Chapter 29 - Home Away From Home

"...I know this is inappropriate of me and I don't deserve your help but I'd really love it if you could get Quinn to call me. Thank you, Rachel. I know you must be angry at me and I don't blame you, I just wan-" the voicemail cuts off and Rachel breathes out slowly to regain composure. She checked her phone during break for the play, expecting a call from Quinn, maybe her parents. Not Judy.

It's been a week and a half since the whole thing with Judy went down and Rachel knows for a fact that Quinn's been avoiding her mother. She isn't happy with the things Judy said to Quinn about their relationship but she doesn't judge Judy for calling her. In fact, it kind of proves to her just how much Judy is willing to do to speak to her daughter.

Still, she's angry at Judy for yelling at Quinn that night and for trying to demean their relationship so she debates internally whether she should tell Quinn Judy called her. Is this even her decisiom to make? She doesn't know. She mulls over it as she finishes a quick salad.

She ponders over what Judy said. "Of course I'm angry with you," she hears herself speak to no one in particular, only thoughts of her girlfriend's mother. "I vouched for you, and you disappointed all of us." She listens to the voicemail once again to see if it helps her make a decision. What is Judy expecting out of this? That Quinn will pack up and once again return home to a place she can't be herself?

But for Judy to give up her pride and ego and call Rachel? Man, that sure takes some metaphorical balls. "Shit!" She exclaims while dialing Quinn.

"Hello?"

"How's school today?" Rachel tries easing her way into a conversation before telling Quinn about Judy's call.

"Slow," Quinn says with a monotone voice. She lays her hand on the desk in the library and rests her head on it, keeping her phone balanced on her other cheek. "How's rehearsal?"

"It's pretty good. How long of a break do you have right now?"

Quinn checks her watch, "about half an hour, then I have a quiz in my next class and I'm pretty sure he'll let us out early after that." She sighs and reluctantly raises her head to look at her notes again. "Clinicals have been crazy though. Good thing I work at such a chill place otherwise I'd think I'd be dead by now."

"Speaking of crazy..." Rachel uses that keyword as a transition. Maybe Quinn won't appreciate that adjective but she's merely inferring the idea that it happened is crazy, not Judy herself.

"Yeah?"

"So," Rachel clears her throat and quietly says, "Judy called. Judy called me, and left a voicemail. I was in rehearsal so I didn't really notice it until now." Rachel is trying to hide how nervous she is but she knows the speed in which the words are coming out of her mouth betrays her. "Then I debated whether you'd want to hear that she did or not and eventually settled on telling you ASAP."

There's barely a sound on the other side of the call until Quinn sighs and asks, "what did she want?"

"She asked me to ask you to call her and Quinn, don't you-"

"No," Rachel is interrupted by Quinn's stern word. "I don't think I should talk to her. At least not right now."

Rachel nods, although Quinn can't see her, and then says, "okay, baby. You decide when. But you can't avoid her forever. Does she at least know where you're staying?"

Probably not, Quinn figures. Maybe she should figure out a way to let her mother know she's at the Berry's and then also tell her to stop trying to contact her. It's not that she doesn't love her mom, but she's too angry at the moment, and figuring out how to deal with this entire thing with her mother breathing down her neck just doesn't seem like a suitable option. "I'll ask Santana do drop by."

"Do you miss her?" Rachel tries to be sensible about asking the question so she does so softly. It's barely audible and Quinn has an epiphany. She thinks that maybe Rachel can't quite understand why she'd choose to not speak to her mother, considering Rachel's own history. She feels a pang in her heart for Rachel and convinces herself not to overthink the situation or compare her relationship with Judy to Rachel's relationship with her biological mom.

Quinn's honest, "most days I'm fine, but when it comes to Beth I just -" She smiles, thinking of how Beth loves to listen to Judy read to her. "But then yeah, other moments I really miss my mom. I wish I hadn't taken her for granted when I was younger."

"You should take it as a good sign that your mom at least wants to talk about it with you. Talking is a first baby step, honey." Rachel looks at her watch and gets up to throw away the salad bowl in a trash can right outside the doors of the studio. "I gotta go, I have another three hours of choreography rehearsal but you'll keep me updated?"

