outside.
"Artie, you should be happy that Michael is here, not mad about it," Quinn murmured into Artie's ear, after he'd finished complaining about the situation while he was getting dressed. "He hasn't been home in a while..."
"I know that, but did it have to be today?" Artie muttered, putting on his socks. "Or...this week? They've probably told him."
"And?" Quinn asked, taking the socks from him and tossing them onto the bed, before seating herself in his lap. "Artie, he's your brother...I hate to break it to you, but he's not judging you or...out to get you, or whatever you think," she added, smoothing down his hair. "You know that, right?"
"I know," Artie muttered, looking down. "I just...I don't want him thinking about that stuff, or about me like that, or us. It's not normal, Quinn...the fewer people that know about it the better."
"Artie, there's no such thing as normal," Quinn said, leaning in and kissing his cheek. "It's going to be fine."
Artie was cut off from answering her by Avery and Bailey coming tearing through their open door.
"We're going to be late!" the little girl insisted, looking at the clock on Artie's bedside table. "It's almost four five five and we have to leave at five zero zero!" she said, throwing up her arms. "That means we only have zero five minutes!"
It took all the effort Artie had to give to prevent him from bursting out laughing at their daughter's outburst. They'd been practicing how to tell time for quite a while, but it hadn't seemed to sink in until she'd spent most of the weekend with her grandparents.
"We only have zero five minutes, Artie," Quinn said, standing up from his lap and tossing his socks back at him. "You better hurry up!"
"Daddy, I can help," Avery said, moving closer to him. "I'm going to find your shoes!" she added, running over to the closet. "I have to find two that are the same," she explained, reaching into the closet. "I think you should wear these black ones!"
Artie would have worn whatever shoes she pulled out of the closet, but he was secretly relieved that she'd chosen those ones and not the fuzzy black bunny slippers that Avery had insisted he needed when they'd been shopping a few weeks earlier.
After a few minutes, the three of them and Bailey were in the van, ready to go.
They'd barely made it through the door, before Avery had spotted Michael, flinging herself at him with a big, "UNCLE MICHAEL!", which made everyone laugh.
After saying hi to everyone, Avery announced that she was going outside with Bailey to help Michael, who was getting the barbeque ready. Quinn said she'd go too, mostly to make sure Avery didn't get into trouble, but also because she both wanted to talk to Michael, and wanted to give Artie some time alone with his mother.
"Sweetie, Dad told me what was going on when he got there yesterday," Beth said, while she and Artie made a salad in the kitchen. "Are you ok?"
"Oh, yeah," Artie said, shrugging slightly as he cut up some tomatoes. "I just had...a moment, but it's all good now." He hoped that his father hadn't shared the fact that he'd been drinking with his mother, but one look at her face told him that he had.
"You should have come here," Beth said quietly, putting down the bag of mushrooms she'd grabbed from the fridge. "Or called."
"No, I should have stayed with Quinn, because she needed me," Artie muttered, continuing to cut the tomatoes. "It was stupid, but we've talked about it and we're good again now. Can we please talk about something else?" he implored, looking up at her across the low part of the counter.
"Of course," Beth said, frowning slightly at her son's reaction. "Did Avery show you how she can almost tell time now?" she asked, smiling a little, her smile widening when she saw him smile too.
"Yeah...she told us we had...zero five minutes before we had to leave tonight," Artie chuckled, putting the tomatoes in the bowl on top of the lettuce his mother had cut up. "It seems like it's finally clicking for her. Which is good...I was worried she might be like Michael and not be able to tell time until she was ten..."
"I heard my name," a voice spoke up, from behind Artie. He turned, seeing Michael standing behind him. "I wasn't ten...I was nine and a half," he corrected, grinning a little. "And telling time is hard!"
"Avery is telling time, and she's six," Artie answered him, trying to keep a straight face.
"Alright, so...we know she didn't inherit her brain from her uncle, but she totally got her throwing arm from me...that kid can throw a stick bigger than her across the entire yard."
"Have you seen these muscles?" Artie asked, flexing his arm. "She didn't get that from you either."
Michael raised his eyebrow, before laughing.
"If you say so," he said, going over to the fridge and grabbing the things Beth had put in there to marinate. "Except that mine are natural and you only have those because of that," he added, gesturing to Artie's chair.
"Michael!" Beth's voice rang out, before Artie could even respond.
"Sorry," Michael muttered, taking the meat and closing the fridge. "It was just a joke," he added, looking at Artie, who was trying not to burst out laughing.
"I have most of my natural muscles up here," Artie said, gesturing to his head and trying to maintain his straight face. "If yours are in your arms, then I guess we know why Avery got her brains from her parents and not you."
