A/N: thanks all for your reviews on the last chapter. And for the person that mentioned the whole Thanksgiving/Halloween, thanks and that was partly my fault. I have decided to split this chapter in two, that's why it's short. Anyway hope y'all enjoy this chapter as well.
Our Love Was Always Forever.
Pairings: FABERRY. Quinn/OC. Mentions of other Gleek pairings.
Warning: Rated M. Gender!swap
Chapter 33 - Jolly ho ho ho Part 1
"Because Jen we're in a relationship you can't just decide when it suites you to talk to me or not. It doesn't work like that."
Quinn paced up and down talking on the phone with Jen. It had been two weeks since she'd stormed out of his office and gone to see her parents. She still showed up at work but barely talked to Quinn unless it was work related. She refused to return home with him and only sent her love to Isabella through Quinn when she was leaving for the day. Quinn, sick of her attitude decided to call her and see if he could talk to her like Rachel suggested weeks ago but that wasn't working too well either.
"Oh now you acknowledge that we are in fact in a relationship?" She retorted sarcastically.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means I'm never your priority Quentin, it's always Rachel this, Rachel that and I'm sick of it!"
"Look Jen, whatever you think is going on between Rachel and I, it isn't the case. I'm dating you! Not her!" he yelled, a frustrated tone lacing his voice.
"But you want to be, right?" the young brunette replied, unaffected by his annoyance.
"What?" he questioned in disbelief, "I don't think we completely understand each other here."
"You're right. When you finally understand, call me." With that, Jen hung up leaving nothing but a dial tone.
"Hello? Hel- fuck!" Quinn swore, slamming his phone down.
"Was that Jen daddy," asked a voice from behind him.
Turning around Quinn mentally chastised himself for having been caught swearing in front of his daughter and sighed loudly as he took a seat on the couch.
"Yeah baby, looks like she's not coming home anytime soon."
"Are you sad daddy?" Bella questioned as she came and stood in front of him.
Quinten reached out to her and gripped her tiny hands in his own. "Kind of, I mean she's upset with me and I don't know why."
"Do you want her to come back?" the little girl asked again.
"Yeah, but maybe it's for the best she stays with her parents," he replied truthfully. Then something hit him. "Don't you want her to come back baby?"
The little girl stayed quiet in thought before shaking her head in the negative.
"Why? I thought you liked her?" Okay this was something new to him because as far as he was aware Isabella had always liked Jen, even before she knew they were dating.
"I do, it's just-" then she paused as if contemplating if telling her father was the best idea or not.
"It's just what Isabella?" he urged gently because he wanted to know what caused the sudden change of opinion his daughter had towards Jen.
"I don't think she likes my mama," she stated lowly biting on her bottom lip.
Quinn's brows scrunched up at the reply. "How do you mean? What happened baby?" he asked, curious as to where this idea came from.
"Because I saw her being mean to my mom." At this, Quinn frowned and encouraged his daughter to continue.
"Sweetheart, can you please tell me what happened?"
-flashback- ( 3 weeks ago before Jen stormed out of Quinn's office)
Isabella was busy playing tea party by herself in her room. Her mom was currently having one of her lessons and had told her to go play until she had finished and that she would play with her then. So, being the good girl that she was, she listened and sat herself inside her room and played with her bear that her daddy gave her when she was a baby, along with some of her Barbies. Quinn had told her that he had won the bear for her mom at the fair years ago and because of that Bella couldn't be parted with it, it was her favourite bear. However on that day, like any other kid her age, she get bored so she decided to go see if her mom had finished yet.
Picking up her bear from its place on the plastic chair, she left her room in search of her mother. She checked the spare room where Rachel usually gave her lessons but she wasn't there, so she decided to go check downstairs because she knew that her mother sometimes gave lessons there as well. With that thought in mind, she set off for the stairs.
When she reached the landing her feet started moving toward the living room but stopped when she heard voices coming from the kitchen. Changing her direction she headed where the noise was coming from. When she opened the door she found Rachel and Jen locked in a staring match.
"Mama?" she called out as she walked inside, her gaze lingering on Jen.
"Hi baby, I'm sorry for leaving you alone. I was just getting some juice, come on," Rachel said taking the two glasses she had poured out earlier and walking away with her daughter.
Isabella glanced back to find Jen glaring at the back of Rachel's head. Turning her gaze away she walked out of the room with her mother.