"Yeah, of course. You're right, as always. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Good luck on your quiz, you're gonna destroy it!" Rachel woops loudly in the phone and at least their conversation ends on a light tone.

After the quiz, which Quinn is sure she passed with a hundred, she goes through with the plan to do something for the Berrys to thank them for taking her in. She's been largely ignoring the fact Judy called Rachel because when she thinks about it, it both upsets her and intrigues her tremendously. So, instead, she put all her focus on this surprise for these men.

The night before, she recorded a video of Rachel on Skype thanking them for everything they've ever done in her life; for being terrific parents to her and for never once making her life harder than it had to be.

Of course it was hard for Quinn to hear it - and for Rachel to talk about it in front of Quinn,- but as much as Quinn is a little jealous of that about Rachel's life, she's also happy for her. Because Rachel has received such open and judgment-free love, she's the girl she is today. And that girl is perfect for Quinn because she's teaching Quinn to let her own love grow tall.

Then, still in the video, Rachel thanks them for having such hearts that they didn't second guess giving Quinn a home. Loving her from the moment they heard about the single mother, and not worrying about what mistakes she's made. This is when Quinn started to cry.

In the end of it all, Quinn herself records a video. She starts by reading a letter she wrote because that was easier than talking.

When they are watching the video later, with Rachel present via Skype, Leroy and Hiram sharing the loveseat and Quinn holding Beth, the men find it hard not to cry. Quinn is also crying at Rachel's words.

And then it cuts to a shot of Quinn and Beth, and she smiles right at the camera. "I think Rachel's words were pretty much everything that needed to be said. And, I'm no singer like your daughter, but I can hold a note, I think. Beth and I can, right?" She looks at her daughter again and then focuses on the camera. "Turns out that this song just came up on my ipod the other day while I was coming home from work - wow, home," she shakes her head, still not used to saying that about the Berry househould. "I mean, I - well, this song is as much for Rachel as it is for you guys."

Rachel gasps, from New York. She wasn't expecting that, Quinn knows. But Quinn knows how much she owes Rachel as well.

"So, for the Berrys - I might have asked a friend, Puck, to teach me a song on the guitar. I learned over Skype so it's not perfect and I'll mess up, but -" where is it?" She looks behind the camera and Britt's hand shows up holding a black guitar by its neck. She hands Beth over to Santana and takes the guitar from Britt. "It's stripped down and raw, but I hope you guys like it. It explains a lot of how I feel inside."

On video, she starts playing the introduction to a song, and back in the living room, Quinn looks at Rachel already crying on the computer screen. She feels like she needs to sing for Rachel at some point, and what better time than now? She waits until Rachel looks away from Video Her to Actual Her and they share a smile before giving attention to Video Her as she starts singing.

I am an architect of days that haven't happened yet

I can't believe a month is all it's been

You know my paper heart

The one I filled with pencil marks

I think I might have gone and inked you in

Little by little, inch by inch

We built a yard with a garden in the middle of it

And it ain't much, but it's a start

You got me swaying right along to the song in your heart

And a face to call home, a face to call home

You got a face to call home

So good you didn't see the nervous wreck I used to be

You'd never know a girl could feel so small

And you never look at me like I'm a liability

I bet you think I've never been at all

Little by little, inch by inch

We built a yard with a garden in the middle of it

And it ain't much, but it's a start

You got me swaying right along to the song in your heart

And a face to call home, a face to call home

You got a face to call home

A face to call home, a face to call home

You got a face to call home

Maybe I could stay a while

Maybe I could stay a while

Maybe I could stay a while

I'm talking like, all of the time

Little by little, inch by inch

We built a yard with a garden in the middle of it

And it ain't much, but it's a start

You got me swaying right along to the song in your heart

(Maybe I could stay a while

Maybe I could stay a while

Maybe I could stay a while

I'm talking like, all of the time)

And a face to call home, a face to call home

You got a face to call home

The Quinn of the video laughs nervously and then the shot goes black.

Rachel is the first to speak. "Wow," she dries up a few tears. "You - you tricked me! You said this was for my dads and you needed me for support!"

