Rachel rushed through the halls as fast as she could with her cane.
She rounded the corner and rushed to the desk.
"Excuse me?" Rachel spoke as the nurse turned to her calmly.
"Yes, may I help you?"
"My fiancé is in labor and I need to be escorted to her." Rachel said in a rush through the bile that rose up her throat at the word 'Fiancé' in association with Danielle.
The nurse typed something into the computer and her surprise was evident in her features but she became more helpful.
When the nurse read the information on the document that an entire floor was emptied and on high security alert.
Her professionalism kicked in. "Ms. Berry?" The nurse asked.
"Yes, that's me."
"Please follow me."
Quinn had been at the Berries all day going through every photo and video of her parents and Rachel's parents when they were growing up.
Their childhoods, weddings, their life stories and how they came to be a close knit group of friends that were more like family than their own families.
The videos of Quinn and Rachel's births. The two of them crawling together, walking together, babbling together, hugging each other. Kissing the others cheek sloppily and with drool. Pictures of Quinn and Rachel in grandma Beth's lap as she read to the both of them. Quinn was in tears.
Finally she was about to be told what had caused the sever between Rachel and her parents by Leroy.
"It was the day of the spring awakening six month celebration party. Every one was informed that all cellphones had to be left at the door and no pictures or video could be taken. All property was promised back to you at the end of the party. It was a great fun night. Rachel was happy and content. We all were." Leroy said with a soft reminiscent smile.
"We had gotten the weekend off after receiving an email to come down for the celebration by Alex, Rachel's manager. Anyway, it was getting late around midnight and we had flights to catch at 10 am. Hiram, Shelby and I all got our coats together to leave. We went to the booth for our cell phones but the man handling them looked all over but couldn't find them. Alex came out of no where asking what the problem was. We were relieved to see him because the guy at the booth was not much help." Leroy licked his lips and took a deep calming breath. You could tell the memories of that night still upset him as if it happened to him two minutes ago.
"We explained our situation and he promised us he'd find the phones and give them to Rachel to give to us and if not, they'd replace all three cell phones. We all thought it sounded fair. We couldn't stay there all night, so we agreed. We went to say good night to Rachel but Alex said she was currently in a deep conversation with some one who could sky rocket her career. Reluctantly we agreed to leave her be. I didn't feel right about it but what could I do? I told him to have Rachel contact the hotel in the morning and Alex promised he would." Leroy said with a shake of his head. Clearly damning himself with silent reprimand for being so foolish. Hiram and Shelby's expressions were of sadness and reprimand as well.
"We had woken up late the next morning and almost missed our flights back to Lima. When we got back we all waited for Rachel to contact us at home or at work but we didn't receive a call. It wasn't uncommon for Rachel to go days without contacting though she always made sure to at least text one of us to check in. So when A week and half past without a word we finally called her number but it said it was disconnected. Than we tried her manager Alex but again it also said the number was no longer in service. We tried Angela same thing. Those were the only three ways we knew to contact her. We didn't know anyone else to call." Leroy grit his teeth in silent aggravation.
"We than wrote an email to Rachel's personal email but never received a reply. We sent emails to Alex and Angela, it was the same. We went to Rachel's personal Facebook page but that was no longer active. We went to her fan pages that were constantly updated by Angela and found that we were all blocked from every social media platform attached to Rachel. We all decided to fly back to New York but neither of us could get leave from work right away since we just took leave for the party we lost our cell phones at. So we had to wait another month before we could get our leave at the same time." Leroy sipped his water than cleared his throat. Shelby wiped at her tears that began to fall as she remembered all that they had done to get to Rachel. Hiram also wiped a stray tear but just like Leroy anger was currently at the forefront of his emotions.
"That month we continuously tried to call their offices and email but had no luck. After that month of trying. We finally got leave at the same time and flew back out to New York to Rachel's apartment but there was no answer. We went down to Broadway and spoke to the manager and was told Rachel had resigned from the role because she had gotten a lead in a movie. Her under study had taken over. That she had moved to L.A. To say we were shocked would be putting it lightly. We had to wait another few months in order to get leave again from our respected jobs before we could take a flight out to L.A." Leroy tiredly rubbed his eyes than licked his lips to continue.