It was later on when Rachel was upstairs and Isabella was in the living room that Jen walked in.
"Hi Bells," the brunette said as she ruffled the girl's hair before taking a seat opposite her.
Isabella looked up from her drawing to focus on Jen.
"Jenny?" she questioned in a small voice.
"Yes sweetie."
"Do you like my mama?" Bella asked sounding so innocent and curious. Jen really didn't want to tell her the truth because she was way too young to understand, but at the same time she didn't want to lie to her either.
"Well, it's not that I don't like your mama Bells. Your mama and I just aren't friends."
"Why?" Bella asked, failing to see why her mother and Jen wouldn't be friends.
"Well, uh, let's put it this way, you know how you're friends with Stacey?" she explained and when she received a nod from Isabella she carried on. "Okay, well you're friends with Stacey but not everyone in your class, but you still talk to all your other classmates. Does that mean you don't like them?"
"Of course not. I just like Stacey the bestest," Bella said in a tone that suggest Jen was ridiculous for suggesting such a thing.
"Well that's how your mom and I are with each other. It's not that we don't like each other, we're just not best friends like you and Stacey. Get it?" Jen replied, trying to make her explanation as simple as possible for Bella to understand
"I guess so," Bella said, though she was still not convinced with the actions she had witness from Jen toward her mom.
-end of flashback-
Later on in the evening, Rachel had come back from grocery shopping and was currently getting dinner ready while Quinn helped with putting away the groceries and Isabella was down for a nap. The two worked quietly, each focused on the task at hand until Quinn spoke.
"So how was your day?" he asked, his eyes glancing at Rachel briefly before returning to what he was doing.
"Great. Oh by the way I called my dad's and they said they will be coming for the Christmas party," she said, halting herself from her chopping until she had finished speaking.
"That's great. We didn't really get the chance to talk last time around," Quinn recalled. The Christmas party in question was one that was held every year since the gang graduated. Every year it was held in different house, last time it was at Finn's, this year it was being held at Quinn's and the following year it was to be held at Kurt's. Quinn had asked Rachel to call her parents because it would be good for Isabella to see them again and it was better to call them earl so that they would know rather than leaving it too late and leaving them little room to make or rearrange plans.
Charlie, along with her family, were also planning to attend seeing as how this year they weren't going to see Mark's side of the family and Quinn was thinking of asking Jen to bring her parents around. That was if she stopped being mad at him and actually gave him a chance to talk!
"Uh Bella told me something interesting today," Quinn said, catching the brunettes attention.
"Yeah? What did she say?" Rachel asked amused, her little girl had quite the imagination so she could only imagine what she had told her father.
"She believes there's some sort of feud between you and Jen." As he said this, Rachel accidentally grazed the side of her finger with the knife she was holding, having been caught off guard by the statement.
"Shit!" she cursed under her breath.
"Rachel!" Quinn shrieked, his voice clearly displaying his worry.
Quinn quickly rushed to her side and brought her bleeding finger toward the sink before turning on the tap and letting the cold water wash away the blood.
"Are you okay?" He asked, concerned for her wellbeing.
"Yeah, I-I just wasn't paying attention," she responded as Quinn shut off the tap and grabbed a paper towel to dry the finger before taking a closer look at it.
"It's not too deep," he observed then reached up to the top cabinet to retrieve a band aid, tearing open the wrapper before wrapping the purple band around the small cut. "There, all better." With those words, Quinn brought the injured finger up to his lips and kissed it softly.
Rachel giggled and blushed deeply as Quinn lead her to the island chairs.
"Sit here, and watch the master at work," he grinned grabbing an apron and taking up position where Rachel once stood.
"Quinn I'm quite capable of handling this myself," she remarked as she made a move to stand up only to be stopped.
"Don't you dare Miss Berry, now sit that cute butt of yours back down and keep me busy while I cook," He joked, making a move with the knife he held.
"Careful with that!" Rachel scowled.
"I know what I'm doing. Call me Chef Fabray. All I'm missing is a hat." At that Rachel bust out laughing because she loved when he was like this and because she knew how stressed out he'd been over Jen. Speaking of which, looks like whatever he had wanted to ask about her and Jen was forgotten about. Good.
