Quinn did end up picking Amy up and taking her to a nearby Starbucks. She tried to pay for the drink, too, but knowing that Quinn didn't really have much in the way of money, Amy didn't let her.

Quinn didn't get anything, while Amy ordered her choice of latte and sat down at a small table with her. Amy was uncharacteristically quiet after that, as she sipped in silence. Quinn got out her phone and just started absently scrolling Facebook, just to give Amy her space to be quiet.

Finally, out of the blue, she asked, "Are you trying out for cheerleader again?"

Quinn shrugged. "I want to. I still have a couple more weeks before I can really start exercising without restrictions. My doctor has to clear me. I feel pretty good though."

"I'd be happy to help you get back in shape," Amy said. "I think it would be great if you go back and you're so undeniably the best that Coach has to let you back on the team and has to choose you for captain, too."

"Dare to dream." Quinn smiled, blithely. She wasn't going to pin all her hopes and dreams on being back on the Cheerios. She'd try out, sure, but she wasn't counting on it.

"No, really," Amy pressed on. "Please let me do this? Aside from taking care of Artie all summer, this is really all I have. Which is pretty sad, when you think about it."

Quinn tilted her head to the side and looked at Amy curiously. "I hope you don't mind my asking but..." I really hope you don't mind. "... have you ever dated someone? I mean, I like to think I knew you pretty well in high school. I don't remember you having a boyfriend."

Amy laughed, as Quinn breathed a sigh of relief, glad to see she hadn't offended her. "No, I didn't really make time for guys in high school," she said, then she gestured to her hair. "And before you ask, no, the short hair does not mean—"

"I wasn't going to ask that!" Quinn insisted.

Amy was still laughing. "Right," she said. "Well, my whole family did, Artie included, but I mean, I guess I understand the suspicion. I didn't date in high school and I still haven't dated anyone in college. And me and my roommate are really, really close. But not that close, if you catch my drift. No, I like guys, I just don't exactly know how to flirt."

"Meanwhile, your brother—"

"Flirts with every girl he meets, I know," Amy supplied, as it was Quinn's turn to laugh now. "Honestly, he just doesn't have a filter. That has nothing to do with him being in a chair, by the way. He never did."

"I think it's part of his charm," Quinn commented, which just made Amy laugh so hard that she snorted. But then her face changed, just at the mention of him.

"I never wanted to relive this," she said. "Though this time, I'm obviously not worried about whether he'll make it through. Just hoping it will improve his quality of life and not set him back."

Quinn reached across the table and gave her free hand a squeeze. "I wish I had been lucky enough to have a big sister like you," she said. "You obviously love him a lot."

Amy had tears in her eyes. "It was the worst day of my entire life," she said. "Me and Dad drove from our church in Lima all the way to the hospital in Dayton, not knowing if he'd be dead or alive by the time we got there. I will never forget that car ride or the sight of his tiny body surrounded by all those machines."

"That's awful." Quinn didn't know what else to say as Amy proceeded to fall apart right there in the middle of the busy Starbucks. She grabbed the tissues she kept in her purse and thrust them across the table. Amy quickly accepted them and tried to pull herself together.

A guy with really bright blonde hair noticed them at the table. He was waiting over by the bar for something, but rather than a drink, the barista was handing him a clipboard. It looked like he was applying to work there. His eyes met Quinn's for just a moment and then he noticed her crying friend. He pressed his enormous lips together and just gave a subtle head nod in their direction before turning and walking to a table across the room to fill out his application.

After Amy settled down a little, Quinn realized she needed to pump before her chest exploded. She'd left it in her car, which was honestly awkward at best but pumping in car worked when it had to work. She wished she could have found out about this much later in life.

She passed by the blonde guy on her way to the car and caught his double-take. It had been awhile since anyone looked at Quinn for any reason besides to stare at the pregnant girl. Her postpartum tummy was pretty well-concealed in the casual dress she'd chosen that day. (Shorts and pants were still out of the question for the time being.) The only logical conclusion, then, was that the guy was actually checking her out.

Thanks, random guy, she thought, feeing a shred of her dignity and confidence returning.

After completing her chore under the privacy of Amy's tinted car windows, she quickly bagged the milk and stored it between ice packs in the cooler she'd brought along. (The amount of things she needed just to leave the house was insane.)

When she came back in, she noticed that the blonde guy had moved to her table and was presently chatting with Amy, who had a sort of amused smile on her face. He started getting up just as Quinn returned. When he flipped his shaggy hair and flashed her a smile, her knees went involuntarily weak.

Oh, no, not again. She'd always been a sucker for nice smiles. Whatever you thought of Noah Puckerman, you had to admit, his smile was cute. And this guy's smile was even cuter.

"Sorry, I couldn't help but notice a damsel in distress," he said, possibly the most awkward conversational lead in she'd ever heard. Amy pressed her lips together tightly like she was now trying not to laugh.