"I set myself up for that," Michael said, grinning a little. "Looks like you're right," he added, before heading out to the barbeque in the back yard.
"I had hoped that you boys would grow out of that eventually, but it doesn't look promising," Beth said, smiling at Artie. "Sweetie, I was going to ask you...why didn't you want to come when you knew that Michael would be here?" she asked, sitting down in a chair next to Artie after drying her hands. "Did something happen with you two that I don't know about?"
"What? No," Artie said, shifting. "I just...did anyone tell him about what Quinn and I've been trying to do, and how nothing is working?" he asked, after a moment, his voice quiet. "I don't want him to know about that."
"Well, I didn't," Beth said, thinking about it. "And I doubt your dad or Linds did."
"Wait...Linds knows?" Artie asked, his eyes widening slightly. "What?!"
"Sweetie...of course Linds knows," Beth said, reaching out and taking his hand. "I assume you guys haven't really talked about it, but I know she and Quinn have."
"I...was unaware," Artie muttered, looking away for a moment. "But I guess she kind of had to find out, since Avery has been here so much lately and Linds has picked her up from school..." he trailed off, thinking about it. "I still don't want Michael to know."
"What do you think is going to happen if he knows?" Beth wondered aloud, looking out the window in time to catch Michael lifting Avery up so she could look into the barbeque. "Sweetie, he loves you, and he cares about you, Quinn, and Avery, and he wouldn't...judge you, or think badly about you because of that."
"I know, but it's just...embarrassing," Artie said, looking out the window.
"Well, maybe not today, but I think you should talk about it with him," Beth suggested, as Avery came into the kitchen. "Hi, Sweetie! How's it going out there?" she asked her granddaughter.
"Good! We're playing, and Uncle Michael is making steak and chicken and fish and he said I could have some of everything," Avery said, sitting down at the table. "I can, right, Daddy?" she asked, looking over at Artie.
"Of course," Artie answered, smiling at her. "You can have whatever you want."
Dinner was a fairly casual affair, with Linds and Steve both showing up minutes before it was to be served.
After dinner, they all sat around the living room, casually chatting about life, hearing about a girl Michael had briefly dated, and about how Linds was pretty sure she was "done" with boys.
The conversation continued, and before long, Avery was passed out across Quinn's lap, the playing she'd been doing throughout the day having exhausted her.
"We should probably go," Artie said, looking over at Avery.
"No, we can put her to sleep in my bed for a little while," Linds said, jumping up a little too quickly. "Here, I've got her," she added softly, standing over Quinn and picking up the little girl in her arms, before carrying her out of the room.
"Or...we can stay for a while longer," Artie said, watching as Linds walked away with his daughter. "I wonder what that was about."
"We never get all three of you here at the same time anymore," Beth said, smiling at her son. "Linds probably just wants to keep everyone together for a while longer."
"Oh, before I forget, I have something for you," Michael announced, pulling a crumpled envelope out of his pocket and handing it to his brother. "Sorry...it got a little wrinkled."
Wondering what was inside, Artie opened the envelope, and pulled out a cheque. Looking at the amount, he turned to his brother.
"Did I lend you money and forget...?" he asked, a questioning look on his face. "What's this for?"
"No," Michael said, shifting and suddenly looking uncomfortable as he looked between Quinn and Artie, and then at his sister, who had just come back into the room. "Linds told me what you guys were...doing, and what happened, and I thought you probably needed money. I have a bunch of savings, so I thought I would just help."
Artie stared at his brother, before looking at his sister, and then at Quinn and his mother, both of whom had tears in their eyes, and then at his father, before his eyes made their way back to Michael.
"We can't take this," he said, attempting to hand the cheque back to his brother. "Thanks, but we...can't."
"Yes, you can," Linds cut in, getting up and handing him her own envelope. "And you can take this one too."
"And this one," Steve said, reaching over and handing him a third envelope. He'd been planning to talk to Artie about it discreetly before they left, but clearly that wasn't going to be happening.
He and Beth had already talked about helping them so that they could try again, but neither of them had been aware that their other children had also been making the same plans.
"We can't take any of these," Artie said, his tone clipped as he looked over at Quinn, who looked like she was close to bursting into tears. "Thank you, but we aren't going to take charity," he muttered, looking down.
"Charity? I'm expecting that you're going to be paying me back," Michael said, raising an eyebrow as he looked at his brother. His intention had been to just give them the money, although he knew that Artie wouldn't take it.
"Oh, yeah...me too," Linds said, nodding. "And so are Mom and Dad. Right?" she asked, looking across the room at her parents.