/
"This one?" Quinn asked pointing at the Christmas tree. At not receiving any reply he turned around toward the two brunettes only to find both of them giving him an identical shake of the head. "Oh come on! What's wrong with this one?" he whined.
This was the fifth tree both Rachel and Isabella had turned down. Seriously, who says a tree is too short or not filled out enough? Like what the fuck does that even mean, not filled enough! But he was determined to give both girls the best Christmas ever seeing how it was their first one together.
Three weeks had passed since the accident in the kitchen with Rachel's finger and Jen still hasn't returned. Quinn was giving her time and Rachel advised him to go see her personally but for some reason, he really didn't feel like it. He quite liked having just Rachel and Isabella for company.
It was now approaching Christmas, Lima was colder than ever and it was rumoured to snow sometime soon, so both Quinn and Rachel decided to start getting some decorations and Christmas shopping ready. He knew how quickly presents could sell out so he quickly bought Bella what she had asked for from Santa and hid them. Of course he also got Rachel a little something so he didn't have to worry about last minute shopping.
"It's too tiny daddy," Isabella said with a pout, crossing her arms over chest.
"Okay fine, let's move on to the next one then," he sighed but Isabella was too happy to care as she cheered and bounced off toward another aisle full of Christmas tree.
Rachel laughed wrapping her arms around Quinn's neck in a hug as the blond walked with a sulk on his face to where Isabella had run off to.
/
After some more walking around trying to find the perfect tree according to Isabella, the trio were finally heading back home with one that was satisfying to both Bella and Rachel.
The car finally came to a stop and Isabella didn't hesitate to jump out of the vehicle before either of her parents could step out.
"C'mon daddy take it out, take it out!" she called out as her dad stepped out the car followed by her mom. "Take it out daddy hurry!"
"Alright princess calm down." He chuckled as he moved toward the back of the vehicle to pull the tree out of the trunk.
"I want to see how tall it is!" she exclaimed flapping her arms around in excitement.
"Honey a little help?" Quinn pleaded as he looked toward Rachel.
The brunette blushed at the pet-name before moving toward him and helping him pull the tree out.
After a few pulls, because it was really tall and big, they finally got it out. Thank god it was able to fit in the trunk. Once fully secured on the ground Rachel moved to go open the door as Quinn carried it inside the house.
"Alright ladies, where does it go?" he asked, knowing better than to make any decisions himself when living with two women.
"Over here daddy, place it here!" Bella said, pointing toward the open archway.
"Wouldn't it be better if it went inside the living room baby," Rachel suggested, observing the place Isabella wanted to put it. It was big enough but it was also right by the door.
"Mom's right honey, that's right by the door," Quinn said as he too glanced at the archway before turning his attention to his little girl.
"But people will see it when they come in," Bella reasoned.
"They can also see it when they walk inside the living room sweetie," Rachel stated.
"I guess so," the little girl shrugged, "As long as people can see our big tree its fine!"
"Alright living room it is," Quinn said then tugged on the tree moving it towards the direction of the living room.
Once tree was secured in place, they went about decorating it because Isabella couldn't wait until tomorrow, so the trio pulled out all the necessary items and got to work.
"Do you want to put the star up baby?" Rachel asked, passing the object to her daughter, receiving a smile and a head nod in response.
"Daddy up!" Quinn grinned as he picked her up putting her onto his shoulders so she could reach the top and place the shining gold star on the tree.
"All done!" Bella announced and then Quinn lifted her down from her perch. As soon as she reached the ground she rushed toward the switch and turned on the Christmas lights, illuminating the entire tree.
"Whoa, it's beautiful!" She exclaimed gleefully.
Quinn glanced at Rachel and found the brunette smiling fondly at Isabella and he couldn't help but let a smile of his own cross his lips, because he knew this year would be different, because Rachel was there with them.
"Alright darling, bed time," Rachel said picking Isabella up and settling her on her hip.
"Aw but I'm not tired mama. Can we watch a movie?" Bella asked, batting her lashes multiple times in an attempt to soften and win over her parents.
"But baby you have school tomorrow," Rachel said trying her best to resist her only to have Isabella pout at her.
"Please..." the little girl begged, stretching out the 'E' for emphasis.
"I guess we can watch one movie," Rachel finally relented, turning to Quinn.
"Yay!" Bella said before jumping down out of her mothers' arms and running off to go find a movie.
