Well, hello there. This story is NOT dead, as you can plainly see. I have not had any motivation at all to write to anything of mine. The bad thing is, I've wanted to write so badly, I've had so many ideas in my mind, but every time I sat at my computer or picked up a pen, I just started at the document/paper with nothing coming out. It was horrible.

Hopefully with this, I'll be able to break through this lack of motivation I've been having lately, and actually get this story finished. It's too good and too in-depth to just abandon.

This chapter really isn't much, it's more of a filler to get myself back into the swing of things, and to set up something that will be happening in the next like 2-3 chapters with Beth and Quinn. With this being posted now, I'm going to continue work on chapter 29, since I'm off work tomorrow for the holiday.


The First 24
Chapter 28

April 18 – 4:00PM

Quinn walked through the front door to her house. Her very empty house. It had been a week since Rachel had left for her on location filming. A week. One lonely week. Rachel had stuck to her word and called her every single day she was gone. But today it was a horrible feeling. Sure, her office had been very supportive of her, and even threw her a birthday party at work. But it wasn't the same. Not having Rachel around made everything horrible. Now she knows exactly how Rachel felt while she was missing.

She threw her briefcase onto the counter. It had become a new habit every day she got home to the same empty house. Her hand came to rest on her ever growing stomach. It was still a surreal feeling to her. Being 39 years old, and about to have a child. Her and Rachel would be 67 years old when the child graduated from high school. She stood for a moment and thought about all the possibly scenarios their child might go through, simply from having older parents. On top of the fact that their child would have lesbian parents.

Kids were cruel. She knew that first hand… she used to be one of them.

The familiar singing voice that sounded through the kitchen brought her quickly out of her thoughts. Rachel. Rachel was calling her. "Hey." She said into the phone after accepting the call.

"Happy birthday honey." Rachel's voice rang through. It was obvious to Quinn she was smiling.

"Thank you Rach. How's filming going for you?"

"I'm done for the day. So you know what that means? I'm all yours for the rest of the night. I really wish I could be there right now. I hate missing your birthday like this."

Quinn sighed softly. She hated it too. She hated not having Rachel near her each night. "I miss you." It was all she said. It was all she had to say.

"What's on your mind Quinn?"

Rachel could always read her like an open book. Even the simplest of statements, her wife always saw right through them. "I'm just thinking. About the baby, about everything really. Brittany and Santana showed up at the office today for the birthday party they decided to throw me."

Rachel giggled softly. Quinn could hear it, plain as day. "I saw the pictures. Santana sent me as many as she could from the party. And I must say, you looked absolutely adorable with that little party hat on."

Quinn couldn't hide the small amount of laughter that left her lips. Hearing Rachel's voice instantly cleared her head from all of her thoughts. "I felt like a five year old wearing that thing. I didn't even want to, but you know Santana's persuasion skills."

"Hence why she's a lawyer, like you. You both are very similar like that Quinn and you know it."

"I'm aware of how much her and I are alike. We always have been. That's why we're such good friends." Quinn pulled out a bottle of water from the refrigerator and made her way into the living room. Once she made herself comfortable on the sofa, she propped her feet up and laid against the armrest. "I could really use one of your massages right now." The pregnancy was already starting to take its toll on her back.

"I promise to give you a nice, long massage when I get home." It was a craft that Rachel had perfected ever since Quinn and Santana's car accident six years prior. The wreck had caused a pair of slipped discs in the middle of Quinn's spine. Every so often, a simple twist, or even how she slept, would agitate it and the blonde would be in pain for hours, or even days.

"That sounds amazing. My back is killing me." Quinn allowed her eyes to close. Normally, she would take some Tylenol to help with the pain. Sadly though, she knew it wasn't safe or recommended for her to take any pain relievers.

"You know what will help you honey?" Rachel waited for a sound of acknowledgement before she continued, "go fill up the bathtub. Get into the cabinet by the sink and there should be some of those lavender bath salts in there. That should help you relax."

"Why can't you be here to get the water ready for me?" The attorney groaned as she sat upright again. She could feel the muscles straining in her back from the simple action of sitting up and then standing. The shooting sensation across her hips definitely didn't help any either.

Rachel giggled at her wife, "I am not your bath slave Quinn."

"I never said you were. But you take care of me when I'm in pain. You spoiled me with that ever since the accident." Quinn opened up the cabinet once she was in the bathroom. Sure enough, there was a half full contained of lavender bath salts. "And even when you're not here, you take care of me." She opened the container and placed it on the edge of the tub before turning on the water. Once the temperature was right, she went back into the bedroom to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Quinn, you know you would do exactly the same thing for me." It was obvious that the starlet was smiling.

Rachel spoke the truth. Quinn would, in fact, do the exact same thing for Rachel – and she had. She'd lost track of the number of times she'd taken care of her wife while she was sick, or those few times she twisted her ankle while performing. "I know." She carefully laid back on the bed, wincing as the action stretched out the muscles along her spine. "I miss you."