"Of course," Steve answered, nodding despite the fact that he and Beth had planned to just give them the money, rather than loaning it to them.
"We can't...we're not going to be able to pay it back in a...timely manner, especially if we do it again and it works," Artie said, sighing as he looked over at Quinn, who had yet to say anything. "Quinn, say something," he murmured, his eyes meeting hers.
"Artie..." Quinn trailed off, a couple of tears running down her cheeks as she looked around the room. "I don't think they're going to take no for an answer," she said, sniffling slightly as she moved closer to him.
"Nope," Linds said, standing up and going over to hug them both. "This is the Abrams family...we don't take no for an answer," she added, grinning at them both. "And we don't give up on stuff, and we help each other, so just be quiet, Artie, and say thank you, and then make arrangements to get me another little niece or nephew...Avery's going to be too old to think her Aunty Linds is cool soon, and I'm going to need someone else to have fun with."
"I don't think Avery will ever think Aunty Linds isn't cool," Quinn said, sniffling as she wiped her eyes. "The same goes for her Uncle Michael," she added, looking over at Michael, who got up and went over to give Quinn a hug, before turning to Artie.
"What Linds said," he said, simply, leaning down to wrap his arm around his brother. "Except I already knew that Avery would never think that about me," he added, giving an exaggerated wink to Quinn and Artie, causing Linds to smack him. "But seriously...just take it, and...pay it back whenever you can."
"Thank you," Artie said quietly, looking between the two of them, before glancing over at his parents, noticing that his mother was now crying openly.
"Mom, don't cry," he added, reaching over for his chair so he could get off the couch and go over to her. His actions were too slow, however, and she had her arms wrapped around him, and then Quinn, before he was able to do so.
"I'm just so proud of all my kids," Beth said, tearfully, wrapping her arms around Michael and Linds. "And-" she was cut off by the sound of small footsteps entering the room.
"I was sleeping in Aunty Linds's room all by myself," Avery said, sleepily, looking between everyone. "Mommy, why are you and my grandma crying?" she asked, climbing up on the couch between her parents. "Are you sad?"
"No, we're not sad, Sweetie," Quinn said, as Avery crawled into her lap. "We just...heard a really nice story, that's all," she said, smiling at everyone else in the room. "Did we wake you?"
"No, I had to go to the bathroom, and then I could hear everyone and wanted to come see," Avery yawned, pulling a blanket over herself. "Your lap is warm," she added, closing her eyes.
They chatted quietly for a little while longer, before Artie said that he thought they really did need to get Avery home, if she was going to get enough sleep to go to school the next day, and shortly thereafter, they were being escorted out to the van by everyone, Avery passed out in Michael's arms.
"I'll get her buckled in," Quinn said, climbing into the van once Michael had deposited Avery into her seat, wanting to give Artie a moment alone with anyone he might need one with.
"I think I might start coming home more," Michael said to Artie, standing next to the van. "Hang out with the fam more and stuff. Maybe we could have a regular thing. What do you think?" he asked, looking down at his brother.
"I think...that would be great," Artie said, smiling up at him. "If you're around more, and I see you more, I won't feel as bad asking you to help with some stuff around our house," he joked, grinning.
"And I won't feel bad emailing you my papers and getting you to proofread them," Michael returned, laughing. "Maybe we can reach some sort of agreement."
"Maybe we can," Artie said, nodding. "Michael...thank you."
"You should have just told me," Michale said, leaning down and giving him a hug. "Sounds like you could have used someone to talk to that wasn't...anyone else that you had at your disposal. Call me if you find yourself in that situation again, ok?"
"Ok," Artie answered, returning the hug. "I will."
After a few words with Linds and his parents, Artie and Quinn headed for home, Avery and Bailey both asleep in the back of the van.
"Babe...I'm so proud to be part of this family," Quinn said quietly, reaching out and touching his arm as he drove them home. "And I'm so proud to be your wife, and Avery's mom, and I just..." she trailed off, a couple of tears running down her cheeks. "Thank you for not saying no."
"You heard what Linds said," Artie answered, briefly looking over at her before looking back at the road. "No one in the Abrams family takes no for an answer, and we don't give up, so we're not going to..."
"No, we're not going to," Quinn murmured, her hand still resting on his arm. "Not ever."
A/N: This chapter is not at all what I thought it would be when I started it, but I hope it didn't disappoint.
I figured there had better be some serious cuteness to make up for the :( feelings that have been abundant recently.
…but I also know that some of you think there is too much cuteness and fluff, and I can't please everyone! I will try to balance it out a little more from now on!
I'm going away for the weekend, so this will likely be the last update for a few days, but I will be back next week!