AN: This chapter is dedicated to all the new readers. Welcome!

As always, thank you to breakdown6 and chicavolcom.

Chapter 49


"Who wants coffee?" asks Mrs. Lopez to the other parents.

Mr. Pierce raises his hand but Mrs. Pierce turns to him, "Honey, can you tell Brittany that we all want coffee, please? I'd like to speak to Mari."

"Alrighty." Mr. Pierce stands, brushes the crumbs from his shirt and lap and gathers up the empty plates. He leans down to kiss his wife but she pulls away.

"No no. No kisses until that fire you douse your food in goes away." She pats his cheek affectionately. "Wash your hands and face well before you play with the kids." Mr. Pierce gives her a salute and walks off. Mrs. Pierce turns attention back to her friend and pats the now empty seat beside her. "Did you talk to her?"

Mrs. Lopez falls heavily into the chair. "Si, I did. She was upset but took it better than I expected."

"I'm glad you told her. Santana is a very mature young woman. Did you ask her if she could get Sam to modify the house? Carole said he did a fabulous job on adding the ADA renovations."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. He'll go in for tests and then we'll take if from there." Mrs. Lopez smiles at the three girls in the kitchen and laughs when Santana flips Quinn off. "I'm glad those three are spending so much time together again. They are very entertaining."

The two women watch as Rachel rises from her seat, runs her hands through her hair, pinches her cheeks to add color and smoothes out her shirt. She looks over at them and waves shyly - embarrassed at being caught primping; then walks into the house and seems to be asking what the noise is about. Even without hearing Santana's response, it is obvious by her body language that she is denying that anything is wrong. Rachel leans comfortably against Quinn and Mrs. Pierce asks, "What do you think is going on with Quinn and Rachel?"

"I don't know, but our Quinn looks very... what is the word?"

"Smitten."

Mrs. Lopez studies Quinn and Rachel's interactions. They are talking quietly while Brittany is obviously trying to keep Santana calm by rubbing her wife's back. Suddenly, Santana whips around to face her and says something that causes Brittany to shrug and point at Quinn - apparently scolding her. Rachel grips Quinn's right bicep and slides her hands down until she's holding onto the tiny wrist. She tugs so that Quinn leans sideways, whispers into her ear and then moves her left hand to rest on Quinn's lower back. Quinn smiles at the brunette then rolls her eyes when Santana throws her arms up dramatically. Mrs. Lopez rubs her earlobe deep in thought, confused by the two girls. "Is Quinn gay?"

"I don't know. I don't think so. Though, I suppose she must be a little gay if she slept with Santana."

"Disculpa? Qué acabas de decir?" (Excuse me? What did you just say?)

"You didn't know?"

/

Brittany barrels through the front door of the Pierce home with such force that the door bounces off the wall and shuts itself with a loud bang.

Mrs. Pierce sees Brittany running toward her and braces herself for the impact. She cradles her daughter in her arms, desperately trying to soothe the poor child. "What happened? What's wrong?"

"She..." Sobs wrack through Brittany's body and she's unable to say anything else.

Hours later, Mrs. Pierce is finally able to piece together the story and continues to soothe her distraught daughter. The doorbell rings and Mrs. Pierce lifts Brittany's head off her lap and rises to answer it. "Hi Quinn. Come in."

Surprised that she didn't have to plead to be allowed to see Brittany, Quinn greets the woman but instantly identifies the questions looming in her eyes.

Brittany is laying face down on the couch, crying softly into a pillow. Mrs. Pierce kneels beside her and combs her fingers soothingly through blonde hair hoping to calm her daughter before announcing Quinn's arrival. "Sweetie, Quinn is here." Brittany bolts upright and glares at her friend with a fierceness that makes the smaller girl's stomach drop with fear. "Quinn, go down to the basement and wait there, please." Quinn swallows nervously but does as she's told. Mrs. Pierce turns to her daughter and says firmly. "You need to talk to her."

Brittany is seething and directs her response to Quinn's departing form. "I have nothing to say to her!"

"Brittany, look at me." Mrs. Pierce pulls on her daughter's hand until blue eyes reluctantly meet her own. "I know that you are hurt, confused and very angry, but you'll feel better if you talk to her. She's one of your best friends."