"He, uh, noticed my distress and came to my rescue," Amy added. When the guy looked at her, she added. "But really. It was very sweet. It really was nice to meet you, Sam. Good luck with your job application. They'd be crazy not to hire a charming guy like you."

This guy, apparently named Sam, tipped an imaginary hat as he backed away from their table, nearly falling over the one right behind. Both girls stifled giggles as Sam went back to whatever planet he'd just come from.

"Cute guys aren't usually that nerdy," Amy observed, spot-on. "But, uh, yeah. When you left, he came over and just started quoting random movies until I stopped crying. I have to say, however unorthodox, that was pretty effective."

"Amy." Quinn raised an eyebrow at the other girl. "That Sam guy was flirting with you, did you not notice?"

Amy looked like this was news to her. With her inexperience came, apparently, an inability to notice moments like that.

"Well, uh, that's nice," she said. "But it'll never happen because that guy just told me he's fifteen. I'm nineteen. So, yup, that would be illegal."

Quinn's jaw dropped. "That guy was fifteen?"

"Yup," Amy nodded. "It came up because when he asked me why I was crying, I told him I was waiting on my little brother to have major surgery. When I told him my brother was gonna be a sophomore next year, he said, 'Cool, me too.' And then he said he wasn't sure if this Starbucks would hire someone who was only fifteen, but he figured it was worth a shot."

Quinn turned to see if Sam had gone and, sure enough, he must have turned in the application and left quickly. Maybe he knew enough to realize he'd made a completely awkward first impression.

"He goes to your school," Amy mentioned. "Or at least he's going to. Maybe he's new? He said he'll be a sophomore at McKinley. I told him my brother goes there, too, and he just said 'cool, maybe we'll meet.'"

"He's definitely a new kid," Quinn confirmed. "Because I guarantee that, if nothing else, I would have remembered that hair."

Hm, she thought. A cute guy who doesn't know that I just spent the last year pregnant and shamed. Of course, given the way news traveled, he'd find out soon enough.

"You think he colors it?" Amy wondered.

"I bet he does," Quinn said. "Nobody's hair is that blonde unless they're a toddler. Well, or unless they have some sort of medical condition."

Amy snickered. "This has been fun, Quinn," she said. "Thanks for letting me take my mind off of the stress for awhile. But, I think I better get back. I know it's gonna be a few more hours still, but I need to be there with my family."

Quinn nodded. "And I need to be... someplace else." She'd already decided that, when Artie came home from the hospital, she'd go to Shelby's and spend some time with Beth. She'd even gone ahead and cleared it with Shelby.

"You're welcome to come hang out until we get the news that it's over though," Amy told her. "Would you please? You're a good distraction for me. And Mimi will want to see you, too."

Quinn smiled. It was nice to feel so welcome. "Sure."

...

It was right at the end of six hours into surgery that they got the news that it was over. Artie now had steel rods in his back. Quinn just hoped he'd still be able to water ski and do all the things he'd enjoyed before. The idea was to improve his quality of life, not set him back, right? The problem was, there were no guarantees. But the doctor sounded optimistic when he described the result to his family.

"Can we see him yet?" Nancy asked.

"Just the parents first, then the grandparents, then maybe the sisters," the nurse said, surveying the group and apparently deciding that's what Quinn was. "No more than two of you at a time, please."

Quinn sat very still, trying to decide what to do. She'd told Artie she wouldn't come back to see him or anything, and so she'd be betraying his trust if she invaded his private space in this manner. But she looked at Amy, too, and noticed the other girl's solemn demeanor. She knew she'd better at least stick around until Amy returned from seeing Artie.

As it turned out, their mother went back twice and no one expected, of course, for Quinn to see Artie. She could appreciate that Artie didn't want to appear helpless in front of anyone, and being unconscious after surgery was about as helpless as one could get.

When Amy finally returned, her eyes were red and she had her arms tucked protectively across her body. Her eyes met Quinn's.

"He looks good," she choked out. "Better than last time, of course. It wasn't as bad as I thought."

She seemed to be saying some of this for Quinn's benefit and some for her own. It looked like Amy was going to be alright though, and that meant Quinn's job was done.

After Quinn had hugged every member of the family, she then drove Amy's car on back to the family house and had the strange experience of being there alone again. After she'd showered and pumped one last time before bed, she checked her phone.

Mercedes. She had two missed calls and a text.

Well, she was going to have to play it cool, if Mercedes asked what she'd done that day. She wasn't allowed to blow the big secret, as Artie didn't want anyone asking about him, including Mercedes. Her two-week trip couldn't have come at a better time.

"Hey, girl, how's the beach?" Quinn wanted to know.

"Heavenly," she replied. "Just what I needed. I wish you were here. Tomorrow, DeShaun's going parasailing. I'm just gonna watch from the boat because hell to the no. I only like boat rides where I stay in the boat."

