SAM & QUINN: FINDING ENCHANTMENT
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE~RESCUE
SETTING: Sam and Quinn in Tennessee
WHO: Sam and Quinn Evans, others
WHEN: Mid to Late September 2013
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing related to Glee or any other song/product mentioned below.
On Quinn's first day at the daycare, she got there at 11 a.m. and walked into a roomful of screaming, crying kids. The older kids were occupied, but the younger set was a mess. Since it was her first day, Lori put her with the older kids, ages 6-9. They mostly entertained themselves, coming to her with questions and help with whatever they were doing. When she arrived, they were reading, or trying to, amidst the screaming toddlers and would ask her for help with words or what certain words meant. At noon, it was lunchtime and suddenly the room was quiet for a few minutes. Then, her group of kids became chatty but remained relatively calm. After a half-hour lunch, they had a half-hour of physical activity where they played recess-type games to burn off energy. Then, it was naptime until 2:30. Lori came over to Quinn and asked how she was faring.
"Jasmine has been a big help," Quinn said, referring to one of the other daycare assistants who was in charge of the 10- to 12-year-olds that day. "No behavioral issues. The kids have been great."
"That is so good to hear, Quinn. How is it going being away from your own little one?"
"Well, I miss him terribly; he's in good hands though," Quinn smiled, thinking of Joseph.
"That's always the hardest part of being a working mom," Lori sighed. "Let me show you where we keep the parental communication forms if there is an incident or discipline issue."
When the kids got up from their naps, Quinn was excited. It was art time, what she was so anxious to share with them. She asked her group of eight what they felt like doing that day.
"We have a whole hour…so we can paint, draw, make a sculpture…"
A little red-haired girl raised her hand. Quinn called on her.
"I'd like to draw a picture of a horse," she said simply.
"Great! We can use crayons, chalk, colored pencils, markers…" She set them up at a large round table and passed out sheets of paper to each child. This was simple enough, she thought, I wonder what each child will draw.
She set out the containers of different drawing utensils and the kids got started on their drawings. By the time they were finished, there were three horses, a unicorn, a city, a basketball court, a dinosaur, and a dog. She could at least make out each drawing. The basketball court drawing was interesting because the little boy drew it as if he were looking down on the court. The red-haired girl's horse was impressive. One little boy's picture of a city was basically just different colored blocks but Quinn loved it. They all seemed happy with their drawings and put them in their personal cubby space to take home when they left for the day.
That was one thing Quinn found difficult, kids leaving and joining her group throughout the day. She had a hard time remembering their names. Sometimes, there were 8 kids, sometimes 6, then up to 9. Finally, at 4:30, the older kids had a half-hour to clean up before the evening shift began, which also signaled suppertime. Quinn noticed most of her kids were taking off at 5. As the parents came to retrieve their children, she tried to make contact with them to introduce herself as someone new on the staff there. Most were receptive, some were in a hurry, which she understood. At 5 p.m., she got to leave and get back to her Joseph.
Lori caught up with her before she left and commended her on a great first day.
"I think on Thursday we'll try you with the toddlers, is that okay? Next week, you can have the infants and then the 10-12's," Lori told her. Quinn knew the toddlers were probably the most challenging group of kids there.
"Sure! I'm up for the challenge, Lori. Thank you!" Quinn said happily and then left for the farm.
Once she got home and held Joseph in her arms, she realized the extent of being gone from him for 6 hours. She squeezed him tight, wishing she never had to let him go.
"I'm sure you're ready to prop your feet up and rest some," Gramma told her. "Tell me about your day."
Quinn did sit down, still loving on Joseph, and told Gramma bits and pieces of her day.
"The only bad part about today? When one of the little boys flipped green jello on my foot…that was kinda gross but I survived!" Quinn laughed.
Sam was going to be home soon, so she nursed Joseph and got a little bit of work done on the computer, pretty much just answering emails.
He got home and listened to her retell her day. It made him happy to see her so happy.
"And I'm not even that tired!" she said.
After her shift on Thursday, though, she had a much different story to tell. She had told Lori she was up for the challenge of watching the toddlers, 2- to 5-year-olds, but she soon found out it was entirely different than the kids she had watched on Tuesday. These kids all wore nametags, thankfully, so Quinn could keep track of them. Also, Jasmine was working with Quinn that day so she wouldn't be on her own with 8 toddlers.
Quinn had never seen so many tantrums occur all at once. It seemed if one child started crying and screaming, that behavior set off another child, and so on. By lunch, she herself was ready to cry.
"I promise, it gets better, Quinn," Jasmine said, laughing a little. "The first time with the toddlers is always the hardest."
"How do you handle all 8 by yourself?"
"You get used to them, what they like and don't like, that helps a lot, and their temperaments. It's just a learning process. Also, Lori always pairs up assistants with the toddlers," Jasmine told her.
"Whew!" Quinn said, pretending to wipe her brow.