Brittany uncharacteristically rolls her eyes. "No, she isn't. Santana is my best friend. Quinn is just the girl that I stupidly let in. I should've let Santana go all Lima Heights on her when we were eight!"

Mrs. Pierce knows that Brittany is hurt and doesn't mean what she is saying so she tries again. "Sweetie, you haven't said anything about how Santana betrayed you - only Quinn. Why aren't you mad at Santana?"

Brittany shakes her head, her chin quivering as she struggles to hold in her sobs. "I can't be mad at her. It's my fault." Her shoulders slump - the anger once again replaced with a devastating pain. "But Quinn... she... I don't understand."

"Find out, sweetie. Don't waste another minute wondering." She hugs her daughter, leads her to the basement door and opens it for her. "I love you and I'll be here when you're done."

Shaking from the tumultuous emotions within her, Brittany hesitantly makes her way down the stairs. Quinn is pacing the room, her arms wrapped tight around herself, ugly tears streaking her face. When she sees Brittany on the stairs she freezes and braces herself for the attack.

Brittany drops down to sit on the steps - not trusting herself to move any closer to Quinn. She glares at the girl and feels the bile rise in her throat as images of her with Santana plague her mind. Thoughts of the two of them writhing together on a bed; of their lips and tongues wrestling for dominance; of Quinn's hand groping tan skin; of fingers entering - . Brittany jumps up screaming, "WHY DID YOU DO IT?"

Quinn grips herself tighter. "I'm so sorry."

The anger of betrayal spurs Brittany on. "Answer the fucking question!"

Quinn's eyes go wide with shock and she steps back, visibly shaken by Brittany's use of profanity. In all the years she has known the girl, she has never heard her swear. She shakes her head - wanting to give her friend answers but honestly having none. "I... I don't know. It just happened."

"It just happened?" Brittany spits out. "You just happened to fuck my -" She stops abruptly, not knowing what to call Santana. They aren't girlfriends - they never were. "- my - MY Santana?"

"Your Santana?"

Brittany rushes toward Quinn and slams her open palm against her own chest to emphasize possession. "Of course she's MINE. She's always been mine."

Quinn knows this to be true, but her jealousy won't let her admit it aloud. "She's not YOURS. You don't own her!" It was a lame response, but she couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Fine, I don't own her, but why? Why would you sleep with her? I trusted you. How could you do that to me?"

"You never told me you were anything more than fuck buddies!"

"I told you that I loved her!"

"But you didn't tell me you were in love with her. You throw the word love around all the time. You even tell your damn blanket 'I love you'. How was I supposed to know you were serious about her?"

Brittany's face contorts into an expression that screams, "Are you fucking kidding me with this bullshit?"

Quinn steadies herself and wonders if deep down she did know that her best friends were in love and chose to ignore it. "Brittany, if you wanted her, why did you choose Artie?"

"BECAUSE!" Brittany grabs a forgotten water bottle off the wet bar and hurls it across the room causing Quinn to jump behind the couch. Brittany spins on her heels, looking for something else to throw.

"Stop it!" Brittany reaches for a glass cup and Quinn begs, "Please B. You're scaring me."

Brittany hesitates, but releases the cup - feeling foolish for allowing her anger to spiral so out of control. Why did Quinn sleep with Santana? WHY? Of all the people Santana could have gone to, why did it have to be their Mickey? Nothing will ever be the same again and the thought of losing Quinn on top of Santana is too much for Brittany to handle. Hot tears stream down her face as she struggles to regain her composure.

Quinn moves around to sit on the couch and hopes Brittany will join her. She doesn't. Instead, Brittany takes a stool at the wet bar and drops her head to the countertop with a thud. Quinn tries to open a dialog. "I honestly didn't know that you were in love with her. But, if you were, why did you choose Artie?"

Deflated, Brittany responds. "Because she wasn't ready. Don't you get it? Don't you remember what happened in Glee club earlier that day? We sang a song together and it was the most beautiful... amazing experience I've ever had. It was what I had wanted since the first day we joined Glee. When she finally opened up and talked to Miss Holiday and then sang to me - for us - I was ready to give her everything I had. But, one ridiculous comment from Rachel and Santana dumped on all of it. She denied me and left me standing there alone. How could I trust her with my heart after she crushed it and threw it aside?"