Quinn giggled. "Well, even watching sounds fun," she said. "I'm jealous. I almost asked you to take me with, but you know... I've gotta stay here and make sure I can take Beth her milk every week."

"Right," Mercedes said, and judging from her tone, she still didn't get why that mattered so much to Quinn. "Well, hey, I know you're probably wondering what was so urgent that I called twice. See, it seems our neighbors have been complaining because they've noticed your car parked on the street and the fact that it never leaves."

Quinn furrowed her brow. "My car?" she echoed. "I told Daddy to come pick it up. He has the spare key. You mean he hasn't come?"

"No, he hasn't," she confirmed. "Listen, if you get the chance, could you call him and see what his plan is for the car? We're not, like, a super fancy neighborhood with HOA rules or something like that. But... we do like our neighbors and we want to keep them happy."

"Yeah, of course."

"Thanks, girl," she said. "Well, I hope you're having a good time with Artie and his family. See you in two weeks!"

When she'd said good-bye and hung up, Quinn paced around the room for a few minutes, trying to figure out what she was going to say to her dad when she called. Given that they hadn't spoken since she'd been kicked out, there was no easy way to start a conversation without thinking of all the questions she wished she had answers for.

What she hadn't counted on was someone else answering her father's phone. "Quinn, is that you?" asked an unfamiliar female voice.

Quinn paused. "It's me... I'm sorry, who is this?"

"Hi, sweetie, this is Lenore," she explained, as though that should give Quinn some sort of clue. Quinn deduced that this must be the "tattooed freak" that had been mentioned just before her water had broken backstage.

"Oh... hi."

"Your father is in the shower," she went on to say. "Can I take a message?"

"Just have him call me."

Quinn couldn't be any warmer than that, not with the "other woman" who was now living with her father somewhere, kicking over the rubble in the already-wrecked home.

After fifteen more minutes, where she forced herself not to imagine what could be taking her father so long to call back, at last, she heard back from him.

"Quinnie?" he said. "This is a nice surprise."

Quinn wished to skip the false pleasantries and get right to the point. "My car," she said, bluntly. "Actually, your car, I don't want it anymore. Could you please come pick it up so my friend's neighbors don't complain?"

There was a long pause on the other end. "I got your message," he finally said. "I picked it up a couple of weeks ago, got an oil change for it, filled it up with gas, and put some air in the tires."

Quinn paused. "I didn't ask for any of that," she said. "I'd like to give back everything you ever gave me. I'd give back the new nose, too, if it were possible."

What followed was more silence. In all her years of living, she'd never spoken to her father this way, so she understood why she'd caught him off guard.

"I'd like to think that one mistake doesn't discount everything I've done for you in the past," he finally replied, stiffly, his tone distant.

"Well, it was a pretty big mistake." She could say this without emotion, now that her hormones weren't so out of whack. "I know I messed up by getting pregnant but I thought at least, what with us being pro-life, that someone would find it in themselves to be proud of me for not getting an abortion."

"Honey, I am proud..." he trailed off then. "I know now that throwing you out was too harsh. From what I understand, though, your mother invited you back home and you've refused. Or at least this is what your older sister tells me."

"Yes, but I'm more comfortable staying with a friend right now," Quinn said, coolly. "Maybe I'll reconsider moving back in with Mom after I've worn out my welcome here, but so far, they don't act unhappy about having me here."

"And the baby?"

Quinn paused. "The baby?"

"Right. You did already have the baby?"

She was almost too stunned to answer that one, because she couldn't believe just how out of the loop her father was. If he talked to Frannie, why didn't he even know?

"I gave her up for adoption," she finally told him. "I thought you knew that. I'm not over here, trying to raise a baby at someone else's house."

"Oh, I see."

She gave him a few minutes to process that, wondering if he had any strong feelings about his potential grandchild being born and given away without his input. If he had any regrets at all, well, it was far too late for those. She'd make sure he never got to meet Beth.

"So, back to my question," she said, curtly. "When are you coming to get your car?"

"Please keep the car, Quinnie," her dad insisted. "Please. I didn't intend to take that back from you. And I'd be happy to give you a card so you can get gas for it or whatever you need. Please don't refuse that."

"Fine," she said, after taking a moment to consider his offer. "But only because I need a car so I don't have to burden my friend by borrowing her car. So, thank you. For that."

"Of course." There was another long pause on his end. Then, sounding choked up, he said, "Quinnie, you're welcome here with Lenore and me, too. Please reach out to me if you need anything."

She wasn't going to say she would do that, but it was nice enough of him to offer, she supposed. Maybe someday she'd be ready to forgive her dad and meet the "tattooed freak."

"Thanks."

Without so much as a 'good-bye,' she just hung up. At least she had a car again. And with that, she also had a means to get herself to Akron, for when the time came to give Artie some space.