Leroy stands quickly from the loveseat almost making Hiram fall off but Hiram's still trying to control his tears so he doesn't even get upset. "God, Quinn that was beautiful. It was the best gift, thank you so much." His brown eyes are glossy, she managed making all of them cry. He pulls her up by the elbow and crushes her in a hug with Beth in between them. "You're one of us now, okay? No matter what happens."

"Baby!" Rachel yells from the computer demanding the attention. "Do you know -" she is trying to slow down her breathing, "how - how hot it was to watch you play and sing?" She rubs her palms under her eyes, on her cheeks, over her lip - drying the tears that apparently won't stop.

Hiram's finally managed to gain some control and he's up, face up toward the ceiling, afraid that if he lets gravity do its thing, the tears will start falling again. "Anyway," he says to transition the thought back to those in the house. Rachel rolls her eyes but smiles anyway, "thank you, Quinn. This meant a lot," he tells her as he wraps her in his arms. His hug isn't as crushing as Leroy's but it carries the same amount of care and love. "You really didn't have to but I'm so honored that you did and I'm just - so overwhelmed that you did this for us."

"Are you kidding?" She asks, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. "You guys have literally put a roof over mine and my daughter's head - you have done too much, even."

Rachel pipes in, "I'm not over the guitar thing," she reminds Quinn. She mutters something about wanting Quinn to perform it for her alone and then her voice starts to sound really distracted.

Quinn tries not to laugh at the way Rachel jumps when Leroy claps loudly at the computer screen, bringing Rachel back to earth from the temporary daze she had managed to get into. "Please, Rachel, keep it in your pants while your fathers are in the room-" his face is straight and his tone of voice is serious but the sparkle in his eyes give him away.

When the men leave, Leroy to the kithen and Hiram to the office, Quinn takes the laptop and Beth up to her room and settles in bed to talk to Rachel after turning off the lights. Only the light from the laptop lights up hers and parts of Beth's face.

"So, you like the guitar then?" She gives Rachel a teasing wink and laughs when Rachel groans.

"It's definitely a turn-on," she nods at Quinn, eagerly. "Oh, Beth's there. Awkward." She purses her lips and widens her eyes. The face's adorable and it makes Quinn want to take a bath in warm chocolate.

"Relax, she doesn't quite understand what that means yet," with another wink. She sets the laptop to her right and then lies back down - her face turned towars the laptop, hair sprawling over her face and all over the keyboard. She rests Beth on her chest, the chubby cheek laying on Quinn's shoulder. It's too much for Rachel - the sight is so cute she literally aws.

Rachel's on her desk, watching them, wanting to be near them but being kept from them by miles. Beth is almost falling asleep, being helf by Quinn. Her tiny eyelids seem to battle to stay awake but sleep eventually wins over and she succumbs to it. Rachel snaps a screenshot of it and saves it to her desktop to remember to have it printed later. She's sure many people would love a copy of this picture. "You're gorgeous," Rachel states, mesmerized.

Quinn smiles lazily at the video, her red lips parting just enough to make it sexy, "you're so far. I'd love to make love to you right now." Her voice is barely above a whisper because she doesn't want to wake Beth, - and she makes sure the girl is still sleeping before continuing. "You're breathtaking. Just looking at you right now, and I have all of these emotions in my heart - I just would really like to thank you personally."

Rachel looks away, shy at Quinn's words. She's generally not shy, but when Quinn is so earnest with her, she can't help it but feel like it's all too much. She feels her cheeks warm and then manages to look at Quinn again. "I don't know if it's okay to talk about making love when your daughter is right there," she points out, trying to subside her awkwardness. Only Quinn brings this side of her out.

Giggling softly, Quinn runs her fingers through Beth's hair, "she's fine. Making love is a beautiful thing, anyway." She smiles, her teeth showing in perfect rows of white, "especially when it's with someone as hot as you."

"Hm, I do appreciate the compliment. We are pretty hot together. Although it's only happened twice, sometimes if I'm going about my day and I think of one of our encounters, I'm brain dead for the rest of the day."

"You are, huh?" Quinn asks, very thrilled to hear this about Rachel.

"I mean, you've seen yourself!" Rachel makes a show of checking out... Quinn's face, because it's the only thing showing on screen of her body. "You're the prettiest girl I've ever met, Quinn..." Rachel tells her like it's some sort of personal, very secret information. "But you're a lot more than that," she finishes her thought.

