An authors note...No excuses this time, just my deepest apologies(I blame Megan;)and sincere thanks to all who have favorited and reviewed. I will try to update as frequently as possible from now on. Hope you enjoy this chapter:D
Disclaimer-Glee is the property of FOX, the creators and the writers.
Beauty and the Geek
Her "talk" with Noah the day before, had gone about as well as trying to teach Britt calculus.
"Wassup?"
Placing her hand on her hip, Quinn quirked up her eyebrow. "Really?"
Puck let out a derisive snort. "Listen Q, you're the one who texed me and said we had to talk right away," he returned pointedly.
Quinn shook her head in disbelief. "Yeah, and that was yesterday, Noah. You never got back to me," she ground out angrily. "What if something had happened to Caroline?"
"But it didn't, right?" Puck shot back, his voice wavering slightly out of concern. "I mean, you're supposed to 911 me immediately if something bad ever happened to our daughter."
He took on an accusatory tone, which Quinn didn't appreciate very much. "No, nothing bad happened," she sighed, more out of relief that the frustration that was building feeling where her baby-daddy was concerned, "but this is about her." The stupidly inquisitive expression Puck was wearing, made Quinn want to knee him in the groin. How could he be this clueless? "Child support. You're more than three weeks late..."
"So this is about fucking money?" Puck cut in incredulously, his arms jerking up for dramatic effect.
Quinn narrowed her glare. "Yes Noah, money for YOUR daughters needs," she spat back, "you know, diapers, wipes, clothes, food..."
"It's always about money with you."
"Well, babies are expensive."
Their words nearly tumbled over one another, causing them both to pause awkwardly. After a moments pause, Quinn's expression began to soften a bit, though her glare at Puck, remained steady. "I can't keep relying on the Abrams to bail me out every time I get into a jam, Noah," she groaned imploringly. "A package of diapers here, a few jars of baby food there, that cute little outfit that was on sale...it all adds up"
"So what?" he chortled sardonically, "Those people are freaking loaded."
"Um, no they're not," she replied, with an almost a regretful shake of the head, just as Puck shot her an incredulous look. "Okay, so they both have well paying jobs, a nice house, in a nice neighborhood, but they still have bills. They still have three active kids, one who's currently sending out college applications."
For a split second, Quinn considered reminding him of the ever present expenses in the form of medical, pharmaceutical, and therapeutic bills that have amassed for the past nine years. Though the Abrams did have wonderful health insurance policies through both of their jobs, not everything was always covered...and Artie's ongoing care, was not cheap.
"Look, I don't know what you want from me," Puck's gruff voice rang out, startling Quinn out of her introspection. "It's the end of October, there's nothing out there right now."
Quinn began fuming all over again. "Okay, but what about the money you earned from closing up peoples pools?" Her anger only intensified when she saw the way his expression changed. "That money can't be gone already..."
"It's tied up right now."
Quinn's face blanched, and she had to swallow twice for the lump to disappear from her throat. "Tied up?" she gasped, fighting back the tears, and the urge to punch the cocky boy standing in front of her. Taking a moment to collect her composure, Quinn took a steadying breath and stepped forward, getting right up into Puck's face. "You know what Noah, I don't care what you have to do," she spat, "but come Friday, you'd better have some money for your daughter."
And sitting in class, listening to what Mr. Schuster was currently saying, made her even more convinced of that.
Noah Puckerman tried knocking over an ATM...literally.
Quinn could not believe her ears; not only was her daughter's father a deadbeat, he was also now a felon.
...
"Hey, you okay?"
Small smile forming before she was even able to lift her head from her notebook, Quinn nodded, as Artie coasted to a stop next to her. "Just thinking," she replied simply.
"'Bout what?" he returned, reaching out to twine his fingers with hers.
Quinn's grin spread wider, she loved the feel of their hands together. "Lots of things."
The crack in her voice alerted Artie, and he looked up, locking eyes with her. "Yeah, like what?" he repeated curiously.
Her expression faded slightly, and her chin fell to her chest. "This whole thing with Noah is so unbelievably screwed up," Quinn answered, shaking her head and shrugging at the same time. "He didn't just let down me and Caroline, he let down the whole Glee club. Sectionals is in a few weeks and if he's not back, or we can't find a replacement, then we're kind of fucked."
It was going on day four of her babydaddy drama, and while things were starting to look up a bit, there was no real end in sight yet. Because Noah's mom was unable to make even his small bail, he was forced to stay incarcerated until his hearing; but because of jail overcrowding, his relatively young age of recently turned eighteen, and this being his first(charged) offense, he was sent to stay in a nearby juvenile detention center.
"Is that what your trying to figure out here?" Artie teased, nudging the arm she had half draped over the notebook page underneath. One look, and he knew his assumption was wrong. "Quinn, what is this?"
She turned away from him, a pained expression, bordering on desperation, etched in her soft features. "Artie."
"No Quinn," he cut in anxiously. "We've already talked about this, numerous times, and..."
"I know," she interrupted this time, then sighed heavily. "But I think it's time that I finally swallowed my pride and moved back in with Judy and Russell."
"You said you'd never do that."
Artie's voice sounded so sad and small, it made Quinn's chest clench painfully. "I know I did, and I don't want to go back there," she paused, ignoring the exasperated look he was giving her, before adding, "but it's the only way."
