Simple Parts
Chapter 7- Satellite
I should just get on with it and
say the things I meant to say
For so long
Bit my tongue till I tasted blood
I don't want to lose control
I'm on the edge of my seat
I can feel my heart skip a beat
QFRB
Alice looked around at the heavy crowd passing by them before replying. "It's complicated. I'll tell you about it in the car."
Carmen considered this for a moment, glancing between Alice and Rachel as she did so. She let her dark brown eyes linger over the younger form of her mother before glancing back at her sister.
"Hand over the keys."
"What? No way."
"You better, before I start a scene."
Alice glared at Carmen of a long moment, and the older girl just stared triumphantly back at her little sister, hip still cocked and arrogant attitude all the more tangible.
"I hate you," the cheerleader informed her even as she slapped the car keys into Carmen's extended hand.
"Join the club."
It was quite easy to say that Carmen was not very nice. In fact, she was kind of a bitch. Her attitude alone declared that loud in clear. It was confusing to Rachel, because she wasn't the same type of bitch that she was used to seeing in Quinn and Santana. The two cheerleaders were very much about image and control.
And controlling their image.
No, Carmen wasn't about that. She was a diva, her aura radiated it. The crowd parted like the Red Sea for her, mountains bowed down, but not out of fear. Out of awe.
She wanted what she wanted when she wanted it, and if she didn't get it, there would be hell to pay. Rachel knew this because she knew herself, and Carmen was a lot like her. Somehow though, she felt like Carmen was probably more extreme.
They stopped briefly by the luggage carousel for Carmen to pick up her small dufflebag and then headed straight to the car. Alice refused to sit in the front with her sister, so Rachel was given the pleasure of shotgun. The doors had barely closed before Carmen rounded on her.
"Who are you, Face Stealer?"
Rachel felt that complete and straightforward honesty would be her best bet. "My name is Rachel Berry, I'm from the past."
Carmen didn't agree. Her brown eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Shut up and tell the truth." Rachel didn't reply immediately. "Well?"
"How can I tell the truth and also remain silent?"
"Don't be a smart ass, Creepy Doppelganger."
"She really is from the past. Mom and Momma both said they remember it happening," Alice contributed petulantly from the back seat.
Carmen narrowed her eyes further, until they were just slits, and gave Rachel a thorough look over. "Prove it."
"Gladly. How would you like me to do so?"
At this Carmen set back with a furrow in her brow. "Give me a minute."
"You could just call Mom, ya know. She's off work today," Alice suggested when Carmen's minute turned in to three.
Carmen either ignored her or didn't hear her, but her next actions were to pull her cell phone out of her fancy designer purse. "I'll just call Mom. She'll tell me what's going on."
Alice rolled her eyes so hard that Rachel was a little worried they'd get stuck like that.
The conversation between mother and daughter was mostly one-sided, and that side was not Carmen's. The drama student was apparently a little meeker when confronted with the older woman. Even though they were interacting through the phone, Carmen's posture had shifted and cowed a little.
Older Rachel cleared up any of Carmen's questions with very few prompts from her daughter. Her responses were all short and usually cut off on the other end of the line by more chatter from Older Rachel. When she said goodbye after several long minutes of stilted conversation, she ended the call with a forceful exhalation and a shake of her head.
"So…" for the first time since they met Rachel saw Carmen look unsure. She was sure that wasn't something that happened often. "You really are my mom when she was young?"
"That is correct."
"This is weird."
"You don't know the half of it," Alice muttered from the back seat.
Again she was ignored in favor of starting the car. "That's really very interesting. Time travel. Not as interesting as me, of course, but definitely up there in the top ten."
"I suppose," Rachel responded when Carmen looked at her expectantly. "So, you've been away at Juilliard," she prompted after a beat of silence. It's the perfect opening and the other girl leaps on it.
Carmen loved attention and while Rachel did too, she's more than happy to be hearing about Juilliard from her future child's perspective. Rachel had a sneaking suspicion that Carmen wouldn't have anything to talk about other than her time at school. She spent the two hour drive from Columbus informing both the girls about the ins and outs of her life at the music school. Rachel ate it up and Alice just rolled her eyes and lamented that she hadn't brought any headphones. Instead she had to suffer through an endless one sided conversation about things she couldn't care less about.
Alice sprawled out in the backseat and played with her phone. Rush Hour was really mind numbing and would probably help pass the time.
QFRB
"What exit do I take?" Carmen asked suddenly, breaking off in the middle of telling them about something one of her roommates had done. "Did I pass it?"
"No," Rachel replied. "I think it's the next one."
At this news she swerved suddenly across two lanes of traffic, cutting off several people in the process and sending Rachel and Alice's hearts into their throats.
"WING MIRRORS!" Alice shrieked, holding tightly to the door and slamming her right foot against the floor board as if she had an extra brake.
"I don't use rearview mirrors," Carmen told them calmly, not even ruffled by the angry blaring of horns behind her, and not concerned with the fragile state of her passengers. "I thought about using them once, but then I realized that all of the things behind me didn't matter. I'm ahead, I'm better than that."
"You realize," Alice raged, "that you are insane, right!?"
Carmen just shrugged her sister's comment away and kept her gaze focused on the road in front of her. Rachel had been correct about the next exit, and Carmen didn't slow down one little bit as she took it. Though Lima wasn't very big, and Carmen had lived there for three years, she still had to be guided around until they reached the residential area that the Fabray house was located in.
