Disclaimers: I do not own Glee or its characters. I do own all OCs, unless ownership is otherwise given.
Spoilers: major spoilers for Is It Worth Giving Up? Please do not read if you are not caught up to chapters 33–35!
Rating: low-T
Notes: This is an outtake for Worth Giving Up? chapter 35 – Thanksgiving pt. 3. They are at Robert and Taylor Hudson's house, which they went to after leaving the gas station earlier in the chapter.
Enjoy! :)
*3 hours later – Robert & Taylor Hudson's house – 1:30 p.m.*
Rachel walks through the house as she searches for Quinn. For the last 2 and a half hours, she and the girls have been spending time with Finn's uncle Robert and aunt Taylor, and their six-month-old son, Timothy.
She has never seen Quinn so relaxed as the blonde has been for those hours. The way she lit up when they first walked in, and how she and Brittany went off in search for the baby…
It was amazing. They laughed, all of them. And giggled and played with Timmy. They read him stories, got him to crawl, fed him, and even rocked him to sleep.
It was just… amazing. And there really isn't another word to describe it.
Now, though, Rachel looks for Quinn and as she does, she comes across Timmy's Nursery.
And she pauses in the doorway. Quinn is sitting in the rocking chair, she has Timmy and the blonde is gently rocking back and forth. The baby stares up at her, completely enraptured by this older girl, even though she is not speaking.
Rachel stands there quietly, just… watching. And she sees just how good of a mother Quinn would be, and Noah has already proven he'd be a good father, from the way he interacted with Timmy earlier, and from the way he is with all the little kids who are in their lives.
And she wonders, will Quinn allow herself and Noah to have this moment, to have many more moments like this one? To raise their baby, to be there to rock them to sleep, to play with them, to feed them, to celebrate the important milestones in their lives?
She knows what Quinn said on Tuesday, and god how she hopes Quinn was serious. She would be there. Santana and Brittany would be there. Noah would, no doubt. His mother, and his sisters and older brother…
Josiah and David would be absolutely, 100% on board with helping them raise their baby.
And she knows it. She knows Quinn wants this but… that voice.
The one that won't shut up about her being a burden, or being stupid…
That voice is the only thing standing between her best friend and the happiness she needs – that she deserves – so very much.
But that voice…
That stupid, fucking voice won't let her say it.
Rachel knows, deep down, she knows that the moment Quinn calmed down and came to terms with the fact that she is 15 and pregnant, then her mind was made up about whether or not she would keep the baby.
And she knows Noah wants to. They've talked about their imaginary future families almost since the day they met. Even Quinn would participate by whispering her part in Rachel's ear.
They chose who they would marry, how many kids they wanted, which gender those kids would be. What their names were going to be, whether they would live in one big house together, or in separate homes.
They pieced together their future maybe-families the way kids do, and…
Quinn and Noah's chance just happened to come at the same time… at only 15 years old.
Except, the chance could be taken away, snatched right from their hands by people who would rather tear Quinn down instead of building her up with confidence and bravery and an unlimited amount of self-esteem.
She must have made a noise while standing in the doorway because Quinn is suddenly startled and snaps her gaze to the doorway. Rachel smiles gently, moving into the room slowly.
"Hello, Angel."
She comes over, sitting on the little two-seater couch that is beside the rocking chair. It gets Timothy's attention, and she smiles at the little boy, who grins back around his pacifier. He is usually weary of strangers but warmed up quickly to Rachel. She seems to have that effect on kids, as Amara and Miranda both did the same thing.
"Hello, babyboy. How are you? You having fun rocking with Lucy?"
He reaches for her with one hand and she holds out her casted hand (which she took a pain pill for earlier), and lets him grasp her finger.
"You are such a big boy, you know it? And adorable, too. I will definitely be coming to visit once I get my license and am comfortable driving this distance. I can tell you are loved by your Uncle Jordan and Uncle Finn, and your Auntie Alex just could not stop talking about you."
Rachel punctuates the words by saying them in an over exaggerating voice, gently rubbing Timmy's little hand with her finger. She looks up at Quinn, finds her watching her with an… unreadable expression on her face.
"Maybe Auntie Lucy will even come with me."
She reaches up with her left hand, pausing for a moment, and softly tucks a stray blonde hair behind Quinn's ear, then trailing her finger across her cheek.
It is when she brushes a tear from her cheek that Quinn is knocked out of her trance.
And she realizes it…
"Rae…"
It turns out her earlier assessment was correct.
But it still chills her to hear the fear in Quinn's voice, which is fighting with the determination written all over face.
She nods, unable to speak for a few moments, but then breathes out, "I know."
"I want to keep the baby." It's whispered anyway.
Rachel nods again.
"Please don't be mad."
She shifts upwards so she can lean her forehead against Quinn's, this time shaking her head. "I'm going to be an aunt; how can I ever be upset about that?" She laughs it out through tears, and then… the two just… continue sitting there.
How you'd like that? Quinn has made a decision. It happened much earlier than I originally planned – I was going to have her decide after the baby had been born, like maybe changing her mind last minute after she and Noah had decided on an open-adoption, but then I had her say it to Rebecca and needed to do a follow up and… this happened.
Please review and let me know what you know thought! :) Once we get passed the Christmas chapter/Noah finding out Quinn's decision, they'll go baby shopping!
Also, these chapters should start being in order soon, for example, I am going to do Judy/Josiah's conversation from when she was arrested (early November). Then I will do Russell being questioned about this "Mystery Man". And other important moments, in order of appearance.
Extra notes:
This chapter is in celebration of having almost 1,000,000 words archived/published. Thank you to EVERYONE who has ever read, reviewed on, followed, favorited, suggested ideas, etc. for any of my stories. I would not be here without you all!
Also, I want to give a shoutout to those of you who are down in Louisiana or Mexico, and anywhere else where Tropical Storm Cristobal has or will be hitting. It should hit within the next 24 hours. Please stay safe down there!