"I miss you, too, Quinn." Rachel sighed. She wanted nothing more than to curl up with her wife and do anything within her power to take her aches and pains away. "Why don't you go and take your bath baby? Take a book with you and just relax."

Quinn smiled. It had been a while since she lost herself in a novel. "That sounds incredible actually. I'll call you before I get ready for bed?" It was more of a statement than a question in her eyes. She carefully stood up from her bed before walking back to the living room to look through the bookcase.

"I hope it helps your back honey. You can call me at any time and you know that. I am probably going to go out to eat with some of the cast tonight."

"Tell them I said hi." Quinn smiled softly. Over her time spent at the studio with Rachel, she'd come to meet and get to know all of her co-stars. They were definitely an incredible group of people. She ran her fingers over the books on the shelf, before finding one that caught her attention. "I love you Rach."

"I love you Quinn. I'll talk to you later."

"Alright. Enjoy your dinner tonight." They finished saying their byes before ending the phone call. She pulled the murder mystery novel out from its place on the shelf and walked back into the bathroom. She added some salts to the water and used her hand to mix them in before she finally turned the water off. Her phone and the book were placed near the sink before she got a towel out from the cabinet. Carefully, she stripped off her clothing and tossed them on a pile near the closed door before stepping into the water.

It was a little bit hotter than she originally thought it would be, but it wasn't a bad thing. The heat of the water was helping to relax the muscles throughout her body. She gathered her phone and book – setting her phone on the edge of the tub, within her reach, she leaned back against the tub wall and flipped open the book to read.


"Honey, I'm home!" Santana's voice echoed through the house as she used her copy of the key to open the front door. "I know you're here woman, your car's outside." She kicked the door shut behind her and made her way further into the house. "Quinn?" She called out again before placing the bag of food she'd brought on the counter in the kitchen before going to search through the rooms. "Where are you at?"

Quinn stirred at the sound that was invading her dreams. She turned to her side and snuggled further into the pillow that she was curled up against – Rachel's pillow.

"Oh Quinnie." Santana's voice faded some when she finally opened the bedroom door. A smile came to her face when she saw her friend curled up in her bed. She was wearing a white tank top and a pair of track shorts. Santana just couldn't help herself as she pulled her cell phone out of her jeans pocket to take a picture of her. Quinn looked so peaceful and she felt bad to disturb her. After she took a picture, she scrolled through her contacts until she found Rachel.

Santana: Found your wifey all passed out. That your pillow?

Once the picture showed as sent, she sat down on the edge of the bed and gently shook the other woman. "Hey Quinn. Wake up. It's almost 7."

The blonde groaned and shifted onto her back, her leg pushing into Santana some as she shifted. "San?" Her eyes slowly opened and landed on the Latina that sat beside her on her bed. "What are you doing here?"

"Figured you'd want some company, plus some dinner."

Quinn's eyes closed again as her arms lifted above her head and she stretched. Her stretching, caused her tank top to ride up some, showing her slightly swollen stomach. Being four months pregnant, she still wasn't showing much, but there was definitely a hard lump forming. "Depends, what did you bring?" Her hands fell to rest on her stomach. She was comfortable enough around Santana now, that she didn't bother fixing her top.

The Latina rolled her eyes at her friend. "What do I always bring when I bring you food?"

"Hot wings and fries." She sat up, a slight smile coming to her face. It had been a while since she'd had hot wings. In reality, she didn't know she was even craving it until she said it, Santana nodded, and her stomach started to grumble from hunger. "Sounds good to me." Quinn stretched again once she was sitting on the edge of the bed. This time, though, something popped in her hip, causing her to wince.

"You okay?" Santana quickly placed her hand on her friend's lower back. She knew about the blonde's back pain that would come and go ever since their accident.

Quinn shook her head and stood up. "I'm fine. Spent too much time on my feet today and my back's hating me for me." She led the way into the kitchen and quickly dug into the bag she spotted.

Santana made herself comfortable on one of the barstools and leaned on the counter, watching her friend dig into the bags. "You need to be careful with that. It's only going to get worse."

"I know." She popped open a black Styrofoam container and shoved a French Fry into her mouth. "I took a long bath when I came home. Then I stretched out in bed. Guess I fell asleep." She shrugged it off. Taking a little nap did her good. She felt much more relaxed, not to mention awake, than she did when she got home.

The pair moved out into the living room to relax on the sofa. They chatted lightly about their jobs and Rachel before settling in to watch a movie for the night.


April 20 – 5:30PM

Quinn took a sip of her water in between her laughter. "And then, hold on… Then Amanda decided to strip off her shirt and run around the set in just her bra! I wish you could have seen it Quinn." Rachel could barely control her own laughter as she explained what had happened earlier that day on set.

"Why was she doing that though? I can't picture her doing something like that on her own."

"One of the stage crew dared her. And Amanda can never back down from a dare."