"We had no clue what was going on nor what we were doing or who we should talk to about the situation other than the police. But at the time we were told by an officer that we had no grounds to call the police. Because Rachel wasn't missing and no foul play seemed to be the cause. We did the only thing we could think of next which was to search the internet for answers. We found a listing for Alex's management firm in L.A but when we went to the building we were escorted out and told we were not allowed on the property. We kept going back demanding answers until the police were called and escorted us off the premises. We went back to lima empty handed." Leroy said sadly and disappointed.
"Two weeks after that, we got served three separate restraining orders with a letter from Rachel with her New York address as the return address, saying she wanted nothing to do with us. That we would hurt her career if people knew she had two gay fathers and a surrogate for a mother. It was her signature on the paper that proved it was from her. We tried to make contact again. Still nothing from her end but we kept trying." Leroy said as he stood up and lifted a very large heavy looking box from the corner of the room and sat it on the coffee table.
"I promise you, Quinn. We really kept trying but we never got an answer." Leroy said as he opened the boxed and Quinn gasped into the box full to the brim with letters.
She reached in with trembling hands. One after the other she read each envelop. Each envelope had either Shelby Corcoran, Hiram Berry or Leroy Berry written across it.
Some of the addresses read that they were from Rachel's parents house in Lima Ohio and the others read the address to the house she was currently sitting in.
"We finally got fed up with writing and after finding jobs in our respected fields New York, we moved to live permanently here. We all pitched in to get this brown stone because the brownstone across the street." Leroy said as he pointed out through the window to across the street at another brownstone that Quinn had to stand up to see.
"That Brownstone was Rachel's first house after she got the lead on Broadway for Spring Awakening that she only lived in for those six months. We waited for her to wrap up whatever movie she was in and come home. We watched that house for two months. Before we had to watch Rachel's apartment be packed up and cleaned out by a assistant that refused to speak with us about Rachel's whereabouts. We watched the movers load their trucks with her furniture and belongings and drive away. We've been here ever since." Leroy spoke sadly staring at the brownstone as he spoke.
"Little by little we've watched her face grace the magazines across this city. We tried to see her the times she was on Good Morning America or any other guest shows she's been on, only to be escorted away by security who we know was sent by Alex and Angela. Because they threatened to call the police again since we were violating our restraining orders by being there. We've gone to every place she was being interviewed or performed in any other state as well, just to try to get her attention but they always interfered before we could get to her. We still try and sometimes hope to run into her here in the city some how."
Leroy finished with tears in his eyes. Hiram and Shelby were full on crying as well. Quinn couldn't believe Alex and Angela had gone to such great lengths to build and keep their precious brand.
In that moment, she remembered what Alison said about the two and how they would do a clean sweep of anyone if they felt it necessary from Rachel's life. It was just proven how dangerous the two actually were.
Sadness engulfed Quinn along with anger.
"Placenta abruption." The doctor stated professionally.
"What does that mean exactly?" Rachel asked in fear.
"It means the placenta detached from the inner wall of the uterus."
"Oh god.." Rachel whispered. "Is He.. Is he going to be okay?"
"Well, he is a month and a half premature. His lungs aren't fully developed and I'm sorry to inform you of this but because of her use of drugs and alcohol through out her pregnancy his growth has been stunted. He's lucky to have made it this far."
Rachel was crippled with the news and building with painful fury.
Her son was now in NICU. He is hooked up to so many different machines keeping him alive. She couldn't even hold him and Rachel literally wanted to kill the nurse who told her she couldn't though it wasn't the woman's fault.
"Thank you, doctor. Um.. I need to make a phone call. I'll uh.. I'll just be a minute.
"Take your time, Ms. Berry."
"Thank you."
Rachel walked out of the man's office in tears. She walked to the nearest bathroom and hid herself to the far back handicap stall before bursting into tears.
She covered her hand with her mouth and did her best to control her sobs. She was terrified for her son's life because he literally was on the brink of death because they had to resuscitate him when he was finally delivered.
Rachel had made it in time to be there for the emergency birth but felt like she was gutted when she realized the baby wasn't crying nor was he breathing and when they rushed her son out of the room while still trying to revive him. She had been paralyzed in fear.
Rachel had been glued to her spot helplessly watching and feeling like she herself couldn't breathe.
Danielle was being taken care of as well but all Rachel could do was watch her son be wheeled away as they fought to save his life.
Once he was taken from the room. She herself stormed out because she felt sick and was about to puke. She needed to get to the nearest trash can which was thankfully not that far away.