"Looks like I'm not the only one that's whipped," Quinn stated smugly.
"I'm sorry but that pout, ugh!" Rachel groaned.
Quinn chuckled at Rachel's misery just as Bella ran back into the room.
"I found the perfect movie!" she said and both her parents looked toward her hands causing Rachel to squeal loudly.
"You are definitely my daughter," she replied, before pressing kisses all over the little girl's face making her giggle.
"Oh lord help me," Quinn mumbled, trying to disguise his tone as one of irritation but he just couldn't because he was beyond happy. Somehow he felt as if this was how everything was always supposed to be and he didn't want it to change. Smiling to himself he watched on in a daze as Rachel and Isabella spoke excitedly to each other while getting the DVD player ready to watch Funny Girl, probably for the hundredth time. And in that moment, he couldn't have been happier.
/
-1 week before Christmas-
Rachel was downstairs in the kitchen preparing a few things here and there. Her dads had arrived into town yesterday and had demanded to see Isabella and the little girl didn't hesitate to convince her parents to drop her off at Rachel's childhood home. It was during that visit that Rachel found out her dad's had decided to stay around for a while to spend some time with her now that she was back. With Isabella at her grandpa's, it was just her and Quinten in the house. The past few weeks had really been pure bliss for Rachel having both her daughter and Quinn with her.
The brunette happily hummed 'Santa Clause Is Coming To Town' to herself as she continued with her chores. Her humming was interrupted however when Quinn appeared and joined in with her, he took her hand into his own and danced around the kitchen singing loudly making Rachel laugh.
"Santa Clause is coming to town..." he belted out at the top of his lungs.
"I think someone needs to get back into doing their vocal exercises," Rachel teased, poking Quinn's chest who pouted in response and then Rachel kissed his cheek brightening up his mood instantly.
"Well as long as I have you as my vocal coach," he wittily replied, but faltered when he realised what he had said, remembering how Rachel would get when the subject singing came up.
"Maybe," she simply stated then changed the subject. "Where are you off to?" she asked taking in his appearance. He was dressed warm for the weather outside, it seemed to be getting colder and colder and it was rumoured to snow sometime soon.
"Well I was thinking and you're right. Talking to Jen on the phone isn't helping so I'm going to march over to her house and talk to her face to face and hopefully she won't slam the door in my face."
"Oh," the brunette replied, her entire demeanour changing at the prospect. The few weeks had been bliss for her having Quinn and Bella around, just the three of them, no Jen. For a while she had been able to pretend that they were an actual family.
"You alright?" Quinn asked, having noticed the sudden change in Rachel's mood. He remembered what Isabella had told him but he was still having a hard time imagining the two women in his life disliking each other, and if that was the case, maybe he could get them to see each other in a different light. Quinn just couldn't entertain the thought Rachel and Jen not liking each other as they were both important to him.
"Y-yeah," Rachel said as she faked a smile and Quinn enveloped her in a hug. Even now, after all the time they had spent apart, he could still tell when Rachel was lying and when she was telling the truth because the brunette was a terrible liar. Quentin could see right through her but he decided not to comment on it, instead he settled for hugging her in the hopes that whatever it was that was bothering her would lessen.
/
When Jen opened the door she wasn't expecting to see Quinn on her front porch, especially not with the single red rose in his hand, which she had to admit was sweet, but she held her ground.
"Hi," Quinn said as she gazed down at her.
"What do you want Quentin?" Jen demanded, her voice hard and cold.
Quinn sighed as he approached her and tried to pull her closer but she pulled away from him.
"Look Jen, I'm sorry. I know I'm not the greatest boyfriend on the planet but, I am trying. I haven't been in a serious relationship sinceā¦" he trailed off at the memory of his last serious relationship, the one that had brought him such joy and love and also such heartbreak, "well it's been a while and it's purely because I don't trust other girls enough to get serious with them. Especially not enough to introduce them to my daughter, but with you, it's different. You're different and everything with us is different to what I had with Rachel. I'm not in any way trying to compare what we have to what Rachel and I had, believe me. I'm just trying to be a better boyfriend, so I'm sorry for upsetting you but please just give me a second chance."
"If meeting your parents is what you want then I'll do it. I'll meet them, invite them to the Christmas party even and that way both families will meet. I really do care about you Jen, just let me show you that. Please." When he finished he held the single rose toward Jen who was quiet throughout his speech.