They managed to get all the toddlers to sit down, though not sit still, and somehow got them to eat something. At the end of lunch and cleaning up the kids and putting them down for a nap, Quinn stole away to the restroom and noticed she had pudding smeared in her hair, had had a juice spilled down her front, and had crushed up crackers in her bra. She looked in the mirror and saw her lip quiver.
"No. I can do this. Art is coming up, and we are gonna have fun!" she said to herself. "God, I hope Sam's thinking of me."
At the farm, Sam was focusing on spreadsheets on his grandfather's iPad. His mind was reeling from all the numbers and various information. He rubbed his hands against his head. He was in the barn office, trying to understand what his grandfather was telling him. Finally, something he said about yield clicked with Sam and suddenly it was making sense. His classes at TTC maybe had a little bit to do with helping him understand finally. He had been working hard on keeping up with his reading for those classes. He wondered how Quinn was doing with the toddlers.
Presently, she now had Play-Doh matted in her hair. She and Jasmine decided to let the kids play with Play-Doh and it had been going well until one little boy tossed a handful of the stuff, whacking another little boy in the head. Quinn thought their nap only recharged them; she was hoping that it would calm them down a bit.
After art, it was reading circle time. Jasmine read the story while Quinn sat with the kids on the floor. When she was down on their level, they seemed to respond better to her and even seemed to behave better.
When 5 o'clock rolled around, Quinn breathed a huge sigh of relief. Lori asked her how her day went and Quinn was speechless.
"Ummm…" Quinn mumbled.
Lori laughed. "That's how everyone reacts after watching the toddlers the first time!"
"It was definitely an experience. I finally had a breakthrough at the end of the day though, when I got down on the floor with 'em. They seemed to like that," Quinn told her.
"I think they like big people to be on their level. Jasmine said you held up really well. Oh, you've got a Cheerio on your shoulder," Lori said, picking it off.
Quinn giggled. "I'm ready for a shower!" They said goodbye and Quinn headed home.
Later that night at the farm, Quinn had her feet propped up on Sam's lap and he was dutifully rubbing them for her. They were relaxing in the family room with Joseph in his pack and play.
"Sounds like a really rough day, Q," he said, pressing his thumb against the arch of her foot.
She moaned. "It was fun but busy…those kids never slow down."
He smiled. "My poor Quinnie…" He squirted some more lotion on her foot.
"That feels oh so good Sam…" she said, closing her eyes. "How was your day?"
"Busy…worked on the computer a lot today. I thought of you," he said.
She smiled. "It helps to know you think of me…I miss you and Joey while I'm gone."
"We miss you too, little momma," Sam said quietly.
Eventually, Quinn drifted off to sleep. Sam gently lifted her feet off his lap and got a bottle ready for Joseph. He fed him while watching ESPN and then took him upstairs to put him to bed. He then returned to the couch and picked Quinn up and took her to their bed.
On Saturday morning, Quinn met Rachel and Kourtney at TTC for their CPR/basic first aid class. After the class, they were going out for lunch and just having a "girls' day out" basically while their husbands babysat. There was a handful of other people joining them of differing ages, more women than men. Some were nurses getting recertified and some were like Quinn and her friends, first-timers.
Then, the instructor entered the room and many female jaws dropped.
He was a tall man, shaggy black hair, very blue eyes, clean-shaven, muscular, wearing shorts falling at mid thigh and a tank top. Then, he spoke and many females melted. His voice was deep and soothing. When he spoke to people in the room he focused on them and nothing else it seemed. His name was Ryan.
They first discussed basic first aid topics: what to have in a kit, have a plan, be knowledgeable about common situations that may arise. Quinn glanced at Kourtney and almost could see tiny cartoon hearts circling her head. She wondered how much of this information Kourtney was actually retaining. He talked about universal precautions, bandaging a bleeding wound, splinting a possible fracture, and one- and two-person lifts. They went over the ABC's according to the American Heart Association (awake?, breathing?, continued care). They discussed signs of seizures, low blood sugar, and anaphylaxis and what to do in those cases. He went over situations when one should call 911. Then, they took a short break and the CPR part of the course began, starting with adult cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
"This is Annie," Ryan said, bringing out the rescue mannequin. "We'll be saving her today, many times over." The class shared a polite laugh. He went through the steps of checking the victim for consciousness, chest compressions, and rescue breathing. He turned on a jam box in the room and the song Stayin' Alive began. He explained this was a song that could be used to time the compressions, pushing to the beat.
He was demonstrating chest compressions, and Quinn could've sworn Kourtney was drooling. Granted, Ryan's biceps were to die for, even more defined than Sam's, Quinn thought. Then, he showed them the head tilt/chin lift technique for rescue breathing and also showed them a CPR mask. He then pushed out a large bin on wheels, full of Annies for the room to practice on.
"They've all been sterilized," he said, when someone asked him about germs. Rachel looked at Quinn and rolled her eyes.
He rolled the bin to Quinn and her friends and Quinn watched the interaction between Ryan and Kourtney as he handed her her victim. She stammered over her words (thank you Ryan) and Quinn saw how he eyeballed her, as well. He moved onto other class members.
"Okay, what do we do?" Kourtney whispered to Quinn and Rachel.
"Really? Did you not listen to him?" Quinn asked, laughing.
"I listened to him but I couldn't concentrate…did you not see that bulge?" Kourtney whispered.
Quinn and Rachel both snorted.
"No, I didn't notice his bulge; I've got to pay attention to get certified!" Quinn said. Then, she had to take a quick peek. Sam's is so much nicer, she thought, smiling and blushing a little.
Everyone started practicing their CPR to the beat of Stayin' Alive. Then, Ryan asked a question and Quinn thought Kourtney might literally pass out (then we could do CPR on her, Quinn giggled at that).
"Does anyone want to practice on me?" he asked.
Kourtney's hand shot up into the air. Quinn looked at Rachel who was thinking the same thing as Quinn: oh my god!
"C'mon Kourtney," he said, smiling, waving her to the front of the class. Quinn got her phone out, ready to record this to show Kourtney later.
Kourtney squealed a bit and practically skipped to where Ryan was laying down on a mat on the floor.
"Gather 'round, everyone," he said as Kourtney dropped on her knees next to him.
Quinn looked at Rachel and whispered, "I think she just licked her lips!"
Quinn started recording.
"Okay, Kourtney's not going to do actual chest compressions on me because obviously I'm alive and well. She is going to demonstrate to the class, however, where to place your hands for the compressions."
Ryan prompted her where to put her hands, and she did so like a robot.
"Okay, rescue breathing. She's now going to demonstrate the head tilt/chin lift technique," he said.
She tilted his head back and lifted his chin and was going in to put her mouth on his when he laughed and said he didn't resuscitating. Quinn was choking back her laughter (maybe I'll need CPR when this is all over).
Kourtney blushed deeply and straightened herself. He sat up and detailed the differences between adult CPR, child CPR, and infant CPR. Then, the people who actually needed to be certified or wished to be certified were watched. Quinn and Rachel received their certification; Kourtney was still too flustered to concentrate on the procedure to earn her certification. As Ryan certified you, you could leave when you were done. The three girls were preparing to leave when Ryan called for Kourtney. She looked at Quinn and Rachel and told them she'd meet them at the car.
Quinn and Rachel were a little surprised but went on to the car to wait on Kourtney.
"What do you think he wanted?" Rachel asked.
Quinn shrugged. "Hopefully nothing. She's obviously married."
A few minutes later, Kourtney ran out of the building and hopped in the car.
"Who's hungry?" she asked happily.
Quinn and Rachel both turned to face her in the back seat.
"Uh…what the hell was that about?" Quinn asked her.
"What was what about?" Kourtney asked innocently.
Quinn and Rachel just looked at her.
Kourtney sighed loudly. "He wanted my number! I, of course, told him I'm somewhat happily married and showed him my ring."
"Oh my god, he was so hot!" Rachel exclaimed, making them all giggle. Quinn pulled out and they decided on Duels, the steakhouse Sam's grandparents liked.
"So, are you gonna tell Blaze?" Rachel asked over lunch.
"There's nothing to tell. He very politely asked if he may call me sometime and I very politely said I was sorry but I was happily married with a nearly 1-year-old child. He smiled and apologized and that was that," Kourtney told them. "I mean, yeah, he was uncontrollably gorgeous but I wouldn't do that to Blaze."
"Oh! I recorded you practicing CPR on him! I'll send it to your phone," Quinn said, pulling her phone out. She called up the video and sent it to Kourtney's phone. Kourtney watched it and laughed out loud about it.
"I look like I'm in a trance," she said, giggling. "I'm definitely not showing Blaze this!"
"No, I wouldn't. The less he knows, the better," Rachel suggested.
After lunch, they went to the mall and got manicures/pedicures and did a little shopping, picking up mostly baby items.
"I love being a mom!" Kourtney said, looking at dresses. "I'd love to have a little boy next."
"And Quinn is about to add to her family…so exciting!" Rachel said, looking at dresses with Kourtney.
Quinn was looking at little boy outfits for Joseph. He had had a growth spurt and she knew he was going to need warm clothes for winter so she chose baby cords and a sweater and a one-piece snow suit.
"Joey will look adorable in that!" Kourtney said, picking up the snow suit.
"The girls need snow suits too so we can all play outside this winter," Quinn suggested.
"Don't you go soon to find out the sex of the new baby?" Kourtney asked Quinn.
"In about 2 weeks, on October 1st. Can't wait!" she answered. "By the way, thanks for going with me today to the CPR thing; it was nice to have friends tag along with me."
"It was nice to get away for a few hours. I can't believe not one of the boys has called us!" Rachel said.
"That is a little shocking," Quinn said, wondering how Sam and Joseph were faring.
After their shopping expedition, Quinn dropped Rachel and Kourtney at their homes and headed to the farm. She was ready for some Sam, Quinn, and Joseph time.