The car had barely rolled to a stop before Carmen had torn out of it, leaving her bag in the car with her passengers, and up the walk. Rachel and Alice followed at a much slower pace, the cheerleader with an expression of disdain.
"Why do you hate your sister?"
Alice's face contorted with a familiar look of rage. Rachel had seen in directed at her countless times from Quinn. The resemblance was really uncanny. "I don't hate her. She's just a self-centered, arrogant, ungrateful bitch that gets everything she wants and she doesn't care who has to roll over and get pissed on as long as she gets it." She sighed and put her hands on her hips, in another unconscious mirror of her mother. "I love her, cause she's my sister, and I would give her a kidney in a second. I just don't like her very much. She's never actually acted like she cares much for me either. Just treats me like I'm a jealous little kid. And, ok, sometimes I'm a little jealous of how easy everything is for her, but I do legitimately think she's an asshole most of the time."
"Maybe I should stay with you instead of her. Our personalities seem similar, but I'm far less likely to try and dominate you like an older sister would. We might also prevent bloodshed that way."
"Would you? Please?"
"Yes, I think so. It would be best."
They entered the house (Carmen had left the front door wide open) just as Shannon came pelting down the stairs and then past them, into the living room to jump on her eldest sister. Quinn had followed the little girl down at a much slower pace, but didn't leave the stairs. She sat on the lowest step and peered around the railings to see the scene in the living room. Rachel felt her heart speed up just at the sight of her. It was a common reaction, something she was definitely used to after years of knowing the girl. But she suddenly had a new frame of reference for it. Before, she had just assumed that her racing heart was caused by fear or anxiety. Now she attributed it to something else entirely.
Alice split off from Rachel and joined her family.
Rachel didn't join the others in greeting Carmen, as she had spent two hours in her presence already. Instead, she approached Quinn on the stairs and sat beside her, heart hammering painfully against her bones. They watched the family interact in silence and Rachel was thankful for the time to calm down. Carmen was talking a mile a minute in between hugs to her two youngest siblings and Older Rachel. Alice had thrown herself across the overstuffed arm chair and was watching with a mildly irritated scowl.
"Wow," Quinn commented finally when they heard Carmen launch into a story of her own excellence, "she's just like you, except more self-absorbed. I honestly didn't know that could happen."
"Don't be mean," Rachel pouted. It was playful though, she could tell that Quinn had just been teasing her.
"Just being honest."
"Well, since we're being honest, I'm mad at you."
When Quinn chuckled in that raspy, sexy way it made Rachel's knees feel a little weak. "For being honest? If anything I should be mad at you. I had to stay around and clean this entire place while you got to skip town. And the older you is a slave driver."
"No, for somehow talking me in to having Sam be the sperm donor for the children. Also, you just called me a slave driver."
Internally, Quinn shuffled through several emotions in quick succession, confusion, embarrassment, horror, amusement, irritation, and adoration circling several times before she settled firmly on amusement. Because Rachel being angry over her ex-boyfriend being the sperm donor for their future children, that was hilarious. Externally, her face remained completely blank except for a slight widening of her eyes.
"What makes you think I would want my ex to father our children? That sounds like some crazy idea you would come up with. And I was talking about the other you, not you you."
"That doesn't make any sense at all. I barely know Sam." She jerked her head a little, her brain finally processing all that had been said. "You just called me crazy too. You're digging a deeper hole for yourself Ms. Fabray."
"Can we stop talking about sperm donors? It's weird. I feel pressured, you haven't even asked me to marry you yet and we're already talking about children. Sperm donors now, baby names this morning. I want a ring first."
Rachel couldn't help laughing, because Quinn was funny, and a little absurd. "There's no way I'm the one that's going to propose first."
Quinn laughed mirthlessly and fixed Rachel with a pointed stare. "Think again. If I'm pushing four of your kids out of me, you will be the one to pop the question."
"So you just want me for the material positions my large paychecks from staring Broadway plays will get me, hmm?"
"How did you even get that out of what I just said?"
"Never you mind," Rachel lectured with a haughty glance. "You're signing a pre-nup."
Quinn gasped in shock. She knew, realistically, that they were just playing around, but she was still a little offended. Rachel laughed loudly enough that they drew attention away from Carmen in the other room. Quinn waved off the concerned glances.
When Rachel's full body laughter turned into quiet giggles, she looped her arm around Quinn's and leaned her head on the blonde's shoulder. Quinn bit her lip and tried to remain calm, but her whole body felt like it was buzzing, like her skin was just going to fly off at any second. Rachel shifted and Quinn had to contain a whimper when the brunette's forehead touched the side of her jaw. Words wanted to escape her mouth, so she switched her biting from lip to tongue, and bore down hard enough for it to hurt.
"I like this," Rachel whispered after a moment. Talking louder would have ruined the feeling. "Us, being friends. It's nice."
Quinn just nodded.
A weird tension pushed through the narrow space between them at the pronouncement. Quinn wasn't entirely sure what it was over either. She took a moment to think, stubbornly trying to cling to the comfort that they had shared so recently. It was possible that the tension came from the simple fact that they knew they wouldn't be friends in this future. They were so much more than friends and it was frightening.
Quinn couldn't even fathom how much she would have given to enter this future and find that she had married Finn or Puck or Sam, or any bland boring man for that matter. Any man that she could have manipulated to her purpose. It would have been so comforting to find that her attraction to Rachel was either a phase or something that easily went away with distance and time.