Quinn shifted better to face him, then reclaimed his hand in hers. "It was my choice to keep Caroline, Artie, not your parents," she went on to explain, cutting him off again, before he had a chance to dispute her claim. "And it's the responsibility of my family to provide for her."
"But you guys are a part of our family too," he declared reassuringly, "a huge part."
"Artie, it's not the same,"she offered in rebuttal, but Artie simply silenced her with a finger to the lips.
"You are our family Quinn, both of you...and we all love you," he returned, steadfast and genuine. As Quinn's chin trembled, and tears began to spill down her cheeks, Artie tugged on her hand, guiding her onto his lap. "The house, our lives wouldn't be the same without the two of you."
Wrapping his strong arms around her waist, he continued. "I'm not telling you what to do, just asking that you wait to see what happens with Puck before making that decision." At Quinn's groan of skepticism at the seemingly hopeless situation Noah had gotten himself into, Artie chuckled softly. "We'll get through this", he whispered into her ear.
And that feeling of security of being held in his arm, was all the reassurance Quinn needed.
...
Sunday was Halloween, Caroline's first, and one of the favorite holidays in the Abrams household. Abbey loved the idea of getting all dressed up and being rewarded with candy, while Andy liked the fact that he could scare the pants off of anyone he pleased, without getting in trouble for it. Artie always enjoyed passing out the candy to the cute trick-or-treaters, but his favorite part was taking Abbey around the neighborhood himself...even if that meant waiting on the sidewalk below, as she walked up to the front doors with one of their parents.
This year would be different. Not just because Quinn and Caroline would be coming with them, but because Artie had a surprise for planned for Abbey.
"Hurry up, Artie, it's almost dark outside," the excited girl yelled from the other side of her brothers closed bedroom door.
"I'm still getting my costume on. I'll be out in a few minutes," he called back, then instructed, "Go wait out in the living room with Mom and Dad."
She did what she was told, even though she was about to burst with anticipation. Artie had been keeping his costume choice a secret this year, and the suspense was killing her. Usually she and her brother coordinated their costumes, but she wasn't sure what he'd choose that would go with her sparkly blue butterfly; though she knew for a fact that he would not dressing up as a groom to Quinn's bride as she had suggested, especially since the latter was dressed like a gardener to her baby girl's flower.
Abbey was bouncing excitedly on her toes until a somewhat familiar sound caught her attention. She began to turn around, letting out a squeal of delight before even getting half way. "You got it," she exclaimed, running over to Artie.
"Yep," he replied, grinning from ear to ear.
Her smile faltered for a second, and she turned serious. "Wait, I thought Dr. M said you couldn't put any pressure on your bad knee until it was all healed," she intoned, a hint of concern lacing her voice.
"He did, and it is," Artie returned happily, adding a cautionary statement as an afterthought. "I got the all clear from him last week, and have been practicing ever since. No signs of any problems, so just as long as I'm careful and don't overdo it, everything should be fine."
Abbey's elation returned, and this time even bigger than before. Her exuberant nod confirming that she herself would oversee that, though there was still one perplexing question laying heavily on her mind. "But then where's your costume?"
Artie chuckled as he looked down at his feet, then up again. "Right here," he answered simply, "I figured I'd just use the Re-walk."
A flicker of approval flashed across Abbey's features as she studied her brother. "You're going as a robot?"
"I was thinking more along the lines of awesome Transformer," Artie chuckled in response, "But robot will do."
Abbey giggled and gave an indifferent shrug before beckoning for him to follow.
Artie's grin widened. His eyes met Alicia's warm, encouraging ones as he slowly made his way behind his sister. They both knew neither the Re-walk, nor his stamina would last very long, but the last thing he wanted to do was disappoint Abbey. "Come back when you're ready, and either one of us can take over, or you can switch to your chair."
"Thanks Mom," Artie replied, nodding appreciatively.
They were almost down to the sidewalk, with Art there to assist Artie down the slightly treacherous slope of the drive, when Abbey stopped abruptly and ran back into the house. She returned seconds later with a handled plastic pumpkin, Alicia used for decoration. "You need your own, if you're going up to the doors, " she explained, holding the pumpkin out to Artie.
"Abbey, I'm too old to trick or treat," he returned, his blush of embarrassment, only minimal.
"But you have to," the little girl insisted. No, pleaded.
Abbey's request should have been no surprise. Considering that from the time she could talk, around two and a half, the little girl had always brazenly asked for extra candy for her brother...sometimes getting just a piece, other times getting a handful for the boy sitting at the bottom of their stairs, or the edge of their driveway.
Alicia's eyes shone a little as they darted between her children. "Or you can just use it for all of the extras you're bound to get with those awesome costumes," she suggested, both playfully and a little wistfully. She didn't want him to feel compelled to actually trick or treat, especially at seventeen years old, but she knew how much this meant to him...and not only because of Abbey. It nearly broke her heart when he decided to stop trick or treating in the fifth grade, opting instead to simply escort Abbey or be a part of her costume; and though she wasn't told it was because of kids teasing him for having to be carried up to peoples houses by his father, she had her suspicions.
Artie smiled, and allowed Abbey to hang the pumpkin from the grip of his left crutch. After which she announced with a gentle tug on his sleeve, "Now let's go!"
...
ANx2...Sorry for the lack of Quartie in the last section, but I really wanted to emphasize the Artie/Abbey dynamic a little more. Plus, we are building up for another arc coming soon:D