She found Sam lying on the couch, asleep, with Joseph tucked in the crook of his arm, also asleep, the TV on some sports channel. Gramma told her they'd been napping for about a half-hour. Quinn put her items from the mall away and went back to the family room to wait on the two to wake up. She loved to watch Sam sleep, which wasn't very often, but him sleeping with the baby looked like the most natural thing in the world to her. He was relaxed, peaceful, comfortable, as was Joseph. She was daydreaming of what the rest of their weekend off might entail, maybe the grocery store, laundry always, definitely work in some sexytime with Sam…
Joseph wiggled a bit and whined. Quinn jumped up and took him from Sam's arm and held him finally.
"I missed you today, little dude," she murmured to him as he woke up. "Are you hungry, Joseph?" Her breasts were full, so she hoped he was hungry. There was usually not a problem there unless he was cutting teeth, she had noticed. And that day there was no problem. He latched right on happily. "Just try not to bite me, Joey."
Sam had heard her talking quietly to Joseph and watched her from the couch as she nursed him.
"Hey..." he mumbled, sitting up slowly. "How was your class? Did you and the girls have fun?"
"A blast. I got my certification and so did Rachel but not Kourt..."
"Why didn't Kourt get hers?" he asked, stretching his arms overhead and yawning.
"She was blind-sided by the instructor," Quinn giggled.
"Wow..."
"What'd you and little man do today?"
"Oh, we had a good day too. Finn and I took him and Arielle to the park and then for ice cream. I let Joseph try a little vanilla, which he promptly puked up all over his car seat. So, I cleaned him up when we got home, then the car and car seat..." he shuddered recalling the sour smell "and then hung out watching some college football."
"Oh gross! Gross Joey!" she said to him., squishing his nose to his as she switched sides. "We had a nice lunch at Duels and then went to the mall."
"Yeah, I noticed your pretty pink toes..." he said, grinning.
She wiggled her toes around. "You like?"
"Mhmm...I like..."
"So what're we doing tonight?" she asked. "Staying in sounds kind of nice."
"I agree...I wanna spend some time lovin' on my wife and my kid and my soon-to-be kid..." he laughed a little.
"Maybe we can find a good movie?"
"C'mere and we can discuss the matter further..." he said, making room for her next to him. She curled into his side with Joseph and got comfortable.
A couple hours later when they were halfway through an X-Men flick that Sam picked out, he heard his phone ringing with Blaze's ringtone. He picked it up off the coffee table. Quinn paused the movie.
"Yo..."
All he heard was crying. "Sam...please come..." And the line went dead.
He looked at the phone a moment and then at Quinn.
"What'd Blaze want? That was short..." she said.
"It wasn't Blaze...I think it was Kourt crying and all she said was 'please come' and then it went dead..."
He called Blaze's number back; no answer. He tried Kourtney's cell phone; no answer.
"Okay, I'm going over there..." he said, standing up.
"I'm going too," Quinn said.
He looked at her a moment and then quickly decided that if Kourtney was crying it'd probably be best if Quinn was there to handle her. "Let me tell Gramma where we're going so she can sit with Joey." Joseph thankfully was sleeping soundly in his pack and play.
Sam talked to his grandmother and then he and Quinn headed over to Blaze and Kourtney's townhouse quickly. When they pulled up outside, they could already hear the yelling and Audrina crying.
"Jesus Christ, what is going on in there?" Sam said to no one in particular. He ran ahead of Quinn and just went into their apartment without bothering to knock or ring the doorbell. Quinn followed him and stopped right behind him inside the house.
"What in the holy hell is going on?" he asked, stunned by the sight. Kourtney was sobbing, clutching Audrina who was screaming. Two cell phones were lying smashed on the floor, marks on the wall from where they had been thrown. Beer cans were scattered all around the living room. Blaze was standing in the middle of the room, red-faced and swaying on his feet, hair disheveled and it was obvious he had at some point pissed his pants.
"What da fuck do you want?" Blaze slurred.
"How drunk are you dude?" Sam asked.
"He's been drinking all day, Sam, even while he watched Audi!" Kourtney said, crying. Quinn went to her and Audrina to try to calm the baby down.
"I had a few beers...I'm not as think as you drunk I am," Blaze said and then laughed. "Ya know what I mean, dude..."
"Quinn, can Audi and I come over to Gramma's?" Kourtney asked.
"Sure you -"
"Oh fuck no Kourt! You did dat shit once to me...not again! You're not goin' anywhere tonight," Blaze bellowed, lurching toward them.
"C'mon man, if she wants to go, then -" Sam started, stepping between Blaze and the girls.
"Get da fuck outta my way, man...Kourt and Audi are stayin' wit me!" Blaze said, shoving Sam over. Sam grabbed his arm and turned him around, his back to the girls.
"Blaze, you're drunk as fuck and you need to sleep it off or something. You can't be this way around your kid, man," Sam said.
"Are you tryin' to tell mewhat I can and can't do?" Blaze said using both hands to shove Sam in the chest.