Quinn nods but remains silent - replaying the afternoon Santana arrived over and over. Of course Brittany wouldn't choose anyone over Santana without good reason. Why didn't she think of that? Why didn't she play devil's advocate and try to help Santana see that she still had more work to do before getting Brittany? Was it because she wanted Santana?

Brittany turns to face her friend. "You still haven't told me why you had sex with her. Do you even like girls?"

Quinn's brows furrow in thought. When she thought about it, it really wasn't sex that she wanted with Santana. It was the friendship that she missed - the closeness that she lost when she left Santana behind; the bond they had that had been broken and irrevocably changed when Santana and Brittany became intimate. She just wanted part of that back, but how does she explain to Brittany that it wasn't fair that she got to be Santana's best friend and her lover? How does she explain that all she wanted was to somehow mean something to Santana again? "I didn't plan for anything to happen. I didn't necessarily want -"

Brittany jumps off the stool and walks away from Quinn, trying to distance herself as much as possible from the answer to her next question. "So you're saying Santana wanted it?"

"No, that's not what I'm saying. Britt, she was devastated when you turned her down. I didn't even understand the gravity of it at the time or... maybe I chose not to." She drops her head guiltily remembering how Santana broke down as soon as it was over and wrings her hands in her lap. She remembers the suffocating pain that gripped her heart when she realized she would never have Santana the way Brittany did. No, not in a sexual way. She realized that Brittany would always mean more to Santana than she did. "B, she loves you. I didn't realize how much until after -"

Brittany interrupts and spits out, "If she loves me so much, why did she fuck you?"

Quinn shakes her head. "She didn't."

Brittany whips around to face Quinn, eyes wide with curiosity. Had it all been a terrible misunderstanding? "What?"

"Not... the way you're thinking. She didn't touch me - there. We kept our clothes on. It was desperate and messy and..." Her voice trails off, not knowing what else to say about the particulars and not wanting to admit that she had been the one to cross the line between dry humping and sex. "She was in so much pain. She thought she wasn't good enough for you - that she was unlovable. I know I shouldn't have... but I couldn't handle seeing her broken. I didn't know how to fix her."

"You thought sex would fix her? Do you really expect me to believe that?"

"Brittany, please try to understand what that moment was like for her - for us. I may not love her the way you love her, but she's still my best friend. I'm not saying sex was the right choice, but how else could I have shown her that she is beautiful and wanted and cared for? It seemed right at the time. What I did was wrong because it hurt you, but other than that, I don't regret it."

Despite the feeling of betrayal, Brittany had to admire the honesty that Quinn was giving her and on some level she understood it to be true. If their situation were reversed and she had seen Santana that way, she probably would've done the same thing. Still, there's that lingering doubt and uncertainty of Quinn's intentions. "Do you want to be with her?"

Quinn takes a deep breath, exhales slowly and answers honestly. "No. It wasn't... it never meant -" Her voice trails off and then returns firmly. "She's yours Britt. She's always been yours and she always will be."

/

"She told you all of that?" asks Mrs. Lopez.

"Not exactly. I was worried and left the door ajar." Mrs. Lopez raises a manicured brow at her friend. "I know, I shouldn't have been eavesdropping but I had never seen Brittany so angry."

"I think I would have done the same thing. Did Brittany forgive her that night?"

"Yes but it took a long time for her to smile again. Despite everything, I think a lot of positive changes came from Santana and Quinn's - I don't know what to call it - moment? All of them became closer. Santana and Brittany stopped taking each other for granted. Santana and Quinn weren't so competitive and bitchy around each other and Brittany and Quinn seemed to reach an understanding that they both played an important - but very different - role in Santana's life."

"Well, I'm glad they all got past it. Those girls are meant to be in each other's lives." Mrs. Lopez sighs, wishing Santana had told her about Quinn and wonders what else her daughter has kept from her over the years. She returns her attention to Quinn. "You know, if Quinn dates Rachel, Judy will not be happy."

"Judy is never happy." Mrs. Pierce takes her friend's hand in hers. "If Quinn is gay, then I'm glad it was Brittany and Santana who fell in love. I like that my best friend becamemy in-law. I can't imagine what family dinners would be like if I had to spend them with Judy."