Comforting. Comfortable. Easy. Boring.
Nothing like being with Rachel would be.
"So you've just been cleaning all day?" Rachel asked when the tension had almost reached a stifling level; Quinn breathed a grateful little sigh.
"Mostly. I've been babysitting Shannon for the last hour though 'cause she was starting to whine." She shifted back, closer again so their hips were touching. "Older Rachel went shopping after lunch and came back with entirely too much food."
"What did you do with Shannon? She wanted to play Barbies with me."
Quinn chuckled. "I think I saved you some trouble then. We played with her collection for a while. She has entirely too many. There's this huge dollhouse up there too. It has working lights and real porcelain bathtubs and hand carved little dolls."
"Real carpet?"
"Yes!"
"You sound jealous."
"I am! I love doll houses. She said I helped her build it."
"Wow. So you're handy too."
"I guess."
"And you wear contacts."
Quinn flushed and looked down at her knees. "Irrelevant to this conversation."
"Be careful, you might start speaking like I do," Rachel teased, bumping the blonde's shoulder with her own. She bit her lip and contemplated what she wanted to say next. Her truce with the other time traveler was tentative and based solely on the fact that they wouldn't remember anything that was happening. She wasn't really sure what Quinn would deem acceptable behavior. Older Quinn's assurances from the day before that she had always liked Rachel are just empty words without actions to back them up. Quinn had been tentative and shy that morning. They'd had their mildly flirtatious banter, currently and earlier that morning, but would outright flirtation be permitted? "I understand why you wouldn't want to wear glasses while you were on the Cheerios, but they look very flattering on you."
Honestly, that's the best you've got? She berated mentally as soon as it escaped her mouth. You've told her she's beautiful a thousand times.
Quinn was not at all upset with the compliment. In fact she flushed so red that Rachel nearly panicked, fearing she had said something to make her angry. But the blonde wasn't anywhere approaching angry. She was on the opposite shore, riding the waves of ecstatic mixed with a little hopefulness.
She didn't get compliments often, but when she did it was never about something she considered completely hers.
"You have such nice hair Quinn." Thanks, I dye it.
"You're so thin and athletic." Thanks, I'm on a crazy diet and have to work out twice as hard as a normal person.
"You're so popular." Thanks, most of the time I feel like complete shit because I have no real friends.
"You're so pretty." Thanks, you probably would have made fun of me just like everyone else.
No one had ever told her she looked good in glasses. Most people didn't know she needed contacts. Santana and Brittany did, but she had never worn her glasses around them. When they used to have sleepovers she would wear her contacts until the absolute last second and then would keep them under her pillow while she slept so she could put them right back in in the morning.
"I…thank you."
"Of course."
They sat there for at least another hour, sometimes in silence, listening to Carmen and Older Rachel talking over each other and sharing stories, other times laughing over little commentaries that the blonde would make. Whenever Rachel would rock into her, Quinn's heart would rattle around in her ribs like an animal trying to escape, and when Quinn would playfully smack her leg Rachel could feel buzzing tingles all over her skin. They both thought they might burst open. They both bit back phrases and truths that were too strong for the moment.
Your hair looks really soft. I want to touch it.
I like it when you laugh like that.
I want to kiss you.
Older Quinn's arrival was both a blessing and an embarrassment. It gave them something else to focus on, besides their hummingbird heartbeats, but the older blonde's smile at seeing them together on the bottom step of the stairs was loaded with unspoken humor. The broke away, almost guiltily.
The older blonde didn't get an opportunity to unleash her rapier wit on them before Shannon bounced into the hallway and then pounced once she saw who had walked through the door.
"It's Momma!" she screeched over her shoulder.
"Inside voices, Ninja," Older Quinn reprimanded gently and with an expression that said she wasn't really expecting much. She finger waved at the time travelers and then hauled herself through to the living area, Shannon still firmly attached to her front.
Older Rachel approached her immediately and they greeted each other with a sweet kiss, their youngest child trapped between their bodies. Young Rachel couldn't help wanting that, she also couldn't help taking Quinn's hand between hers and holding it reverently. Quinn smiled at her and she smiled back. It was awkward, but it was nice too and Quinn didn't pull away.
"Wow, Momma," Carmen commented, drawing Older Quinn's attention to her and away from her wife, "you need to get to the salon soon."
"Wonderful to see you too."
"I love you," she charmed, smiling widely. "I like your ridiculous sweater."
Older Quinn rolled her eyes and beckoned the girl to her. "Come on, you're helping with dinner."
"I really must protest!" Carmen argued even as she stood and approached her mother.
"You have no choice," Quinn rebutted even as she pulled her daughter into a tight hug and ruffled her hair. She laughed at the squawk Carmen released. "Especially since you made fun of my sweater. And I've missed having my precious baby help me." Young Rachel noticed Alice rolling her eyes on the other side of the room. "I've got an AA meeting at 7, so we're just going to make something quick."
"What are we having?" Alex asked.
The phone ringing in the kitchen interrupted her briefly, but her wife offered to go get it, ruffling her short hair affectionately. Young Rachel pulled the younger blonde up off the step and into the living room so they could join the dinner discussion.
"Quinn!" Older Rachel called from the kitchen, "Beth's on the line."
"Yay! Beth!" Shannon cheered, storming out of the room happily.