"No Blaze! Stop it!" Kourtney stepped up behind Blaze grabbing his arm. He shoved her off him, hard, knocking her and Audrina back into Quinn and all three hit the floor. Blaze watched in shock as they went down and was saying oh man I'm sorry when he was physically turned, feeling his shirt being clutched in Sam's fist, and then Sam's other fist connecting hard with his nose, knocking Blaze up against the staircase. As soon as Sam saw Quinn go down, his mind went blank.
"Are you okay, Kourt? Is Audi okay?" Quinn asked, scared to death at this point.
"We're fine...oh dear god, Quinn...you're not hurt, are you?" Quinn shook her head no.
"Are you two okay?" Sam said, shaking his right hand, knuckles bloodied.
Quinn then saw Blaze lunge back at Sam much like a bull, shoving his head into Sam's gut and pushing him across the room, over a coffee table and into a lamp. Sam was up in a flash somehow and on top of Blaze before Blaze knew what happened and Sam was throwing punches left and right.
"You fucking hit my wife, your wife and your kid! You son of a bitch, I oughtta fucking..." Sam stopped there after Quinn quietly said his name. He stopped pummeling Blaze. He looked at his once best friend, broken and bleeding beneath him. "Kourt, go get your things..."
She and Quinn got up and ran upstairs to throw some stuff together.
Quietly, Sam said to Blaze, "I don't know what your problem is, man, but you need to get your shit together. You're gonna lose Kourt and Audrina but I kinda think you already have. And don't even fucking think about coming to my grandparents' house to see her." Sam sat on him until the girls returned. They got some stuff from the kitchen and returned to the living room.
"Get off me Sam," Blaze mumbled. "They can fuckin' go...I don't really care anymore."
"I never expected that from you, Blaze..." Sam said, pushing himself off Blaze and following the girls to the car.
"Sam, I'm driving Kourt's car; she and Audi are riding with me," Quinn said.
"Are you okay? Did he hurt you or..." Sam swallowed. "...new baby?"
"I think I'm okay...what about you?" she asked.
"My side hurts a bit where I crashed over that damn table." He pulled up his shirt and there was an angry red mark on his ribs.
"Ugh, honey, you're hurt..." she frowned. "At home, I'll fix you up."
Kourtney had Audrina strapped into her car and was waiting in the passenger side seat as Quinn came around to the driver's side. Sam was backing out and Quinn was waiting to back out and follow him when Blaze burst out of the townhouse and ran up to Kourtney's car, throwing himself over the hood of the car onto the windshield, causing both Quinn and Kourtney to scream and then Audrina to start crying again.
"Please Kourt...don't go...I was an ass...I'm so sorry...god, please don't take Audi...please..." he pleaded, crying.
Quinn looked at Kourtney. "Go Quinn! Just drive!"
Quinn hit the gas and backed out quickly, leaving Blaze leaning on nothing so then he fell on his knees where he had been standing, yelling at Kourtney to not go, to not take the baby. Quinn threw it in drive and sped forward to catch up with Sam.
Kourtney was sitting next to her, quietly crying into her hands.
"I'm so sorry, Kourt...for how he treated you...what happened?" Quinn asked her after a few moments.
Kourtney lifted her head to watch out the window and sniffed. "He saw the video on my phone from the CPR class..."
Quinn cringed inside. "How?"
"Audi picked up my phone while I was in the bathroom and somehow got that video to start playing; he overheard it and started watching and then just went ballistic..."
"Oh god..."
"He's been drinking all day...a few beers my ass! When you took me home earlier, I found Audi crying in her crib, dirty because he hadn't changed her in god knows how long, she was starving too. We were already fighting before he even saw the video. He threw my phone against the wall and it shattered. I think a piece of it hit Audi on her forehead." She started crying again. "I grabbed his phone and called Sam as quickly as I could, but he grabbed that phone out of my hand and threw it too."
Quinn reached across to Kourtney and took her hand.
"I'll die, Quinn, just die if he did something to you or your baby," Kourtney said.
"I'm fine, really. I'm worried about you and Audi, though. You can't go back to him, Kourt. He has problems with his drinking and anger..."
"I guess his brother was there earlier, that's why he was drinking...how he even got the beer in the first place," Kourtney told her. "And god knows what else they were doing..."
They rode in silence the rest of the way to the farm, only slight whimpering from Audrina in the back seat.
At the farm, Gramma met them at the door.
"What's going on? Blaze has been calling here nonstop," she asked them.
"It's a long story, Gramma..." Kourtney mumbled.
They sat in the family room with Kourtney and Audrina as she recounted the events of the evening to Sam and her grandmother. As they spoke, Blaze called three times, the last time leaving a message that he was driving over there. He never showed up that night and they later found out he crashed his Jeep into a parked car at the apartment complex and was taken to jail.
"I just can't believe he'd do such a thing," Gramma muttered. "Are you sure you're all okay? What about Audrina? What about Quinn?"