Mrs. Lopez pats her friend's hand affectionately then turns her attention back to the kitchen. "Quinn is family even if she didn't marry one of our daughters and Judy should still be here."

"True, but you knew she wouldn't be."

"No, I didn't. Was she invited?"

"Invited or not, you knew she wouldn't be here." Mrs. Lopez opens her mouth to argue, but Mrs. Pierce cuts her off. "You can't fool me, Maribel Lopez. You are a softy who made Quinn's favorite dish to make sure she felt special and knows that she's part of this family."

Mrs. Lopez leans forward in her chair. "You're good Susan, but don't think you can fool me either. You knew I would do that and made fried chicken for my mature daughter so she wouldn't whine all night."

Mrs. Pierce gives her a lopsided smile. "Fortunately for us, my daughter is very easy going."

"I think the three of them are a good combination."

"Yes, but I wonder how Rachel will affect that dynamic."

"Quinn hasn't said anything to us so we can't just assume she's gay. Maybe she just wants a friend outside of our girls."

"If you say so." Mrs. Pierce points to the kitchen where Quinn is smiling affectionately at Rachel and feeding her a strawberry.

Mrs. Lopez furrows her brows in confusion. "What happened to Noah? I thought they were trying to work things out?"

"Quinn said they're separated so I suppose they're seeing other people, but I do hope they find their way back to each other."

"Shouldn't we talk to her and help her see she's making a mistake?"

"I don't think anyone can know what's right for someone else. Every marriage, every relationship is different. She needs to determine what's right for her and figure things out for herself."

"You're right, but she's vulnerable right now and I think she's rushing into something that she isn't ready for. I don't know much about Rachel but from what I remember, she was very self centered. I don't want Quinn to get hurt."

Mrs. Pierce nods. "Let's hope she's matured the way our girls have and honestly, if she ends up making Quinn happy and treating her right, then I'm all for it. Quinn deserves happiness."


Quinn rolls her eyes at Santana's dramatic reaction. "You're such a wimp, Santana. That stuff isn't even that hot."

Once again bent over at the sink and drinking from her left hand, Santana lifts her right and flips Quinn off. Blaine walks into the kitchen and laughs to himself. Now, there's the Santana I remember.

Brittany rubs her hand up and down Santana's back soothingly. Quinn suggests, "B, maybe you should brush your teeth before you burn her again."

Santana wipes her mouth on her sleeve, notices Blaine out of the corner of her eye and clings desperately to her last shred of dignity. "Must you rub it in?"

Rachel walks in and comfortably leans against Quinn. "What's going on? I heard someone scream."

Santana responds quickly, "It's nothing."

Brittany shoots Quinn a begging glance - asking her not to tease Santana in front of the others. Quinn nods but drops her gaze to Santana's crotch and back up to her eyes then wiggles her eyebrows to silently say, "Hey, at least it wasn't the other pair of lips that got burnt."

Santana whips around to face her wife and says aloud. "Geez B, do you have to tell her everything?"

In lieu of apologizing, Brittany merely offers the explanation, "She's my best friend." She raises a scolding finger to Quinn. "Stop making trouble."

Quinn opens her mouth to argue but calms when she feels Rachel's hands grip her bicep and slide down to hold onto her wrist. She leans into Rachel and swallows nervously when she feels the hot breath ghosting her ear. "What did I miss?"

Quinn answers out of the corner of her mouth, "I'll tell you later."

Santana catches the comment, throws her arms up dramatically and says, "Great! Just what I need - the two of you gossiping about our sexual misadventures."

Quinn rolls her eyes. "I wasn't going to say anything about that."

Brittany tries to distract the girls by turning everyone's attention to Blain who is quietly bouncing Kelly. "You look so cute with a baby."

"Do I?" Blaine beams and cradles Kelly in his arms. "I would love to have children." Quinn and Santana share a confused glance as Blaine continues, "All my life I swore I wouldn't have kids, but now that I'm older things are different. I feel different. I don't know if men have biological clocks, but I definitely hear a tick-tick-tick getting louder as each day passes."

Kelly starts to fuss so Quinn holds her hands out to take her daughter from him. "Well you can come and babysit for me anytime, but I think she's ready to say goodnight." Blaine kisses Kelly on the nose and sadly hands her over.