When she wretched up all the contents of her stomach. She cried. She cried and grit her teeth hating the world in the moment.
Her baby boy's pale face with bluish tinted lips kept resurfacing to the forefront of her mind and caused her to lose her breath every time.
Her legs shook and she struggled to make it to a chair as her body trembled. After that she waited until the doctor finally found her to give her the news she just received.
All she wanted was to hold her little boy. Call Quinn and be held by Quinn and hug Beth for all she was worth. She didn't want to go through this alone.
With shaking hands she pulled out her phone and dialed the number she knew by heart.
Quinn was sat in the Berry-Corcoran home retelling the entire truth from start to finish of how she and Rachel came to be.
From the moment that Rachel came to Larry's diner that day she covered for Linda. To Rachel being Beth's biological mother which caused many tears and celebration to actually being engaged on the verge of marrying Rachel, for real this time.
When her phone rang. She looked at the caller I.D and her breath left her lungs.
It was Rachel. The blonde stood up immediately.
"Excuse me but I need to take this." Quinn said and they all nodded in understanding.
Quinn grabbed her coat and stepped outside to the bottom steps of the brownstone.
"Hey, bab-" Quinn's cheerful voice fell immediately as soon as she heard Rachel crying.
"Rae, baby, what is it? What's wrong?"
"He's-He's here." Rachel tried to speak clearly but her vocal cords were all over the place.
"He who?" Quinn asked in confusion.
"My son, Quinn. Our son."
"Oh my god!" Quinn gasped as her heart soared. "It's a boy?!" Quinn shrieked in glee. "We have a son?! Wh-When can I see him?! Oh my gosh! I can't wait to hold him!" Quinn cooed emotionally.
"Yes.. It's a boy.." Rachel whispered tearfully but you could hear the utter anguish in her tone.
"Wait.." Quinn said as soon as she realized what this meant. "Oh my gah.. Is he?.." Quinn trailed off.
"Placenta abruption." Rachel whispered emotionally.
Quinn's eyes filled with tears as she choked for breath at the news.
"No.." Quinn whispered anguished, full of disbelief drowning in her tone.
"Quinn?.. I-I really need you right now." Rachel sobbed out.
Quinn's stomach bottomed out at the devastation in the brunette's voice. Quinn looked up at the large brownstone before her and made a decision.
"Where are you?"
"Lenox Hill Hospital."
"I'm on my way."
Rachel sat in the only chair in the room with sad swollen red eyes. She stared into the incubator at her little boy who was only Three and half pounds and one ounce. His lungs were underdeveloped. He was so tiny to Rachel.
The doctor said to think of the positive fact that he at least made it to that weight before the abruption. That he was in danger but not as bad as it could have been had he been any earlier but to Rachel this was hell.
Rachel's cell phone vibrated in her pocket and she looked down at the caller I.D and felt some weight lift from her shoulders.
It was Quinn. She sent a text saying she was still in the car parked outside but didn't want to cause any problems should someone spot her entering the hospital.
Rachel responded that she's on her way and to park in the service entrance. Rachel went in search of the nurse who would get them in safely without being seen.
After she got her emotions in order she had to think. Because if Quinn was coming she had to be careful.
She still wanted to finish what she started because there was no way she was letting Danielle have any rights over her baby boy. He's already been through enough by her hands.
Rachel called Angela in tears telling her the devastating news and Angela told her she didn't have time to listen to her squawking but she also didn't care. That she doesn't need to be bothered with unimportant matters. That for Rachel to remember that she had to meet with the wedding planner in two days. That she also had a wedding interview with people magazine because they were covering the televised wedding. If it doesn't pertain to the wedding she didn't want to hear about it.
Rachel called Alex and he too didn't care. He started ranting about the fact that Rachel had the nerve to cut into his golf time with bullshit that he didn't care about and to not call again.
Rachel felt relief at their collective responses. Their reactions were just the excuse she needed to keep them off the visitor's list.
Rachel then called Michael and informed him about everything. He was saddened by the news. He said he'd be there as soon as he could but was still in court. That he would inform the crew.
Rachel spoke to the doctor about the visitor's list and who was allowed to have visitation rights. She added Quinn, Beth and the crew who were on their way.
Rachel spotted the nurse she needed and explained the situation. The nurse immediately escorted Rachel to get Quinn.
Once at the service door Rachel stood off to the side inside the building and waited for the nurse as she stepped out to escort Quinn in.