"I think we're all okay, Gramma, thanks to Sam..." Kourtney said. "I just need to sleep, I think, and figure out what I'm gonna do." She was holding Audrina on her lap, running her fingers through her curls and gasped.
"It did cut her head, Quinn!"
Quinn came over to look at the small cut. "Let's just clean it and put a little Neosporin on it; I don't think it needs a Band-Aid."
"How did her head get hurt?" Sam asked.
"When he threw my phone against the wall it just shattered and parts flew everywhere...Audi starting crying right after that happened, I thought because of the noise of it. It must've been because she was really hurt," Kourtney said, tearing up again.
Joseph began whimpering from the pack and play so Quinn picked him and nursed him before she and Sam went to bed.
"Are you going to be okay tonight, Kourt?" Sam asked. "I'm sorry you and Audi had to go through that. He's never been like that...not sure what's going on with him."
"Thanks Sam...I just need to sleep so I can think clearly tomorrow. I'm sorry you and Quinn got drug into it."
"That's what family is for, right?" he said, hugging her quickly.
"I thought Blaze was my family, though," she mumbled.
Quinn hugged her also and followed Sam and Joseph upstairs to their bedroom. They put Joseph in his crib and got ready for bed.
"Let me check your side..." she said, inspecting the bruise and redness along his ribs. "You probably need some Neosporin too...the skin's broken a little."
"He nailed me hard in the gut...that's gonna hurt tomorrow..." Sam sighed. "In a way I hated having to do that but he's not going to shove women and kids around and get by with it...I had to do something..."
"I know Sam...I understand..."
He stripped off his pants and t-shirt and went to the bed.
"You're not gonna need those..." Quinn said, pointing at his blue-striped boxers and slipping her own panties off.
He hooked his thumbs in the waistband and looked from them up to her. "I'm not gonna need...?"
She shook her head no and stepped up to him, hooking her fingers in the waistband and pulling them down to where they slipped down his legs to the floor.
"I see..." he whispered, smirking.
"I'm gonna take care of my man tonight..." she said, nudging him onto the bed a bit.
"Your man?" He liked where this was going.
"Mhmm...I've never been so turned on, Sam Evans, than watching you beat the shit out of someone..." she mumbled, crawling up and over him.
He snorted. "Were you turned on over there?"
"God no Sam! I was scared to death! Thinking about it now, though, turns me on in a very bad way..."
"Tell me how..."
"How you took control of the situation...mmm...how you just fucking clocked him right in the face and he totally fell down...how the muscles in your face were just clenched so hard and your eyes were on fire..." The whole time she described what she saw she was writhing over his cock.
He finally pushed up into her, hard. "Fuck...tell me more..."
"Oh god...your fists were huge and bloody and your biceps were just bulging and then you straddled him and dominated him...oh fuck, Sam..." she said breathlessly.
He suddenly flipped them over so he was on top. "Dominated like this?" he asked, pushing deep into her.
She ran her hands over his biceps, again bulging, then up to his hair, pulling his face down to hers in a wet kiss. "God yes Sam...harder..."
He pushed his hips into her, leaning up a bit to watch her. Her eyes were closed at first but then she opened them a bit and watched him too.
"Fuck, Q...I'm gonna shoot all over you..." he mumbled, suddenly pulling out and gripping his cock to direct his ejaculation onto her breasts and belly, then using his hand to finish his orgasm.
"Sam...Sam...I was so close...please..."
He dropped to his knees and put his mouth on her, finding her clit and sucking hard. She moaned loudly and he smiled against her, loving the reaction he got. It didn't take long before she was moving herself against his mouth and then arching her back and coming. He inserted a couple fingers into her wetness as she rode the orgasm down, then licked his fingers clean before crawling back up over her. He squished their bodies together, feeling his come between them.
He began kissing her. "So good, Q, so good. I'm gonna kick someone's ass every damn day now..."
She giggled, squirming under him. He finally climbed off her and went to the bathroom for a washcloth to clean off their bellies. Once cleansed, Quinn put the Neosporin on his cut and then a Band-Aid.
"Good thing I had that class today, eh?" she said to him, laughing a little. He lay back on his pillows, hands behind his head, thinking.
"I really don't think it's sunk in yet. All I remember is seeing you go down and that was it...I was just on autopilot from that point on..." he said. She curled up next to him.
"I hate it that he did that to Kourtney and his own daughter. Makes me sick," she said quietly.
"I hate it too. He was not like that before; he's changed, I guess," Sam said somewhat sadly.
"I wonder what Kourt's gonna do? Do you think she'll move back home? Actually get divorced?" Quinn asked.
"She can't go back there; he's obviously out of control. Not sure her parents will let her come home either. She might wind up staying here," he sighed. He rolled over and wrapped an arm around her.
"I love you, Quinn. Can you feel baby move while you're on your side?" he asked her, resting his hand over her bump.
"I'm feeling tiny bumps there...we're okay, I promise you," she said quietly. "We love you too."
He smiled in the dark and fell asleep.