"May I?" asks Rachel.

"Sure." Quinn steps back and allows Rachel to take Kelly from Blaine.

Brittany sidles up to Quinn and whispers, "What are we gonna do for dessert? Rachel was in charge and brought bacon desserts that she can't eat."

The girls search the fridge and pull out a tray of strawberries, several other fruits and a can of whipped cream.

Rachel kisses Kelly's forehead. "I hope you aren't going through all this trouble for me."

Santana pipes in, "Actually, my dad should probably have fruit instead of donuts, too." She grabs a chopping board and knife and starts to slice the fruits after Quinn washes them.

Quinn takes a bright red strawberry and brings it up to Rachel's lips. "Tell me if they're sweet enough or if I need to make a little syrup."

Leaning forward, Rachel bites the strawberry, her lips grazing against Quinn's fingertips. "Mmmm, it's perfect."

Brittany rolls her eyes, walks behind Quinn and pinches her butt to shake her from her staring. Quinn blinks, "Yes, perfect." She turns back to the sink, but catches Brittany's eye and mouths, "Thanks."

"Q, why don't you feed Kelly and put her to bed. We'll get dessert ready. Join us when you're done." Quinn nods and leaves the kitchen. Santana calls out, "Take Berry with you."

Blushing, Quinn steps back into the kitchen, having forgotten Rachel was carrying Kelly. "Keep me company while I feed her?"

"I'd love to and perhaps we could sing her a little lullaby?"

"Sounds perfect."

Blaine watches them leave and stands awkwardly in the kitchen. Still embarrassed that Blaine saw her guzzling water at the sink, Santana says a little too curtly, "Here, make yourself useful and peel the bananas."

"Sure."

Brittany grabs a pot and fills it with water then dumps a bag of dark chocolate into a glass bowl and sets up the double boiler. As the chocolate melts, she hip checks Blaine to test his mood. He laughs and responds in kind so she runs her hand through his hair. "I really like how soft your hair looks. Are you using mousse now?"

"Yah, Kurt said he was tired of the wet head look."

"It was really nice to see Kurt the last time he was in town. Will he be coming back any time soon?"

Blaine shrugs and suddenly becomes quite focused on peeling the bananas.

Ella runs into the kitchen and tugs on Blaine's shirt. "Will you play with me?"

Blaine wipes his hands and bows to the little girl. "I would be delighted. What would you like to play?"

"Hide and seek!"

"That's my favorite game! I'll hide first." Blaine runs out of the kitchen and calls back over his shoulder, "Count slowly!"

"Mami, count ten slow."

Santana remains at the counter and helps Ella count. When they reach ten, Ella shoots out of the kitchen. "I coming!"

Brittany stirs the chocolate and leans over to kiss Santana on the shoulder. "Blaine is adorable."

"Yah, he is. I thought Kurt said they didn't want kids."

"He did."

Mrs. Lopez walks into the kitchen. "Who doesn't want kids?"

"Nothing Mami, we were talking about some friends."

Mrs. Lopez grabs a knife and helps Santana with the fruit while Brittany slips out to help her mother clean up the patio. "Speaking of kids, when are you and Brittany going to give me another grandchild?"

"I don't know." Santana has forgiven her mother for withholding information about her father's heart attack, but she hasn't forgotten about it. She says a little too harshly, "Don't you think with Papi's health being what it is that he should be the priority right now?"

"Yes I do Santana, but he is MY priority, not yours. You have your own life and your own family to think about."

"He is mi familia! We can talk about babies after we find out what's wrong with Papi."

"Santana," Mrs. Lopez scolds.

"Mami, no. If you had told me about Papi sooner, I might not be so worried now." Santana adds with an air of finality, "We will discuss more grandchildren after we find out what he needs."

"Si, okay." Mrs. Lopez leans into her daughter. "I love you. You're a good daughter."

"Love you, too."


Quinn has finished nursing Kelly and lays beside her on the bed, rubbing the tiny girl's back while Rachel busies herself with the picture frames on Quinn's dresser. "How old were the three of you in this?" Rachel holds up a photo of the three girls dressed in homemade costumes as Mickey, Goofy and Donald.

"Nine. It was the first Halloween after we met. Britt wanted us to go as those characters - it was sort of our 'thing' growing up."