Rachel waited in anxious need. As soon as Quinn walked through the door Rachel was engulfed in a tight hug as the two cried together.
You could tell Quinn had been crying since the news. Her eyes were just as red and glassy as Rachel's with tear stains flowing down.
"Thank you for coming." Rachel whimpered out.
"I'll always be here for you and our family, baby. When ever you need me." Quinn whispered in Rachel's ear.
The two released each other and were escorted back to the single elevator that the staffed used to transport trash.
They rode it up holding hands and as soon as the doors opened Quinn could feel the weight of the silence.
The nurse turned left and Rachel escorted Quinn to the right after thanking the nurse for her assistance.
Rachel walked Quinn to the room their son was being held in. Both women had to put on gowns, gloves and a mask for precaution before entering the room. When Rachel opened the door for Quinn the blonde gasp.
The incubator was in the center of the room. There were machines behind it with the wires needed to support their son's life. Quinn walked up to the incubator and once again felt her legs about to buckle.
The blonde's tears fell instantly and she was struck with a force of emotion so strongly she trembled.
Rachel's arm slid around her waist as the two women cried silently together over the sight of the baby.
Quinn's eyes scanned the tiny new born with enchanted eyes. His dark curls were peeking from the cap resting on his head.
His tiny nose had a tube running into it. His little chest rose and fell with slight motion that if you weren't paying attention wouldn't have otherwise noticed.
Quinn fell instantly, insanely, and irrevocably in love. He was precious.
"He's so beautiful, baby.." Quinn whispered.
"Isn't he?" Rachel spoke softly with warmth.
The two watched the baby sleep. "Can I?" Quinn asked as she gestured to the holes on the side of the incubator that allows you to touch the baby.
"Of course." Rachel replied warmly.
Quinn trembled slightly as she slipped her hand in. The moment she touched his little fist the baby reacted by moving slightly.
Quinn's eyes shined and she felt an immediate connection to the baby. She already felt a strong feeling of protectiveness over him before he was born but now it was stronger than ever.
"Hi, baby boy.. I'm your mommy, Quinn." The blonde whispered to him.
Rachel felt her heart fill with pure admiration and respect as the words fell from Quinn's lips.
It meant so much to Rachel that Quinn took being a parent to a baby that wasn't hers so seriously.
Quinn lightly stroked a gloved finger over his small cheek as she tried to keep her tears under control.
Quinn then realized she didn't know her son's name. "What did you name him?"
"I haven't named him, yet. I was waiting for you." Rachel whispered and Quinn looked the brunette in the eyes with gratefulness shining in her in them.
"Thank you for considering me, baby, but you didn't have to."
"I wanted to. He is our son." Rachel stressed.
Quinn pulled her hand from the incubator and pulled Rachel into a hug. She wanted to kiss her but didn't want to take off their masks. They pulled apart and gazed into each other's eyes.
"So what did you come up with?" Quinn asked softly.
"Honestly, my brain has been too frazzled to think of anything and I've been so focused on setting up my plan, I didn't even make a list."
Quinn nodded in understanding but Rachel could see it in her eyes that Quinn already had names chosen for either boy or girl.
"You have a name, don't you?" Rachel asked with a teasing smile in her tone.
Quinn blushed and bowed her head bashfully. "Well.. Yeah. He is our son. The moment you told me I could be a part of raising the baby. I already planned out everything. Even.."
Quinn hesitated. She didn't want to over step. Rachel raised a curious eyebrow.
"Even?" The brunette prodded.
"Even the nursery. I know we didn't know the sex but I thought we could do like a unisex style nursery but now that we know he's obviously a boy. There's so many different styles we could go with and I was thinking we could use the room across from Beth's as the nursery." Quinn rambled on and Rachel fell even more in love with the beautiful person before her.
"I love you.." Rachel spoke softly with unconditional love and adoration in her tone and eyes. Cutting the blonde off mid ramble. Quinn's eyes softened.
"I love you too, baby."
The two stared at each other before Rachel spoke.
"So.. What's our baby boys name?"
"But Rachel what about you? You didn't get to name Beth. I want you to be able to at least name one of our children."
"And I will. Whatever name you pick I have to agree with and also when we have more children, I'll get to pick their names since you got to pick the first two."
"You want to have more children with me?" Quinn asked breathlessly as if she thought she'd never get the chance to have children with Rachel again.