Older Quinn froze momentarily, cutting her glance to her younger self, who had stalled by the couch, arm looped with Younger Rachel's. She didn't have time to think or comfort the younger blonde. "Coming. Put her on speaker."
Younger Quinn felt like every bit of air had be forcefully removed from her lungs, like something heavy had been dropped on her chest. Beth. Her baby. Tears welled up in her eyes at just the thought of her. She thought of Beth every day, had thought of her in passing just that morning, but she had completely forgot that Beth would be an adult in this time. Forgotten that she could be married and have her own family.
"Quinn," the whisper of breath over her ear scared her several inches off the ground. She turned her wild eyes to Rachel to find an intensity shining back at her from the brown depths. "I know you're hurting right now," she continued, fast and so quietly that she had to strain to hear, "but we have to go into the kitchen with the rest of them." Quinn could barely understand her, she was so muddled, and their faces were close, she could see the individual fibers in her eyes. It reminded her of something she'd read about how there were branches of science that said different areas of the eyes reflected different areas of the body, like reflexology. She was so caught up in this remembrance that she didn't answer for a moment. "Shannon might notice and it would be odd."
Quinn nodded absently and allowed Rachel to steer her through to the kitchen, just behind a disinterested Alice. They entered the room just in time to catch the beginning of the conversation. Older Quinn was leaning on the counter over the phone with Older Rachel hovering beside her. Carmen took up the place on her other side, her head on her mother's shoulder. Shannon had forced herself in front of them, flat against the front of the counter. Alex and Alice were less invasive; they both stood several feet away, Alex looking interested and comfortable and Alice's expression dark.
"Beth, hi."
Younger Quinn was coiled tighter than a spring, her whole frame nearly shaking with the tension. Young Rachel rubbed her back in what she hoped was a soothing manner, but she couldn't tell if it helped. Quinn showed no outward sign of improvement. When Beth's voice came over the speaker, slightly distorted, Quinn's knees buckled a little and Rachel had to hold her up. "Hey, Quinn, Tin wants to talk to you real quick."
"Sure, put him on."
A small teary voice replaced Beth's. "GRANDMA! Grandma Quinn!" The younger Quinn flinched against Rachel, nearly knocking their heads together. She was in contact with Beth, they were close enough that a phone call wasn't unusual, and she was a grandmother. Her poor heart felt like it was being squeezed.
"Aww, Tinny, why are you crying?"
"I-I found a p-puppy. But my d-daddy said it was mangy and he s-shot it!"
"You poor baby. I'm sorry."
The little boy on the other line sniffled pathetically. "Will you get me a puppy for my next birthday?"
"I will not. You have to talk to your parents about that."
"Why not?" he pouted.
"I can't send a puppy through the mail."
"Oh."
Quinn dropped into a conspiratorial whisper. "Maybe you should ask your Grandma Shelby. I bet she would get you a puppy."
Tinny gasped in happiness. "You're right. I'll ask her. Bye Grandma Quinn!"
Quinn didn't get a chance to reply before the little boy had handed the phone off to his mother with a muffled "here you go, Mommy."
"He neglected to tell you that it was a coyote pup." Quiet chuckles stumbled around the room and Young Quinn inhaled sharply. Rachel rubbed her hands up and down the blonde's arms. She hesitated for a moment and then wrapped her arms loosely around the other girl's waist, just in case she felt trapped and wanted loose. "Anyway, just wanted to call and tell all of you to have a happy Thanksgiving."
All of the Fabray's replied with a "Happy Thanksgiving", Alice much less enthusiastically than the others.
When the dial tone sounded Young Quinn pulled out of Rachel's hold and bolted. The other's watched her leave with an awkward tension. Young Rachel was set to follow her, along with Older Quinn, but Older Rachel beat them to it.
"You start dinner, I'll go see what's wrong," she said for Shannon's benefit.
QFRB
The door to Morgan's room opened without a knock and Quinn rolled over on the bed so she was facing the door.
She had expected someone to follow her, really. She hadn't expected it to be the older Rachel. They hadn't been alone together since she had arrived in the future, and she was honestly a little nervous to be trapped in a room with her. It didn't help when the older version of the girl she had harbored a secret love for sat on the bed and ran a comforting hand over her shoulder.
She didn't speak, which kind of freaked the blonde out a little more, but it was also a relief.
They sat in silence together for several minutes, Quinn with her hands pressed hard over her stomach, something that had become a nervous habit after the baby was born, when before it had been something she did whenever she thought of the little creature rolling around inside her.
When she did speak it was quiet and soothing, the classic bossy, lecture-like speech was gone. She held up an old book for Quinn to see. "Quinn's Bible, your Bible. I thought you might like to look through it while you're here."
She placed the book on the bedside table.
"Thank you," Quinn whispered.
Rachel smiled sweetly at her and moved her hand from the blonde's arm to her hair. Quinn's eyes fluttered closed happily. The woman's hand was soft and cool, her short nails scratching lightly against her scalp. The blonde hummed with pleasure.
"Is she happy?" she asked finally in a small voice.
"Yes, as far as I can tell. She had a happy childhood and now she's married to a lovely man named James and they have two children, Tin and Aaron."
"Tin's a weird name," Quinn muttered, leaning further into Rachel's touch.
The older woman chuckled softly. "It's short for Quentin."
Quinn didn't freeze in shock like she would have expected, in fact she relaxed further, sinking into the softness of the bed. "Have I met her. Like in person."