"What is Santana's bill made of? It kind of looks like cheese."

Quinn laughs. "It is. B insisted the construction paper we had was the wrong color and glued the cheese on. Santana wouldn't eat pizza for months after that." Rachel returns the photo and asks what Kelly's favorite lullaby is. "She doesn't really have a favorite, but she loves to be sung to."

"Do you have a favorite?"

Quinn hesitates. The first song that comes to mind is from The Rescuers, but that's reserved for her special moments with Brittany and she isn't ready to share it with anyone else. "Umm, anything you want is fine."

Rachel smiles and clicks her iPhone into the dock. A stripped down acoustic version of Edge of Glory fills the room. From the first soulful note, Quinn is entranced, her eyes widening to take in the entirety of the scene before her. Although merely standing in her bedroom, Rachel is poised as if on a broadway stage with a maturity and presence far beyond her young years. Her dark hair cascading against delicate shoulders draws attention to the intense passion in her eyes as she pours her heart into each note. As Rachel's voice washes over her and fills her with warmth, Quinn can almost feel each note surround her heart and squeeze. She sits up, crosses her arms and rubs her hands along her forearms trying to dissipate the goosebumps that had erupted the second the brunette began. When the last note finishes, Quinn slowly swings her legs over the edge of the bed and floats over to Rachel to pull her into a tight embrace. The words amazing, breathtaking, beautiful and mesmerizing all run through her mind but none of them make it out of her mouth. Instead, she leans down and presses her cheek against Rachel's, content to let the touch communicate everything.

"I've missed you," whispers Rachel.

"I missed you, too."


The girls walk out into the living room and settle onto the couch just in time to hear Santana call out from the kitchen. "Honey, bedtime."

Brittany, Blaine and her parents are scattered on the floor playing with the twins. "Okay babe." Brittany turns to her children, "Tony, Ella, it's time to clean up." The twins ignore her and continue playing. Brittany starts to toss things into the toy bin, but her children have other plans.

Ella crawls over and climbs into her grandfather's lap and Tony - overtired and hyped after playing all night - scampers away to hide under the dining table.

Mr. Pierce laughs, "Brit, you take Ella and I'll go grab Tony." Mrs. Pierce places a hand on his arm and shakes her head. Mr. Pierce's mouth forms an apologetic, "Oh". He taps Ella's shoulder and says, "Ella, listen to Mama." The little girl grumpily slides off his lap and onto the floor, but doesn't make any effort to clean.

Brittany goes to the dining room to fetch Tony but he is clutching the legs of one of the chairs stubbornly. She sighs and retreats to the kitchen.

"Did you put them to bed already?" asks Santana.

"No. They're being stubborn and my head is pounding."

Santana hands her mom the dish she was washing, dries her hands and smiles at her wife. "Together?" Brittany smiles gratefully and they head to the dining room. Santana stands behind Brittany and rubs her neck while both start singing.

"Two little ducks went out to play.

Over the hill and far away.

Mama duck said, 'Quack Quack Quack'

One little duck came waddling back."

Tony jumps up and runs to the living room where Ella has also responded to the song and already started cleaning up. The mothers continue on to the next verse and walk slowly toward the stairs as the twins rush around and clean up their mess, eager to finish before the end of the song.

When they're done cleaning, the twins run around the house yelling, "Goodnight, goodnight, goodnight!"

Brittany and Santana are on the last verse, "No little ducks went out to play, over the hill and far away. Mama duck said, 'Quack, Quack, Quack!'"

Tony and Ella run up to their mothers and join in singing the last line,

"Two little ducks came waddling back."

Everyone else breaks into applause and the Lopez-Pierce family take their bows and head upstairs.

Rachel says aloud, "They. Are. Amazing."

Quinn agrees proudly. "Yes, they are."

Blaine adds, "I can't believe these are the same Santana and Brittany from high school. I actually like them, like a lot." He looks around the room and apologizes sheepishly. "Sorry, did I say that out loud?"

Quinn laughs at how red he turned. "Did you all eat dessert already?" Finding that Santana had made everyone wait for Quinn and Rachel to return before serving dessert to anyone except the twins, Quinn heads to the kitchen with Rachel close behind.


AN: Please review. :)