The next day, Sam was indeed sore. Kourtney's parents called and asked why Blaze had been calling them in the middle of the night. Then, Blaze's parents called to let Kourtney know he had been arrested for driving under the influence, property damage, public intoxication, and disorderly conduct. She asked her grandparents if she and Audrina could stay there until she figured out what to do and they agreed. Gramma watched the kids while Sam, Quinn, and Kourtney went to the townhouse to pack up what she needed.
The townhouse of course was still a wreck from the night before. While Kourtney worked on getting clothes together for her and Audrina, Sam and Quinn tried to clean up the downstairs. Kourtney came downstairs with a couple suitcases of clothes and a bag of Audrina's toys.
"Thanks guys...I hated seeing that mess," she said to Sam and Quinn.
"What about her crib?" Sam asked.
"She can just sleep with me...we'll have some fabulous mom and little girl time!" Kourtney said, trying to smile.
She pulled some food from the refrigerator that needed to be used up. Sam loaded up the truck they came over in and returned to the farm.
While Sam studied, Quinn and Kourtney worked on laundry and talked.
"Do you know if anyone's bailing him out?" Quinn asked her.
"Oh, I'm sure his darling big brother will," Kourtney said rolling her eyes. "Last night, I was kinda freaking out; today, I'm mad as hell. I even flat-out admitted that, yeah, I thought Ryan was cute and told him that he kinda hit on me but I turned him down. In hindsight, I probably should not have done that."
"Well, at least you were honest with him..."
"He was drunk when I came home and after I found Audi in the condition I found her in, I just let loose on the asshole. I was freakin' pissed. I kinda wish I did give that Ryan guy my number," Kourtney said, sounding angry.
"What do you think you'll do about you and Blaze?" Quinn asked after a few minutes.
Kourtney sighed. "We haven't been getting along for awhile now. I think this was the final straw. I can't live with a person who goes off like that. I'm beginning to think it's over, actually," Kourtney said, beginning to cry again.
Quinn went to her and hugged her. "We're here if you need us, okay? It's a hard decision, I know, but you and Audi just can't live like that. Are you ever happy anymore?"
Kourtney sniffed. "Only when it's me and Audrina nowadays. It's just so sad; I loved him so much," she mumbled.
"I know Kourtney…you've got to think about you and your baby now and take care of yourselves," Quinn said.
Kourtney nodded and they went back to folding baby clothes.
Sam called Baron while the girls were doing laundry.
"Did you bail his ass out?"
"Fuck no…dude needs to sit in there and rot…you don't hit women and definitely not your own kid and definitely not pregnant girls…jesus," Baron said.
"Fine, that's all I needed to know," Sam said, hanging up. He told his Gramma he'd be back soon; he needed to run an errand.
At the jail, he was allowed to go talk to Blaze between the bars of his cell.
"Sobered up yet?" Sam asked him. He was sitting on a bench, head in his hands. He looked up at Sam and Sam didn't even recognize him.
"Head's killing me…thanks to your right hook," Blaze mumbled. His nose was bandaged; his face black and blue. "Where're Kourt and Audi? Are they okay?"
"I thought you didn't care anymore…" Sam said, shoving his hands in his jeans.
"I was drunk…I didn't know what I was saying or doing. How can I make it right with Kourt?"
Sam shrugged. "I'm not sure you can, dude. You could've hurt her, Audrina, or my expectant wife…you realize that, right?"
Blaze groaned. "I'm sorry, Sam," he muttered.
"You're apologizing to the wrong person," Sam said. "I hope you get the help you need, man."
Sam left the jail and went home.
The next week felt odd. Blaze finally got out of jail on Monday, thanks to his parents, and went to his townhouse to find a lot of things missing…things of Kourtney's and Audrina's. He also went to see a lawyer with his parents.
On Tuesday, Quinn went to the daycare for her third day of training, working with the infants. She was happy to have Joseph, school, and work to distract her from Kourtney's situation. Kourtney still had not made a decision regarding how to proceed with her marriage.
Quinn trained on Tuesday with a girl named Kelly. The key with the infants, she told Quinn, was learning to hold two babies at once. Thankfully, they only had 6 infants to care for that day. Quinn found it a bit boring, though all the babies were adorable in their own right, there was just a lot of holding, rocking, changing, singing, feeding, and burping. At first, holding two babies felt awkward. Eventually, after some practice, she was able to pick up one baby, position it, and then pick up the second infant and position it on her other arm. It wasn't easy, but she figured it out.
The day finally ended. She wasn't as stressed out as she was after handling the toddlers all day but so far the 6- to 9-year-olds had been her favorite group.
At home, she found Sam in the office with his Grampa. His Grampa was trying to show him something on the computer; she said hi and that she'd talk to him later. He smiled. She looked cute that day; she had put her hair in a high ponytail so the babies wouldn't grab at her hair. She found Joseph asleep in his pack and play and peeked in at him while Kourtney played quietly with Audrina on the floor nearby.
"Hi girlies!" Quinn said quietly, sitting down with them.
"Hi Quinnie…how was your day?" Kourtney asked her.