She can't seem to stop smiling at Rachel. Those eyes convey such certainty. Every time she looks at Rachel, she can't help but think about how quickly everything seemed to happen, but she wouldn't trade it for the world. She cautiously lifts her fingers from Beth's hair and presses her lips to them, and then moves it toward the screen. When she presses her hand up to Rachel's virtual face, the brunnette closes her eyes and pretends to feel it. "Thank you," Quinn tells her. She goes back to caressing Beth.

They talk for a while longer until Tina shows up in Rachel's apartment with Finn. Sure it's late over there but it's a Thursday night and neither of them work Friday morning. She's got a glass of wine in her hand and take out in the other. When she sees Quinn, she stops behind Rachel and waves, greeting her. They've only met a couple times over the computer before but it's never awkward between them. Then, Tina excuses herself and Finn and they disappear into the kitchen. "You should go to sleep," Rachel tells her.

Quinn nods, barely, and stifles a yawn. "Yeah, I have to be up before 6 tomorrow." She shares a pained smile with Rachel. "But, hey, thanks for staying with me for a while."

The noise coming frim the kitchen in Rachel's apartment gets louder when Blaine gets home too. Rachel apologizes for her friends and says, "Of course. I wouldn't trade this for anything." She leans closer and brings her voice down, "dream of me. I'll be thinking of you all night."

Quinn blushes at the thought, "good night, Rach."

"I love you," Rachel tells Quinn, who tells her just the same at almost the same time, before turning off the video.

Reluctantly, Quinn gets up from bed, turns on the bedroom lights, and sets Beth down in her crib with a blanket of a bee that Leroy and Hiram got for her over her little body. She leans down, moving light blonde hair away from her shut eyes, and kisses her forehead gently. Then, she turns off the lights again and goes to bed.

She's awakened in the morning by her phone ringing. It's really loud, and it must he earlier than six. Who could possibly be calling her - oh yeah. There's that thing with her mom. She checks the screen and sure enough, her mother's number flashes at her. She turns down the volume and lets it go to voicemail again, and decides that it's time to get up to go get ready for clinical.

She's dropping Beth off at Britt and Santana's when she gets another call. This time it's from an unknown number but she's not dumb. Santana only works later in the day, so she asks for a favor while they're eating pancakes. "Could you please call my mother and tell her that I'm at the Berrys and that I'm fine and for her to stop trying to contact me?"

Santana stops chewing, the fork mid-air, and stares. "You haven't told her?"

"I'm not speaking to her. I'm surprised she hasn't called you guys, she even called Rachel."

Britt speaks up, "oh! She called! But I just told her that you were Berry fine. I don't think she understood me." Both Santana and Quinn share a look, a smile, and then crack up.

"Thanks, Britt, love you," Quinn says as she's standing to go. "I gotta go," she says, gives Britt a kiss on the cheek. "But you'll do it right, San?" She rounds the table and squats in front of Santana, hand on top of her friends'.

Santana's eyes fall on the gesture and she rolls her eyes, giving in. "Yeah, I'll call her."

"Thanks! You're the best!" Quinn hugs her in a lunge and knocks the air out of Santana. Then she gives Beth a goodbye kiss and goes to school.

She gets a text from Santana later, asking if they could meet for lunch before Quinn goes to work, so they do. They meet at a small Colombian restaurant a couple miles only away from Dr. Evans' clinic and Santana tells her about the phone conversation she had with Judy.

"She's devastated. I think much more now than that time you stayed with us after your dad showed up around here," Santana tells her with a mouthful of arepas. She sucks on her thumb and then each finger before continuing. "I asked her that she leave you alone and she said that it's imperstive that you guys talk. Then she broke down on the phone and I swear to god, Quinn, it was so uncomfortable listening to your mom cry. I can't tell if she's upset and distraught because you're gay or because you aren't talking to her."

"Do you think I should be? She had no right -"

Santana stops her with a hand up, "yo. Your mom told me that you didn't even give her a chance. She was in shock too. Most of what she said that day was probably out of shock and confusion than anything else. Come on, a random person tells you that she saw your daughter kissing another girl? That's a lot of information. Besides, she felt betrayed you didn't tell her."