"Yes, several times. I met her before you did, when I was visiting Shelby one day. She looks just like you. Except when she looks just like Puck."
"Does she…is she okay with what I did?"
"She's very well adjusted. She understands where you were coming from, and she relates to you kind of like an aunt or a much older sister. Shelby is very much her mother though."
Quinn nodded to show she had heard.
Rachel seemed to understand that she was done talking and she stood, giving the young blonde one more pet before moving away to the door. "Supper should be ready soon. Don't stay up here too long."
When a length of time had passed Quinn pulled herself away from the bed and went down stairs. She found Older Rachel and Quinn in the kitchen, standing close with their foreheads together and trading soft kisses.
QFRB
Just as they were all sitting down to dinner there was a commotion in the front hall. Older Rachel and Quinn cast worried glances at each other before the older diva got up and moved to check out the noise. Older Quinn wasn't far behind and when the children heard a squeal of happiness from Older Rachel they scrambled to make it to the hallway. Even Carmen looked a little ruffled when they all packed in quickly.
Morgan stood in the door way, his suitcase next to him on the ground and a worn gray fedora in his left hand. He smiled mildly at his mothers and then opened his arms wide.
Rachel wasted no time running into her son's embrace and Morgan loved the drama of it. He picked her up and spun around a few times, tucking his head down to rest on top of hers. "I've missed you Mommy," he told her when her feet hit the floor again.
"And what about me?" Older Quinn demanded.
Morgan let go of Rachel and turned his dark gaze to Quinn. "Sorry," he said after a moment of contemplation, "I've got nothing."
"You little shit, come hug me before I take you over my knee."
"Empty threats," Morgan chuckled but did as bid without complaint. "Sorry I'm late," he muttered against her shoulder.
"You should be, dinner is probably cold."
"A travesty," he agreed. "I'll pay with my flesh if you like."
"That's gross, Mo," Shannon informed him as she ran forward to catch him about the waist.
"My apologies, little lady."
He went around the circle of family, doling out hugs and kisses, along with a firm handshake for his little brother. Alex tried to be tough, but ended up hugging him anyway. When he came to Young Rachel and Quinn, Older Quinn was suddenly beside him whispering in his ear. He nodded and kept his smile even.
"Wow, Charlie! Barbie! You guys have grown so much. I hardly recognize you." He hugged them both, giving them a charming wink when he pulled away and then announced that he was starving.
Morgan Fabray was named after Morgan Freeman. The man might have given up his cab to Quinn Fabray when she went into labor just as they were both leaving the same fancy dinner party. Rachel and Quinn Fabray had planned on naming him Lucas, but they weren't the types to ignore a sign from God.
At least, that's what they told him. Morgan was never really sure if they were just fucking with him or not. That was the trouble with having sarcastic parents. They could go years letting their children believe things that weren't true.
Older Quinn and Rachel just laughed at his retelling of it, neither confirming nor denying it, the brunette reprimanding him gently for his language around his little sister. Shannon had giggled cutely when the young man had apologized with a kiss to the back of her hand.
"So, Mo, what happened with that audition you had a few weeks ago?" Older Quinn asked. Older Rachel's face broke into a dazzling and expectant smile.
Morgan smiled sadly and looked down at his plate. "I didn't get it."
The smile on Older Rachel's face slipped away. She reached for her son and ran a comforting hand over his shoulder. "Oh Baby, I'm so sorry."
Morgan nodded and bit his lower lip.
"There are other parts," Older Quinn added in a consoling voice. Morgan nodded again.
He looked up and he's eyes were shining. "I got the lead."
Rachel's hand on his shoulder stilled. "What?"
"I didn't get the part I tried out for. I got the lead role."
The sentence was barely out of his mouth before Rachel had his face pressed to her chest and he was flailing, trying to stay in his chair. It didn't work out well, the chair tipped and he ended up on his knees next to his mother, still held firmly to her.
Across the table Quinn was roaring with laughter. "You little sneak." She left her seat and joined the violent hug on the floor.
"You're going to be in a real Hollywood movie?" Alex asked with excitement shining all over his face. "You're going to be famous and meet stars, just like Mom?"
Morgan didn't have much room to answer, so he just flashed his little brother a thumbs up.
At seven, Older Quinn left for her AA meeting with a promise to be back in time to read that night. Rachel had Alice and Alex clearing up the super dishes while she took Morgan and Carmen into the family room to talk about his upcoming role in more depth. Younger Rachel followed without thinking about it, Shannon hoping along behind her.
Quinn found herself alone at the table. She didn't know what to do with herself. She still wasn't feeling too great, and as much as she liked Morgan, she had a feeling that being in a room with five Rachel Berry personalities would be entirely too insane for her to handle.
She thought about the Bible that Older Rachel had handed her earlier and decided that the tattered book would be a good distraction.
QFRB
The leather of the cover was soft and worn, all four corners tipped with gold tabs, and the monogram in the bottom right corner read L.J. Howard in gold script. It was very old. The condition of the cover was a big hint, but when she opened the front cover and saw that several people had written in it over the years, and the original date it had been gifted, she got a feeling that she was holding an heirloom.
To Lillian Young on the day of her marriage to C.J. Howard, June 18, 1948.
May the Lord look favorably on you.
Owen G Young
There were other notes after that. The Bible had been passed on to a Maria Roylan in 1974, and then to Maci Roylan in 1994, and then to Amanda Roylan in 2009.