Quinn's phone started beeping in her ear. She was barely able to hear it over the sound of her and Rachel's laughter. She pulled the phone away from her ear to see Beth's name and face appear on her screen. "Hey Rach… Beth is calling me…" she trailed off, hoping Rachel wouldn't be upset with her for wanting to take the call.

"Go answer it honey. Call me later okay? Tell Beth I said hi."

"Okay, I love you." She looked at her phone again and accepted the incoming call. "Hello?"

"Hey Quinn. I hope I'm not interrupting anything." The girl sounded a bit out of breath on the other end of the phone.

The attorney made her way into the living room and plopped down on the sofa. She propped her feet up on the other end and let her head rest against the armrest. "Not at all. I was on the phone with Rachel, but I can call her back… she said to tell you hi by the way."

"Aww, you didn't have to get off the phone with her just for me."

Quinn knew she didn't have to. But, she wanted to. She was still rebuilding her relationship with her daughter and wanted to take every opportunity she had to continue making that newly found bond stronger. "It's fine, I'll just call her back later. Why so you sound so out of breath?"

The younger woman laughed softly and took a moment to regain her breath. "I was playing around with this girl I know. She was chasing me… so yea, running around, I'm a little out of breath."

Quinn smiled, "this girl you know huh?" She cracked up laughing when she heard Beth start stumbling over her words. "Is she still around?"

"She's actually laying here on the grass with me – Hey!"

The attorney heard some rustling around as well as some laughter "Hello? Is this Quinn?"

"Yes it is. Who is this?" Quinn couldn't wipe the smile off her face. Beth had mentioned to her before that she was bisexual, but she always played it off whenever Quinn asked if there was someone special. Quinn was starting to wonder if this girl was Beth's 'special' person.

"Jess. Just this girl that Beth knows." In the background, Quinn could hear Beth trying, and failing to get her phone back. "So, Beth has been talking about you non-stop since you called her. Talking about you and your wife."

Quinn couldn't stop smiling – laughing occasionally when she heard Beth's cries of embarrassment come from the background. "Oh, she does?"

"Non-stop. Sometimes I have to tell her to shut up, or physically cover her mouth to get a word in edge wise… But anyway. She wants to meet you. I know she wants to come up there and go to lunch or something… All I'm asking, is please. I think she'd really enjoy it."

There was some more shuffling, this time it was followed by what sounded like Beth's annoyed voice. There was a brief pause before she spoke, "Quinn… Quinn, I'm sorry…" She had no idea how the woman would react to what Jess had told her.

"Why are you sorry? Did Jess tell me something that you weren't ready to tell me?"

Beth sighed. "Not really. She just told you something I've been wanting to tell you for a while, but never knew how."

Quinn smiled, even though Beth couldn't see it. "I'd love for you to come up sometime during the summer. You could even stay here for a few days if you wanted to. I know Rachel would love to meet you and would love having you here for a while."

"Finals will be over next week." Jess yelled loud enough, making sure Quinn would hear her.

"Rachel is doing some filming up in Monterey… I, well… I want her to be here when you come…"

"Oh, I completely understand." Beth cut off Quinn's babbling. She knew what the older woman was trying to spit out. She was just as nervous about this meeting as Quinn was, even though she'd never actually say the words. "Would it be okay if Jess came along too? Ya know… for the same reason as you wanting Rachel around…"

"Yes, of course. We have plenty of room here for both of you." Quinn smiled. She was going to get to actually meet her daughter. More than just talking to her or sending the occasional picture through text message. "It would be nice to meet your friend too."

"Speaking of my friend, she's over here crying because she wants to go and get something to eat. So I will text you later and we can figure out when would be good for me to come up there."

Quinn and Beth said their good byes with promise to make their plans soon. Once she hung up the phone she simply stared at it. She couldn't help but wonder if that conversation had just taken place. Beth really did want to come and meet her and Rachel. She was going to have a chance to get to know her daughter even more.

It was going to be completely different than just talking to her on the phone or sending their random pictures. Beth was going to be right there… right in front of her. She would be able to touch her – hug her – actually see her smile. There was just one problem in Quinn's eyes…

Her hand rested on her lower abdomen. The baby. She had still yet to tell Beth about her being pregnant. Most of her wanted to do it before she came up. Yet, part of her wanted to wait until she was there, right in front of her, to tell her.

She'd have to figure it out soon, if Beth planned on visiting with her friend in the next few weeks.


Don't forget to hit that review button to tell me what you think. Do you have any ideas for anything you'd like them to deal with soon? Quinn will have to go public with her pregnancy soon, would you like to see anything happen with that? I have some ideas, but I kind of need some help. I can't find my original story outline that had this planned up to the last chapter, which I believe would have been 33 or 34. I remember the basics of what I wanted, but to me, you can never go wrong with a little bit more drama for them to deal with. Nothing major of course. All the horrible stuff is over.

Anyway, I'm rambling again, sorry. Let me know what you think :)