"Yes, why? Did you not want anymore?" Rachel asked sadly.
"No, of course I do. I just didn't know if you wanted to."
"Thank god, I thought I'd never get to experience a pregnancy without drama and be present for since the first one I wasn't even aware of and the second has been a painful roller coaster."
"I get it." Quinn replied with a giggle.
"So?" Rachel asked eagerly.
Quinn smiled behind her masked broadly as she turned to the baby and stuck her hand back into the incubator, caressing the baby's cheek again. Her eyes were full of love and devotion.
"Asher Rae Berry. Asher is Hebrew and means happy (fortunate; blessed). Biblically, In the old testament, in the book of Genesis. Asher was the 9th son of Jacob and the second son of Zilpa, The maid of Jacob's wife Leah and was promised a life blessed with abundance." Quinn finished softly.
Rachel had tears in her eyes once again. "That's beautiful, love. I love it."
"You do?" Quinn asked as she looked at Rachel warmly.
"Yes, it's perfect." Rachel said as she slipped her hand through the other opening and caressed her son's hand.
"Welcome to the world Asher Rae Berry-Fabray." At Rachel's words Quinn's eyes shot up in surprise.
"Re-Really?" Quinn asked hopefulness in her tone.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to take your name." Rachel replied with shyness.
Quinn smiled, happiness engulfed her so deeply her cheeks hurt from it.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, Quinn. I'm sure. You have been nothing short of amazing through out everything. You've been everything a partner should be. You've not only taken care of me but you've also taken full responsibility for our beautiful baby girl when I couldn't and now your doing the same for our son. You are what makes this family as strong as it is and I would be honored to take your name for all the world to know." Rachel finished.
Quinn turned in Rachel's arms and pulled her into a hug again. They held each other with so many things verbally unsaid but could be felt immensely in their embrace.
"Thank you, baby. That means so much to me but remember that you've done just as much for this family and are still doing more. We wouldn't be safe right now without you."
"Thank you, love." Rachel spoke and you could hear a tinge of sadness in her tone.
"Are you ok, baby?"
"Yes, I just.." Rachel trailed off as her eyes began to well with tears again.
"What is it, baby?"
Rachel shook her head. "It's silly."
"Nothing you feel is silly. Tell me."
"It's just, I didn't even know Beth existed until a few months ago and when I found out I was so happy and felt so blessed. When I found out about Asher I felt it just as strongly but both those times I couldn't help but feel..sad."
At the word sad Quinn was confused and slightly worried. "Why?"
"Because both times I may not have been there but neither were my parents. They don't even know their grandparents and never will because I don't even know where they are or how their doing. I know they left and didn't want anything to do with me but-"
"Why?" Quinn interrupted.
"What?"
"Why?" Quinn reiterated.
"Why what?"
"Why do you think they wanted nothing to do with you?"
"Because.." Rachel halted already feeling her chest contrict at the memory. Not sure she wanted to go down that path of why her parents weren't in her life.
"Because what, Rachel?" Quinn asked wanting to hear exactly what happened on Rachel's end.
"Because of-of the email my dad sent me."
Quinn's eyebrows hit her hair line as confusion took over her features. In a calm controlled tone as to not alert Rachel to her slow building anger she spoke. "What email? What did it say?"
"Quinn, I don't think I could talk about this now." Rachel said sadly.
"Please, baby. I'd like to know and as soon as you tell me. That will be one less thing we'll have to talk about later."
Rachel swallowed thickly and nodded. "Um.. I was in L.A on set of my first movie. We were already a few weeks in. Everything was going great but the only thing that was bothering me was that I hadn't heard from my parents. I had gotten the role three months prior but Alex and Angela sworn me to secrecy even from my parents. They said I should wait until at least we're done filming most of the movie because sometimes movie's get canceled or the lead is recast. They also said it would be a great gift to surprise my parents with the news during Thanksgiving or Christmas, so I agreed."
"The only thing that was bothering me really was the fact that I hadn't heard from them in weeks. Normally they didn't contact me too often because they knew I would be busy with the show but they would at least text me or something." Rachel said as her vocal cords quivered.
Quinn grasped her hand to help her continue the story in silent support.
"Anyway, I asked Angela and Alex if they heard from them and they said my parents did call and that they've been dealing with a lot of paparazzi and it was becoming increasingly difficult to even get out of their drive way. I was shocked to hear that because to me at least, I was only a Broadway actress. I wasn't a high profile actress or anything so why would they hound my parents all the way in Lima, Ohio?"
Quinn nodded her understanding but stood silent.
"So, I pulled out my phone to call them but when I did the number was disconnected. I was confused because I knew their numbers by heart. At the time Angela got me a new phone because a few months prior we had a six month celebration party for the cast of Spring Awakening. No one was allowed to bring a phone in because they didn't want any unflattering shots or videos leaked of the cast that could hurt the show. My parents had been there as well. I personally didn't even want to go. The only reason I went was because Alex told me I had to especially since he and Angela went to all the trouble of inviting my parents and paying first class tickets to be there. I was shocked, that was the kindest thing they had ever done for me. In fact, I think that was the only kind thing they've ever done for me. Anyway, the party went on for hours and Angela and Alex kept introducing me to so many 'Important people'." Rachel said using air qoutes.
"I barely had second to even spend any time with my parents. I saw them for maybe fifteen minutes before I was whisked away to meet and greet all these supposed important people, that by the time I was ready to go home. Angela had informed me my parents already left for the evening because they had to catch their flight in the morning. So, though it made me sad that I didn't really get to spend time with them. I figured since they were coming to visit me for the fourth of July weekend that summer, it would be ok. When I went to the booth to speak to the guy in charge of keeping the cellphones, he couldn't find mine. We searched every where but didn't have any luck. So, I left after Alex told me he'd get it to me as soon as he found it. That never happened so Angela bought me a new one but with everything that had happened in the upcoming weeks from the time of losing my phone to the move to L.A for the film. I had no time to contact my parents because the movie would be filming in a few weeks time and we had to prepare for it. So, when those weeks turned to months and I hadn't heard from them and it drove me crazy."
"What about social media?" Quinn asked.
"I logged onto my Facebook account and it had somehow been permanently deactivated. 'Til this day I still don't know how."
"What about email?"
"I asked Angela to email my parents and she said she had."
"Why did you ask Angela? Why didn't you do it yourself?"
"Because I was working 18 hour days on set and Angela was in charge of all my platforms. Hell, I wasn't even the one replying to my fans. She was."
Quinn was doing her best to keep a neutral face. "What did the email say?"
Rachel's eyes filled with tears. "N-Not much.. Just that the attention they were all getting was becoming too much. That maybe it was best if I didn't contact them for a little while. That it would help to get the media off their backs."
Quinn stared at Rachel with disbelieving eyes. "And your sure that your father sent it to you?"
"I know my fathers' email address, Quinn. It was his."
Did you reply?"
"Of course!"
"What did you say?"
"Why is that important?"
"Please? Just tell me, Rae."
Rachel sighed tiredly. "I apologized and told him I never meant to cause any problems. That I loved them. I told them to contact me when things cooled down and he agreed but they never did.."
Quinn was silent as Rachel wiped her tears. The blonde couldn't believe it.
Alex and Angela orcastrated an elaborate party to sever the ties between Rachel and her parents.
Of course it was her father's email address. Either Alex or Angela clearly had their phones and could have typed up that email and sent it with Rachel right next to them and Rachel wouldn't have been the wiser.
"Baby?.."
Rachel lifted her eyes from their son and turned her teary gaze at Quinn. It broke the blonde's heart to see the sadness in them.
"Can I ask you something personal?"
"You can ask me anything."
"What would you do if.. If you could speak to your parents again?" Quinn watched Rachel's facial expression carefully as the brunette's eyes glazed over and a ache formed in them.
"Honestly, I'm not sure.. I'd have a billion questions like why did they leave? Was it really too much for them to warrant abandoning me? But at the same time, I don't think I'd be able to speak at all at the sight of them. I would be angry and hurt but also so indescribably happy I wouldn't be able to contain it." Rachel spoke softly as her mind conjured the image of her parents.
"Would you forgive them?" Quinn asked.
Rachel's eyes cast to her. "I.. Don't know."
"What if there was a misunderstanding?"
"A misunderstanding? Quinn, how could a misunderstanding extend to six long years with no contact?" Rachel asked with fire in her eyes.
"I just mean what if something happened? What if some how something went wrong and you didn't know."
Rachel's eyes widened as worry than fear engulfed her. "You mean like if they died and I didn't know?"
Rachel's eyes began to fill with panic at the possibility. Quinn's eyes softened. "No, Rae."
"Then what do you mean? Because there is no way we just had a misunderstanding. It's clear they wanted nothing to do with me."
Quinn sighed than her eyes trailed to their son. She had so many reasons why right now wasn't the time but then again when would be a good time. Rachel needed her parents especially now.
Quinn eyes went back to her fiancé's than with love shining in her eyes she pulled from Rachel's grasp than dug in her bag pulling out her phone.
Rachel watched Quinn curiously. Her gut was telling her something was amiss.
Especially Quinn's line of questioning but than again Quinn wasn't the one to bring up her parents randomly she did. Rachel sighed then turned her eyes to their son.
Quinn watched Rachel as the phone rang. Finally the line picked up.
"Hey, sweetie. Is everything ok?" Russell asked anxiously.
"As ok as it can be, dad. I'm here with Rachel."
"How is she?"
"She's okay to an extent."
"And the baby?" Russell asked with worry.
"He's.. beautiful dad. An angel." Quinn gushed about her son causing Rachel's previous sadness to dissipate a little.
"I bet. I can't wait to meet the little guy." Russell replied.
"You will, I promise. So, listen I was wondering if I could speak to your best friend?"
"Really?" Russell asked with hopefulness in his tone for Leroy.
"Nows as good as time as any." Quinn responded confusing Rachel with her conversation though she wasn't prying.
"Yes, Yes of course. Hold on a sec." Russell said in a hurry calling out to Leroy in the background.
There was talking than excitement could be heard than rustling until Leroy got on the phone.
"Quinn?" Leroy spoke with eager hopefulness.
Before Quinn had gone to the hospital she went back into the brownstone to share the news with the family and promised that she'd talk to Rachel about them as well. She didn't promise anything but did say she'd call.
"Yes, I'm here."
"Are they ok?"
"Yes, for the most part but I think your support would mean more than anything." Quinn said and Rachel's head whipped in her direction with confusion written all over her face.
"Are you sure now is the time?" Leroy asked in worry. "I don't want to stress her out any more than she already is."
"Don't worry. That's what I'm here for." Quinn replied with a smile.
"Thank you, Lucy Q."
"Don't thank me. Just be there." Quinn said before turning to a confused Rachel. She held her phone out to her fiancé. "It's for you." Quinn said.
Rachel was still confuse as she grabbed the phone. "Hey." Quinn spoke up capturing the brunette in a intense eye lock. "No matter what happens. I'm here."
"I know, love. Why would you-"
"Answer the phone, baby." Quinn interrupted.
Rachel lifted the phone to her ear as she and Quinn held eye contact. "Hello?"
Rachel heard a strangled noise than a choke.
"Hello?" Rachel asked again in confusion still staring Quinn in the eyes.
"Babygirl?" Leroy's voice broke through the line and Rachel's eyes widened and her jaw fell open as her hands began to tremble along with her body. She fell into the only chair in the room as soon as her legs buckled.
Her hands gripped the phone as her eyes filled with tears before they promptly spilled over, staring disbelieving at a teary eyed Quinn.
"Yes, babygirl. It's me." Leroy cried out.
Rachel's world turned on it's axis immediately as she was stunned into silence.
"Rachel?" Another voice came on the line and it was Hiram. He began speaking rapidly as if this would be last time he'd ever get to speak to her. "Rachel, honey, I love you! I love you so much!" Hiram cried.
"D-Daddy?.." Rachel whispered breathlessly as her heart hammered in her chest.
"Yes, honey it's me."
Before Rachel could speak there was more shuffling than another voice filled her ear.
"Rachel, sweetie? Are you there?"
"M-Mommy?" Rachel's whimpered through trembling lips, as her voice cracked severely making her sound like a little girl. Immediately she covered her mouth as a sob began to escape.
"Yes, sweetie, it's mommy. I miss you, Baby girl. We all do." Shelby cried down the line.
Rachel felt the blood rushing to her ears and her heart continued to pound.
Many emotions were swirling within her and Quinn could tell she was on the verge of breaking down. The blonde grabbed the phone immediately.
"Guys?" Quinn spoke into the phone as Rachel began curling into herself.
"We're here, Quinn."
"I'm going to call you back. Let me calm her down."
"Take all the time you need, we'll be waiting." Shelby spoke up.
"Ok." Quinn said hanging up the phone quickly and rushing to Rachel. The blonde dropped to her knees in front of the trembling brunette.
"Rae? Rae, baby, look at me."