Amanda. I think someone mentioned that she was one of Rachel's roommates.
If it was the same Amanda, she had clearly given it to Quinn. She had written a long note at the bottom of the page in small cramped letters in an effort to make it all fit.
I know you don't know me well. We've only just met. But I can see that you're struggling with more than just your jitters. I'm giving this to you because it was important in my quest to find myself and I think it can help you in the same way it did me. I've left all of my notes in it. Every single thing I've written and worked out and every map I've drawn. The notes are just as important as the rest of the book. Sometimes you have to look at things differently that you were taught to. Happy New Year Quinn. Maybe this gift can help make a Happy New Quinn too.
That explained all the bits of paper that stuck out of the top at different areas.
She opened the book to the first marked page at the very beginning of Genesis. Amanda had written quite a bit in her cramped handwriting. There were references to other works, drawings, bulleted lists, translations to Hebrew and back again, and even little maps. Some of her ideas and conclusions were almost too radical for Quinn to even understand, like drawing evolutionary science into the creation story in a way that the blonde had never even heard of.
Her father had liked to point out the flaws in evolutionary science with very weak (in retrospect) points about the time frame given in the Bible. Quinn had always been a little skeptical about his belief in Creationism. Amanda had even brought attention to those ideas, along with other theories she had heard about in passing. She had written them all out in bullets under the heading FAITH STATEMENTS.
An entire page of her notes was filled with thoughts on gender and its creation.
She felt like her head was spinning and she didn't even make it out of the story of creation.
A knock on the door was all the warning she received before the door swung open to reveal her older self in the door way, grinning and calm and looking nothing like Quinn thought someone would look after talking about their addiction for the past two hours.
"Hey, I knew you would be up here."
"I think I'm going to make an effort to be less smug and superior in the future, it's a really unflattering look for me."
Older Quinn just laughed. "Having fun with my Bible?"
"It's interesting," she replied with a casual shrug.
"Well put it away for a while. We're going to read about witchcraft now."
"What?"
"It's Harry Potter tonight. That means full on house pride around here." She paused and tossed a blue shirt at her. "We're in Ravenclaw."
"I have no idea what that means," Quinn commented absently, busy examining the shirt she had been leant.
"I know you haven't read it yet. You'll get the chance in college. You're going to love it."
QFRB
Older Quinn had been absolutely right about Younger Quinn loving Harry Potter. They hadn't even started in the beginning, but somewhere in the middle of the fourth book, and she had been massively confused for a little while, but she had pulled through and been charmed by the characters. She wanted to read all of it now, one right after the other without stopping.
It had also been interesting to see the Fabrays argue over houses. Both Rachel's and Carmen had worn green Slytherin shirts, Quinn and her older counterpart had worn the blue Ravenclaw shirts along with Alice. Both Alex and Shannon had donned red Gryffindor shirts and had been subjected to hisses from the Slytherin supporters. Only Morgan had worn a yellow Hufflepuff shirt.
The hour had been much like the previous night's. Older Quinn had read until Shannon was nearly asleep, they had all been treated to cookies (shaped like lightning bolts), and they had all sat in silence once the actual reading had started. One of the main differences, for Young Quinn and Rachel anyway, had been the seating arrangement. It was apparent that Carmen would not be relinquishing her seat in the overstuffed armchair, which Young Quinn had commandeered the previous night, for any reason. She even demanded that Alex bring her cookies to her so she didn't have to move.
Once the older blonde had deposited Shannon upstairs she had returned to find that Carmen had suggested watching home movies and Morgan had immediately backed her up.
They had watched several already, many of them featuring young Carmen (and occasionally Morgan) doing cute things. The girl had made it a habit to say "even as a baby I was a star. The camera loved me."
Older Quinn had apparently had enough of Carmen's ego for the night though, and insisted on pulling out a few older boxes full of DVDs that were made while she and Rachel were in college.
She had pulled Younger Quinn along to look through them too. She found one with the title We Have Stolen Cameron's Camera in bright red marker and pulled it out.
"What about this one?"
The older blonde hummed thoughtfully. "No good. That one's the sex tape."
Quinn dropped the disk like it was on fire and scooted away from it on her rear, not realizing until she was about ten feet away that the older her was snickering.
"Quinn," Older Rachel reprimanded from the couch, "don't be mean." She turned her gaze on the younger blonde and smirked devilishly. "We keep the sex tapes upstairs. Don't want the children stumbling across them."
Older Quinn's delighted laughter almost drowned out Carmen's squeal of disgust. "This one is actually really good." She flipped the disk and showed the title to Older Rachel. The brunette's smirk slipped off her face.
"No! Not that one," Rachel begged her wife, swiping fitfully at the disk being held out of her reach.
"Oh yes, we're watching it."
"What is it?" Younger Rachel asked.
"The story of Nugget," Quinn snickered, tossing the disk to Alice to put in the player.
"This is gonna be great," the cheerleader crowed.
The screen popped from blue to black and then a rather jumpy picture came in focus. It was Quinn, but a little older and tired looking. She was smiling though and looking up at the camera. There was a shift in the frame and the picture zoomed out to show that the blonde was sprawled out on a black couch.
"We have stolen Cameron's camera," Rachel's disembodied voice narrated.
"Are you sure it's Cameron's? I thought it was Amanda's," Quinn protested quietly. Her voice was huskier, but not in a sexy way. More like she was recovering from a sore throat or was about to cough.