"Hi Kinny!" Audrina said to her, toddling over to Quinn and letting Quinn hug her.
"Hi sweet Audi! Um, a lot of holding, changing, and feeding babies. They're not as interactive as you might think," Quinn laughed. "But I tried. Sang songs, told them stories, just like I do with Joey…you know, if they were awake."
"I bet they were cute though," Kourtney said, smiling. "Well, I got something interesting today…" Quinn raised her eyebrows. "I got served."
"Pardon me?"
Kourtney reached up to the end table and handed Quinn a bundle of papers. It was paperwork from a lawyer, retained by Blaze, entitled 'petition for dissolution of marriage'.
"Ohhh…." Quinn looked up at Kourtney. "He did this?"
Kourtney nodded. "Yep…so I have to make no decision; he made them for me."
"I'm sorry, Kourt," Quinn said quietly, giving her a quick hug.
"No, it's okay…it was what I was going to do anyway. Gramma called a lawyer for me today," Kourtney said, taking Audrina's hand. Quinn was flipping through the pages.
"Wait a second…he's giving you sole custody of Audi? He doesn't want any part of custody of her?" Quinn asked, shocked.
"Apparently not. One day, he'll regret that decision and he'll have to live with it, not me," she said. "I guess that's a move to push the divorce through faster."
"Well, if that's how he feels, then Audi is better off. Does Sam know all this?"
"Yes…the papers came at noon," Kourtney answered.
"Oh god…what a mess…" Quinn mumbled. She heard Joseph begin stirring and whining a bit, so she stood up and went to pick him up.
He didn't act hungry so she put him on his tummy on the floor and watched him push up on his arms. He began rocking back and forth and all of a sudden he was on his knees, still rocking.
"Oh, Quinn, he'll be crawling soon!" Kourtney said excitedly.
"Go Joey go! Go Joey go!" Quinn said, clapping her hands. This tickled Joseph and he collapsed on the floor giggling.
Quinn spent the rest of the afternoon playing with Joseph, studying for her online classes, and talking with Kourtney. When Sam got done working at 5, they met for supper and she told him about her day at the daycare.
"I think I only got spit up on three, no, four times…shoulder, boob, other shoulder, and down my back!" she told the family, eliciting groans. "It wasn't too bad, rocking those sweet babies. Made me miss Joey fiercely but also made me wish baby #2 was here now!"
"I bet those babies loved you…except the ones barfing on you," Sam said, snickering.
Thursday was Quinn's last day of training, and she was in charge of the 10- to 12-year-olds. These kids were somewhat like the 6- to 9-year-olds, eager to help her and do a good job. Occasionally, she'd have to hand out warnings about the kids having their cell phones or iPods out playing with them. After two warnings, the devices were taken away from them until they went home. Thankfully, Quinn didn't have to pull anything that day, but Jasmine, her trainer that day, said sometimes it happens a lot and sometimes not at all, they go through phases. She only had one behavioral issue where she had to write the kid up. She had asked the kids to clean up the books and magazines they had been reading, which were scattered about the floor, and a boy who was 10 she thought boldly sat in a chair and told her nope, he was waiting on his mom and was not picking up books he didn't read. She understood what he meant but he also knew the rule there, everyone helps with cleanup. She didn't care if he picked up just one book and put it away; he would've helped and it wouldn't be an issue. However, he refused so she had to fill out her first disciplinarian form. He only got a warning so it wasn't a huge deal. After he was picked up, Jasmine told her that he often was belligerent. She said sometimes in that age group they were hitting puberty and hormones were all over the place, not too often but occasionally.
Lori caught up with Quinn as she was preparing her area for the evening shift.
"So? What do you think so far? Do you feel ready to go it alone next week?" Lori asked her.
"Maybe with all the kids except the toddlers," Quinn said, chuckling.
"I always have at least two assistants with the toddlers. I think you're ready, Quinn. You've had a great two weeks and you earned your CPR/first aid certification. Let's put you with the 6-9's next week, how does that sound?"
"Great! I'll be ready! Oh, I'll have Joey with me, will he be in the infant group or do I take care of him myself?"
"If you're comfortable having him being watched with the infants that's okay. Some moms like to keep their little ones close by at the beginning," Lori told her.
"Okay, I'll try him in the infant group and see how he does. He's been doing okay with me leaving him here while I take my art class but if he hears me in the room that might pose a problem," Quinn said.
Later that night, Quinn told Sam about her day as they lay in bed, tired from their busy week.
"Only one more day, Q, then the weekend…" he said quietly.
"I'm so ready for the weekend, Sam…spend time with you and Joey and hopefully no drama…"
"Definitely no drama…my ribs can't take anymore drama," he laughed. "I'm glad you're happy at the daycare; I knew you would be."
"I'm learning a lot from the classes and the experience," she said, sleepily.
"Me too, the classes and the experience," he yawned. "G'night wife…" He kissed her before curling up behind her.
"Goodnight hubby," she said, snoring almost immediately.