"Why are you defending her?" Quinn asks, her eyebrows bunching together. "You sound exactly like Rachel sometimes." Rachel doesn't have to say these things exactly for Quinn to know that this is something Rachel would say. That even if Judy said some hurtful things, she was hurting too, and that maybe, talking about it might help.

"I'm not defending her. I don't think it's cool that she tried to convince you this was a phase. But you're stubborn and sometimes you are too guarded and the people who love you can't show you how much they care." Santana steals the arepa still left uneaten on Quinn's plate and says, "at least talk to her. You don't have to go back home; you don't have to forgive her quite yet - just, communicate. You guys were doing so well before this."

Quinn's quiet for a moment, thinking it through. How her mother would react to them having an actual conversation about Rachel. She asks, "did you say anything to her?"

Santana chuckles, "hell yeah. I took the opportunity and berated her for simply attacking you when you got home. I told her she had already dropped the ball with the Russell thing and this should've been something she did right. I think I talked for about twenty minutes and she literally just sat there and listened. I know I'm not your mother's favorite but I think she respects me now."

"I guess I should call her and see if she's busy this weekend. It really would suck to spend Thanksgiving angry at her, even if I'll be in New York then."

Santana leaves her to go to work and Quinn finds that for most part that's all she thinks about when she's in the clinic. Sam sends a text from Cali telling her to hang in there, probably because Devin must've filled him in the happenings of Lima. It's such a coincidence he sends it on the day she most needs it. She really likes this dude.

The clinic closes early on Fridays, and so she calls Britt to let her know she won't be picking up Beth right when she gets out and instead drives home. On the drive there, she goes over a thousand different ways this conversation may go and hopes that in the end nobody ends up dead. The egos in the Fabray household are all very big and that might be a reason why they can't ever get along.

She knows her mom is home because her BMW is parked outside the garage today. She walks up slowly, and then slower when she gets to the door. The bell sounds throughout the house and she prays for the first time in a long time that God will help her.

And then the door opens and Quinn's mouth drops, "Mrs. Dirk!" She's immediately angry. This lady is the reason all of this is happening anyway. "What the hell are you doing in my home?" It's exhausting that her mother keeps surprising her with unwanted guests. Behind Mrs. Dirk's head, she catches a glimpse of a shocked Judy and a couple of her other friends; she shakes her head at her mother and decides that it isn't worth her time, "You know what?" She says too calmly, "never mind. You guys have fun."

She turns and leaves, hearing her mother call out her name behind her. Not this again, she thinks. Judy catches her, even in heels, right before she opens the car door. "Honey, stop. I didn't know you'd be coming home today!"

"Is that supposed to help or -?" She doesn't spare a glance at Judy, her eyes already being covered by sunglasses, keeping the tears secret.

"It's just a meeting. We weren't talking about you or anything. Just, come in and I'll make them leave." Judy promises and reaches for Quinn's wrist. She pulls on it lighty, "come on, just go straight into the den and I'll get them all to leave within the minute."

She really doesn't want to be in the same room as Mrs. Dirk because she's afraid she might just yell at he or try to murder her and question why would she want to ruin her life, but she nods instead. And she follows her mother inside her childhood home, invaded by old loveless ladies, crossing them all and slamming the door of the den behind her.

She can hear Judy speaking to them in the living room. A smile breaks on her face when she hears Judy say, "yeah, well, she's my daughter and it's my problem so get out.

She thinks it's Mrs. Evans, Sam's mother, who says, "Quinn is an amazing young woman, you all. I don't see how her being in love with a girl makes her any less amazing. Now, everybody, scoot. Let's go home and let them talk."

In her mind, she makes a mental note to call Sam and tell him that she's figured out how he turned out to be so amazing.

The door of the den opens right as she's texting Rachel about being home. "I'm really glad you decided to come over, sweetheart," her mom says, eyes and voice much more different than that fateful day. They were also in the den, but this time it feels different. "I had a lot of time to think."


A.N.: two updates so close to each other?! Whaaa-

anyway, the song is called A Face To Call Home by John Mayer from his Born & Raised album.

p.s.: QUINN IS GAYYYYYYY.

okay.

Xx.

TWiM