The camera turned quickly and they got a brief flash of Rachel's perplexed face before it went right back to Quinn. "Nope, Cameron's. The light works on his."
Quinn shrugged.
"So what are we going to do with it?"
The blonde contemplated this for a moment. "Sex tape?" There was a smack and then a squeal from the Quinn on camera. "Hey! Ouch."
"We're going to play our game," Rachel informed her.
Quinn scowled a little. "On camera? Why?"
"Added pressure," she lectured. "Also, someday when you have children they will see this and realize that you used to have fun."
Quinn looked directly into the camera, no longer looking past it to Rachel. "It's a stupid game, just turn the TV off now; spend your time in more productive ways."
"You made the game up."
"Doesn't make it less stupid."
"Don't be a fun-sucker."
Quinn rolled her eyes. "You're the battery to my flashlight."
"You're the sail to my boat."
"You are…the friction to my match!"
Rachel snorted. "That was stupid."
"Suck my dick."
"Classy Ms. Fabray. You hang out with Amanda and D too much."
Quinn reached up and tickled the girl hovering over her.
A mad giggle erupted from behind the camera.
"You must be stalling or something," Quinn commented. "Can you not think of one?"
"You're…the vegan butter substitute to my baked potato!"
Quinn laughed. "Seriously? You have to make it vegan friendly, really?"
"Of course. I know it makes you hot for me. Do yours or forfeit."
Quinn snorted and looked away from the camera, her cheeks going a little pink before she looked back, bottom lip between her teeth. "You're the cod to my ocean."
A shout of laughter followed this pronouncement and the already shaky camera fell with a clatter. It was snatched up quickly and turned on the wildly giggling Rachel. She had fallen back onto the couch and was staring adoringly up at the camera that Quinn was now holding above her. Every time she seemed to gain composure she lost it again, muttering "you're the cod to my ocean," repeatedly and breaking into more giggles.
"Do you give up?"
The brunette gave a fitful shake of her head, sending her hair into a messy storm. When she again broke out in giggles, Quinn moved over her and snuck a vicious hand over the smaller woman's ribs, tickling her mercilessly.
"Stop! Stop!" she cried through her laughter, her face turning redder as she struggled to breathe.
"Either say another one or forfeit!"
"Ok, ok," she slapped the grasping hand away. "You're the chicken to my nugget."
The Quinn on camera wasn't the only one laughing at that.
"Oh my God, I made you forget you're a vegan!"
"You didn't! I was pressured. You were rushing me!"
"I so did! Nugget!"
"No!" There was a scuffle and the camera clattered away. The screen went black but the sounds of fighting continued, as did Quinn's gleeful cries of "nugget!"
"Jesus! What are y'all doing in here?" A third voice cut through the squeals and shouts. The camera was picked up from where it fell and the unidentified person focused it on the tangle of limbs that was Quinn and Rachel.
The tiny brunette had ended up under the blonde, all of their legs and arms locked in strange and mildly painful-looking contortions. They glanced at each other before Quinn looked back up at the camera.
"Sex tape?"
"Well you're doing it wrong." The camera cut out immediately after.
Amused giggles and chuckles had turned into full on laughing fits by the end of the video. The only one not really laughing was Rachel, and that was partly because she was being teased so mercilessly by Quinn's fingers poking her along the ribs. She was trying to dodge most of the attacks and quickly batting away the ones she couldn't.
They were thankfully interrupted before Rachel decided that tackling would be the best solution to ending her torment.
"Oh my God! Keep it in your pants for like, a minute, would you?" Carman exclaimed suddenly from her place draped across the overstuffed arm chair. Everyone's eyes flew to her and then over to the couple on the couch when they saw her line of sight.
Rachel was on her back, head propped up on one of the couch arms and Quinn was lying on top of her, her head on the brunette's chest. Rachel had her left hand thoroughly tangled in short blonde hair and Quinn's right hand was rather obviously under Rachel's shirt.
Older Quinn cracked open one eye, smirked, and pointedly moved her hand higher up until Older Rachel squeaked and smacked the hand that was moving around under her clothes. Quinn didn't remove her hand. Instead she tilted her head up and nipped playfully at her wife's chin.
Younger Rachel and Quinn, who had been sitting quite comfortably beside each other on the love seat both tensed and Rachel went so far as to scoot off of the piece of furniture and moved away to sit by Alex on the floor. They were getting closer and were friendly, and even mildly flirty with each other, but neither were exactly comfortable with the level of physical intimacy that was put on display.
"Seriously?" Carmen demanded. "While I have fully accepted that the two of you have sex, there are impressionable kids in the room." She looked pointedly in Alex and Young Rachel's direction.
"It's ok," Alex piped up, looking between his sister and mothers. "I walked in on them actually doing the deed a few months ago, and even though I had to dedicate an entire session with Dr. Pifer to my reaction, I have come out relatively unscarred. In comparison, this is nothing."
Carmen dramatically rolled her eyes, Alice giggled and Young Quinn and Rachel looked ill. The older blonde hummed happily and did something under her wife's shirt to warrant another squeal and a sharp tug at her hair.
"He's your son," the blonde said with a chuckle.
"Yes well, she's your daughter," Older Rachel replied with equal affection.
"Oh gag," Alice griped, moving from her spot on the floor in front of Carmen's chair to Young Rachel's vacated seat.