She stood there for a moment just looking at Quinn then the rose before reaching out and grasping it into her hand.
"Thanks," she croaked out sharing a small smile which Quentin returned. "But I'll have to think about everything Quinn. I'm still not sure about this, about us."
"Jen-" Quinn said with a pleading voice.
"I'm sorry." With that said Jen turned around and walked back inside, slamming the door shut behind her leaving Quinn standing on the front porch more hurt and confused than ever.
/
When Quinn walked into his house after visiting Jen, the first thing he heard was sniffling followed by voices. At hearing his own voice cheering, he frowned in confusion as he easily hung up his coat by the door on the coat hanger before walking toward the source of the noise. As he walked into the living room he found the TV on and some old film footage of Bella as a baby playing. Gazing at the screen he smiled.
He could still vividly remember the day, the day his baby girl took her first step. However when he looked in the opposite direction, he found a teary eyed Rachel curled up on the couch and he rushed toward her.
"Hey, what's wrong?" he cooed trying to comfort her by pulling her close and settling her in his arms. "Rach what's wrong?"
"I was just roaming around the house and I found this DVD so I decided to watch it and I just realised what a horrible person I am for leaving you alone to raise our baby all by yourself. For making our daughter experience so many of her firsts without her mother and-" Rachel trailed off, unable to continue speaking as a sob escaped her.
"Rach," Quinn sighed holding her at arms-length so he could look at her properly, "We spoke about this already, you are not a bad person-" before he could finish he was cut off by an upset Rachel.
"Yes I am. Stop saying that I'm not because I am. I'm a selfish, inconsiderate, mean, horrible person!"
"No, no you're not!" Quinn stated resolutely. "Rachel Berry you are one of the most kind-hearted, down to earth, sweet, and considerate people I know," he said while wiping away her tears, "And so, so beautiful," he added as Rachel's cries seemed to settle into small sniffles.
"Don't ever think any less of yourself, ever!" he said looking deeply into her eyes. "Because you, are so much more than that." He smiled reassuringly at her and Rachel lost herself within those deep hazel eyes.
If you were to ask either of them who leaned in first they wouldn't know what to say as they found their faces close to each other, lips lingering almost in a kiss. Just when Rachel felt like she was going to pass out because of how close she could feel Quinn's breath against her lips, and how close she was to tasting the sweet taste of his lips, someone decided to ring the bell.
The pair quickly jumped away from each other, Quinn standing so fast from where he was sat it was surprising he didn't get whiplash. He stood there for a moment just contemplating what exactly was about to transpire between him and Rachel and why he was disappointed to be interrupted, when his thoughts were once again cut off by the ringing of the doorbell. Glancing once more at Rachel who stared right back at him, he decided to leave and tend to whoever was at the door.
Rachel released a breath she didn't even know she was holding as she watched him leave the room, her heart pounding faster than someone who had just run a few miles. Then, she heard voices and when curiosity got the better of her , she decided to investigate.
/
When Quinn opened the door he suddenly had mixed feelings at who was standing before him. While his brain was screaming happiness at seeing Jen there standing in front of him, he couldn't understand why his heart was kicking him to apologise to Jen and send her away so he could go back inside and talk to Rachel about what exactly almost happened between them. But just as he was about to do the latter the girl threw herself at him.
"I'm so sorry Quinn. I was being a total bitch! I made a mistake and if the offer still stands, I'd be happy to take it." Jen spoke so quickly everything came out in one go and Quinn had a hard time trying to understand because half of his brain was miles away.
"Jen what-" before he could finish his speech was interrupted by a pair of lips on his.
'Just not the ones I'm craving for,' he thought to himself, suddenly realising that he may be in over his head.
"I love you so much baby," Jen happily declared as her arms wrapped around Quinn. "Do you forgive me?" she pouted.
'Not as cute as Rachel,' he thought to himself again.
Shaking his head to rid him of his thoughts he looked at her and smiled. "Of course," he said before pulling her into a kiss. 'Hopefully whatever it is that's going on with me will stop.'
She just couldn't bear to witness the happy couple any longer, so Rachel quietly rushed up the stairs as tears flowed freely from her eyes.
'Christmas is surely going to suck.'
Tbc...
Get ready for Jolly ho ho ho part II. (:
