Quinn felt like all she had done for weeks was study. She was going cross-eyed looking at her textbook. She was pretty sure she had read the same sentence at least five times over. She was sat at Hank's house he had invited her and Cami over for dinner and Cami was helping in the kitchen with her Mom.
"You come over here and keep your nose buried in that back?" Hank asked putting a hand on her shoulder "I'm gonna start taking offense that there's something wrong with my company"
"It's not going in anyway" She sighed shutting the book with a smile "Classes are great, but it's harder going back"
"Kid you're going to fly through this I've got no doubt" He told her "You might be the only Lawyer I ever like"
"Why don't you like lawyers?" Cami asked and Quinn pulled her onto her lap.
"Yeah Grandpa Hank why don't you?" She teased.
"Because they're liars" He told her ruffling her hair.
"Mom is not a liar" Cami said hands on her hips looking indignant at the mere suggestion of it.
"He's just kidding" Judy said setting the table.
Quinn smiled at her Mom. Things had been going well so far. Judy was still going to her meetings; she was seeing a counselor. Being away from Richard Fabray had been wonderful for her. Quinn caught glimpses of the Mom she had known, in those brief moments where they weren't being controlled by her Father.
"What are we having?" She asked changing the subject "It smells amazing"
"Grandma Judy made chicken pot pie" Cami replied.
Quinn loved sitting down to a family meal. Things were feeling a little easier. Spending time with the people she loved helped. Cami was thriving surrounded by her family.
Cami was fully animated talking about school, her new teacher now she had gone up a grade. She was fully into cheer and gymnastics and dance. She had been begging to go to drama classes as well.
"Let the kid take a class" Hank said shrugging his shoulders.
"Sweetheart" She said looking at her daughters big puppy dog eyes she was putting on "You have school, and you're already at all of your other classes most of the week, you need some free time to just be a kid, you can take drama if you drop something else"
"School?" Cami suggested with a grin.
"Ooh you're funny" She laughed "Nice try, I will look into classes and I will think about it, ok?"
"Ok" Cami sighed as she finished her dinner.
Quinn cleared the plates from the table and filled the basin to make a start on washing the dishes. Hank walked up behind her and leant against the counter folding his arms across his chest. She raised an eyebrow at him and waited for him to say whatever was on his mind.
"How are you doing?" He asked.
"Did Erin ask you to talk to me?" She countered.
"You think I need Erin to make me concerned for my niece?" He said raising an eyebrow back at her.
"No" She sighed as she carried on washing the dishes "I'm fine, or I'll get over it. I've spoken about it, I'm not all closed off waiting to explode"
"Ok" He nodded "I'm happy to hear it, you've come too far for that"
"Thanks" she said giving him a small smile.
Quinn had come to their home hurt and full of rage. She didn't get into fights or drink like Justin and Erin, she got mean. She shut down and pushed people away. The when it all became too much hurt people around her. She had worked hard to learn how to deal with her emotions when she was hurting. Work through the anger in a healthier way.
"Go out with your friends tonight" He told her "Cami can stay here; you haven't taken a break in weeks from studying and work"
Quinn thought back to her last night out. It hadn't gone so well. She had been happy to bury herself in books after that. But she had missed out on a lot. Gabby and Matt had gotten married at city hall and were adopting Louie. Sylvie and Antonio had been together for a few weeks. He was always in a good mood at work since they had gotten together.
"I'm not taking no for an answer" He told her as he saw her hesitate slightly.
"You're a good guy you know that" She said.
"No one would believe you" He said "Now move out the way of my dishes and get lost"
Quinn said goodnight to Cami and goodbye to her Mom. They were reading together on the couch. She was just in a plain pair of dark jeans with a long-sleeved purple top and her flat shoes, but she wasn't in the mood to go home and change. She decided to head straight to Molly's.
Erin was at the bar with Antonio and Sylvie laughing and joking. Erin stood up and gave her a hug as she walked over to join them.
"Stella" Erin called over "Whatever Quinn's having on me"
"Why thank you" She said taking a seat "What's got you in such a good mood?"
"I'm just happy" Erin replied with a shrug.
Quinn just smiled knowingly. Erin had been happier since she and Jay had moved in together. Erin deserved to be happy. She had been through so much over the years. It was nice someone was finally in a good place.
"Living with Jay is going well then?" She asked as Stella handed her a glass of wine.
"It might be" Erin shrugged "Speaking of, I need to go and meet him"
"Have fun" she called after her shaking her head.
"It's unnerving right" Antonio laughed as they watched Erin leave.
"I think it's cute" Sylvie said with a wistful look on her face.
The way Antonio looked at Sylvie eyes full of adoration was what was the cutest. Love seemed to be in the air. Before it had made her sad, but she liked to see everyone else in a better place than she was.
"So, have you told them yet?" She asked taking a sip of her drink.
"I'm telling them next shift" He said running a hand through his hair "I'm just worried they won't take it well"
Antonio had been offered the job as lead investigator for the state's attorney's office. It was a promotion and a big deal. She thought he should be celebrating that.
"They'll miss you" She told him "But the hours you work and you have your kids, this will be a good thing for your family, never mind it's a big step up career wise. I know what it's like trying to balance family life"
"I am looking forward to being there for Diego's games, and helping Eva with her schoolwork, she'll be looking at colleges before I know it" He agreed.
Sylvie was telling them about a crazy call she had been on the shift before with some creepy clown who had been hit in the head. She visibly shivered as she talked about it. Quinn tried her best not to laugh and show proper concern for her friend's fear.
She turned around as she felt a tap on her shoulder.
"You're alive" Kelly said putting his arms around her.
"Very funny" She said rolling her eyes.
"No seriously I thought you'd fallen down a hole in the library never to be seen again" He told her taking a seat next to her.
"Not your best work" She pointed out with a grin.
"It was a long shift" He shrugged "I'll work on a better one"
"You do that lieutenant" She teased.
"I was actually wondering if I could talk to you" He said awkwardly.
"Sure" She said furrowing her brow as he led her to another table "What's wrong?"
"I need a favor" He told her "Can I put you down as my emergency contact?"
"Why?" She asked carefully.
"I went into med with a burn a couple of shifts ago, Clarke used to work with me is a doctor now, he told me about this girl, she needs a bone marrow donation, they couldn't find a match but I am one" He replied.
She stopped him putting a hand on his.
"Of course, I will" She told him.
"It's just a formality really" He said.
"Hey, if you're doing this really great thing for someone then the least, I can do is drop you off and pick you up" She told him.
"Aww you care" He said with a grin.
"Or, I just want to do a really great job so I can lord it over you for a long long time" She shrugged.
"No, I think you care" He laughed.
"So, what if I do Severide?" She asked raising an eyebrow.
"Thank you" He told her sincerely.
"Come on" she told him "I'll buy you a drink"
Kelly took Quinn home and walked her to her front door. He had felt awkward asking her to help him out, but he was glad that she did.
"What?" She asked looking up as him amused.
He knew he must have a dumb expression on his face the way she was looking at him. He was lost in thought.
"I'm just glad we're still friends" He admitted.
"Me too" She told him.
"I know I've said it before but I'm really…"He started.
"Hey" She said holding up a hand to interrupt him "Past, forgiven and forgotten remember, you didn't do anything bad and we both moved on"
"You're right" he nodded "I've just been thinking about how I've been acting lately"
"Like we all haven't been through rough patches?" She asked raising an eyebrow.
He smiled at her. Her eyebrow raise was one of the sexiest most endearing things he had ever seen. He was sure she didn't realize how often she did it.
"You're right" He nodded.
"Obviously" She said rolling her eyes "The Severide I wanted to get to know had way more confidence than this, and I liked that guy. He's pretty great"
"Ok" He said holding his hands up "Ending pity party of one"
"Good" She nodded standing on tiptoes and kissing his cheek "Goodnight"