"Well I had to keep her distracted somehow!" Older Quinn defended.
When Morgan walked back into the room and saw the shift that had taken place he raised one eyebrow in silent question. Carmen scoffed. "You don't want to know."
"Put on another video," Quinn ordered. "Last one though. It's getting really late and I have to get this sexy lady into a bed soon."
"I'm going to hurl," Carmen groaned. Everyone ignored her. She huffed petulantly.
Alice flipped through a few more disks before she chose one. "This one has Sidewalk in it!"
"Sidewalk?" Younger Quinn asked.
"Our rotten old cat."
"Don't you talk mess about my cat," Older Quinn ordered.
Her tone drew the attention of her younger counterpart. The younger blonde furrowed her brow in confusion. She remembered what Alice had said the previous evening about the family cat belonging to her, but it still confused her. She really hated cats. She didn't get an opportunity to question her older form before the video started.
It cut in abruptly in what sounded like the middle of a conversation. A thin but fluffy grey cat was the focus. It was on its back, batting angrily at a young man's fingers. The cat hissed and spat and the man laughed. He was handsome and thin, with short golden brown hair and squinty blue eyes. ("That's Cameron," Older Rachel told the time travelers.)
"Yeah, well, Quinn nearly bit my head off earlier 'cause I pushed Sidewalk off the table."
"All you have to do is get her fixed. Then she won't be such a bitch anymore." Cameron dangled his fingers just in front of the yowling cat's face and then jerked them away when she lunged at him.
Behind the camera Amanda laughed. "Who? Quinn or the cat?"
Rachel's feet marched through the frame, briefly blocking the sight of the fuzzy grey cat. "God, both. We could do with less drama around here. One of them could be given away." Once again visible, Sidewalk hissed at Rachel's back, as if she understood what had just been said.
"Sidewalk was here first."
"Yes, but Quinn speaks English."
"I'm not getting rid of my cat. Quinn likes her too."
"Whatever. If she bites me again I'm going to kick her."
Amanda snickered. "Who? Quinn or the cat?"
"Both."
Sidewalk hissed again and the screen went black.
Older Quinn had apparently been very serious about closing up shop after the last video. She shooed the Fabray children along with Rachel's help, even Morgan wasn't spared, despite his whining that he was "a grown up."
Younger Quinn and Rachel were the last go up the stairs, silent and shy, but standing close enough that Quinn's shoulder would bump the brunette every few steps.
Rachel came to a halt outside Alice's room. "This is me."
"Thought you were staying in Carmen's room."
The brunette nodded. "I was but I switched so they wouldn't kill each other."
"They kind of remind me of some people I know," Quinn mentioned with a smirk.
"Yeah, me too."
They both giggled.
"Except, you know…sisters."
"Yeah."
They both stared and shuffled for a moment.
"Um…goodnight then."
"Goodnight."
Neither of them moved and after a moment of hesitation Rachel asked, "Do you mind if…can I hug you?"
"Oh, uh, sure."
There was more awkward shuffling before Quinn swooped in and loosely wrapped her arms around the smaller girl's shoulders. Rachel responded immediately with her arms around the blonde's waist, pressing the whole front of her body to the other girl's. Quinn felt her cheeks warm at the feeling.
They pulled away after several long seconds and smiled bashfully at each other.
"Ok so," Quinn broke in finally, "goodnight. Again." She began to back away.
"Right, night." Rachel sent her one more small smile, then bit her lip and disappeared into Alice's room.
Quinn waited for the click of the latch before allowing her small smile to blossom into a full on beaming grin that split her face from ear to ear. She turned and made her way down the hall, thrusting a triumphant fist in the air. It almost didn't matter that it was a sin; Rachel Berry had totally just hugged her.
QFRB
Would you be my satellite
Would you be my radar?
They don't understand us,
but it don't matter
Satellite,
Satellite,
Be my satellite?
A/N: God this is long. I paused several times and thought of splitting this into two chapters. In fact, that break right before Morgan shows up was going to be the end of chapter seven several times. I talked myself out of it though because then I would have had to come up with another chapter song, and I was just too lazy…
It is my goal to never use the word 'orbs' to describe eyes ever again. I don't remember if I used it earlier in this fic, but recently someone pointed out how common that word is used and ever since then I see it everywhere and it annoys the fuck out of me. I don't get it. But I'm not using it again. Ever. It was hard for this chapter, cause there was lots of eye gazing…
I don't write filler chapters, but this is probably as close as I'm going to get to one. I injected some meaningful moments in there and progressed Little Rachel and Quinn's relationship some more, but the fact is, not much happened on Wednesday.
You're all asking about Brittany and Santana (and the other Gleeks to an extent). Well you won't have to wait much longer. Chapter 9 should be their entrance.
Next chapter though: Rachel's dad, Quinn's mom, Thanksgiving dinner (which means lunch where I'm from), and Alice's insecurities. Maybe more of Quinn's tats.
If you want to know more about Quinn and Beth's relationship, I have a oneshot for that called Does Someone Need a Kidney. I also put up a quick little zombie fic the other day if you want to read that. Finn dies in it…I'd just really wanted to kill him for awhile so…I did.
Also, I'm not super good at art anymore, but I drew a pic of the airplane Quinn got tattooed for Alex. It's on tumblr and its tagged Simple Parts, along with a bunch of other little extras, if you want to see it.
Ok, that's all.
Chapter Song: Satallite by Lelia Broussard