Rachel couldn't respond. Her tears were coming uncontrollably and her body wracked with power of her sobs. Her hand covering her mouth to keep silent but was failing miserably.
"Rae, Plea-"
"How long?!" Rachel stood abruptly as her anguish gave way to anger.
Quinn's eyes widened in shock at the abrupt change as well as the fury in her fiancé's eyes.
"How long, Quinn?!" Rachel whispered harshly. Her quivering lips forced the words out with disdain. The brunette's eyes were mistrusting.
"Rachel-"
"How long, Quinn?!"
"How long what exactly?" Quinn asked calmly. She didn't feel any amount of guilt because she did all this for Rachel.
"Don't play games! Just answer the question. How long have you known where they are?"
"Before I answer that question. I'm going to ask you to calm down because our son is sleeping." Quinn spoke calmly causing Rachel to bristle.
"Oh now you want to care about-"
"Rachel, I'm going to advise you to watch what you say next because we both know you say hurtful things when your angry and though I won't hold it against you. I will not allow you to disrespect me especially in front of our day old son, just because you aren't thinking in the moment. Now please sit down and I will gladly explain everything to you because everything I've done up until this moment has been for you." Quinn said in a no non sense manner that had Rachel's fire doused instantly by not only her tone but it was in her eyes as well.
Rachel swallowed thickly and took a seat. Quinn stepped forward to kneel in front of her fiancé.
"Rachel, understand that I would never ever do anything to purposely hurt you." At the soft gentle tone Rachel's eyes welled with tears once more. "I'm not them Rachel. I'm not any of those people who have hurt you in the past. I love you with everything that I have, please don't ever doubt that."
Rachel was full on crying again in silence. Quinn reached up and wiped her tears with sad understanding eyes. Quinn licked her lips and sighed.
She stood up and grabbed Rachel's hands to stand her up as well. She took the seat than pulled Rachel into her lap wrapping her arms around her.
"Baby.. When you had your accident, I didn't know what to do. I was devastated. Alison had come and got me. Alex, Angela and Danielle were eager to get say over what happened to you and I was terrified of what they might do. So, I sent Alison on a flight to Lima that first night I was given control over the decisions but when she got there the house was empty. I was once again at a loss. Eventually, I had the idea for a private investigator. Alison told me about one you were going to use. So, I contacted him to search for your parents. He didn't get back to me right away. Than I left for L.A and while I was there Danielle had pulled the crap she did about getting rid of all of us and you did get rid of us as requested. I still hadn't heard from the investigator. It wasn't until a few days before I reconnected with Frannie that he emailed me their address and phone number. Then I was in Lima for Christmas. While I was there I called Hiram. We spoke briefly and set up a time to meet when I was back in New York but then the thing with Beth's principal happened and I was in the hospital. So much had happened that we had to reschedule our meeting until today. I literally just met them seven hours ago. Rae, baby, I didn't tell you anything until I got the full story of why they basically disappeared. I didn't want to give them a chance to hurt you again. I wanted to make sure they had a valid reason and baby.. They do." Quinn explained softly.
Rachel's tears were silent but you could see she was fighting with her body to keep them under control. The sight broke Quinn's heart. She just wanted to kiss her pout away but knew this pain was too strong for mere kisses.
"Re-Really?" Rachel whimpered out sounding so childlike you would never guess that tone belong to a grown woman.
"Really."
"Did they.. Did they leave me on purpose?" Rachel asked brokenly.
"No, baby, they didn't. They never wanted to." Quinn spoke softly as she rubbed Rachel's back with one hand and wiped her tears with the other.
Rachel choked at the news and felt her heart be released from it's anger completely.
"Do you believe me, Rae?"
Rachel nodded as she fell into Quinn's shoulder burying her face into the blonde's neck as she began sobbing. Curling her body into her fiancé's, as years of pain poured from her. Quinn cried right along with her.
"Shhh.. It's ok. I got you baby. I got you." Quinn assured.
The blonde wasn't sure if it had been the right time to tell Rachel but she was glad she did because now she didn't feel like she was lying to the brunette and also because this would help Rachel heal.
Quinn's eyes gazed over to their sleeping son. She knew that though he was underweight and couldn't breathe on his own, he was a fighter just like his momma. They would get through this. They would be ok. Once they got rid of all the negative people in their life. They would finally be able to move forward and the step Quinn took today would help the process move along.