A/N: Day 16! Just another morning in the lives of Rachel and Quinn Fabray and their family.
Day 16: Morning Ritual(s)
When Rachel wakes up to the sun shining through her window, she knows it's gonna be a good day. A great day, at that. It's a Monday morning, and she's wrapped up under the covers, beside her wife, their daughter fast asleep just down the hall. She doesn't have a show tonight, and Quinn can write whenever she wants, so they have the entire day to themselves.
Just Rachel, Quinn, and Maya.
She shifts in the bed, turning over to look at her wife, and is hit with a sudden wave of admiration for this woman. Her wife. Five years later, the label still makes her insides turn over when she thinks about it. Quinn Fabray, her wife. The kid that bullied her in high school, the girl she became close friends with during college, the woman she fell for and never once looked back. Every day, she counts herself lucky to have built this family, this life, with Quinn, and today seems to be one of those days when it hits her particularly hard.
The moisture that has been building up in her eyes slowly comes to fall down her cheeks, and Rachel smiles when she sees Quinn's eyes flutter open. Instantly, her hazel eyes fill with concern, and Rachel is quick to press a soft kiss to her lips before she can worry even more.
They've been together for over eight years, and every kiss is just as good as the first.
Quinn leans back, meeting her eyes carefully. "Morning, Rach. Everything okay?"
Rachel just nods through her gradually subsiding tears. "Everything is perfect," She says, leaning in for another kiss.
Their lips connect, and Quinn hums into her lips, the vibration travelling through her entire body. She pecks Quinn's lips once more before she wraps her arm around her waist and tucks her body into the front of Quinn's. Quinn sighs contentedly, pressing a kiss to the top of her head, as she begins to play with her hair.
"What time is it?" Quinn asks, running her fingers through Rachel's hair.
She turns her head to check the clock on the nightstand behind her and responds, "Almost nine."
"Wow," Quinn marvels, "And Maya isn't up yet?"
"I guess not." Rachel shrugs.
Then, there's a clumsy knock at their door, and it is slowly pushed open to reveal their daughter. She pads into the room as Rachel scrambles to make sure they are both suitably clothed. Maya stands next to Quinn's side of the bed, and Quinn lifts her up and sits her down in between them, careful to avoid setting her directly on top of either of them.
Maya, with her long, brown hair and deep brown eyes, is the spitting image of Rachel. It fuels her ego a bit, seeing her incredibly adorable daughter who looks just like herself, and she knows how much Quinn loves that their daughter looks just like her. It's a little unnerving at times, especially when she remembers how she got treated for her looks when she was younger, but she knows that times have changed. And Rachel's admittedly glad that, while Maya takes after her in looks, her personality is coming to be much more like Quinn, more quiet, reserved, observant. She's the perfect combination of the two of them, the most perfect thing in their lives.
"Morning, Mama," Maya says shyly to Rachel, holding her arms out towards her. Rachel grins brightly, sits up, and takes her daughter into her arms to give her a hug.
It's become somewhat of a ritual, this thing they do in the mornings. They wake up, usually to Maya coming in their room and wanting to be let into their bed. Each morning, they find a few moments for themselves, for their family, no matter how busy their day looks. It has become one of Rachel's favorite parts of the day. It is especially fun on the mornings when they had spent the previous night engaging in some decidedly R-rated activities, and they scramble to throw on some clothes, or at least cover themselves with the blankets, before Maya can see anything that her young, innocent eyes definitely don't need to be seeing.
Mornings are always an exciting event in the Fabray household.
Rachel presses a kiss to her daughter's cheek as she says, "Good morning, little star."
Maya giggles and reaches her arms out to Quinn. Quinn gladly takes their daughter, lifting her up in the air before bringing her back to the bed and pulling her tightly against herself. Maya's laughter fills the room, and the sound is one of Rachel's favorite sounds in the entire world.
"Good morning, sweetheart," Quinn says in the most loving voice, "Did you sleep okay?"
"Mhmm," Maya hums, "I have a dream."
Rachel gasps. "You had a dream? About what?"
"Me, you, and Mommy," Maya says.
"What were we doing?" Quinn asks. Rachel watches their daughter tangle her fingers in Quinn's hair, tugging on random strands, and she forces herself not to laugh at the somewhat pained expression on Quinn's face. Maya's face contorts as she tries to remember her dream, and Quinn meets Rachel's gaze with a knowing grin.
Then, Maya gasps. "Oh! We, um, we… we saw the animals." She stutters out, pulling a little too hard on a strand of Quinn's hair. Quinn gently pries her hand from her hair, holding her hands instead.
"We were at the zoo?" Rachel clarifies, and Maya nods back. "What animals did we see?"
"The-the lions," Maya says excitedly, squeezing Quinn's hands, "And tigers, and the, um, bears."
"Oh, my," Quinn whispers, and Rachel lets out a loud laugh, catching her daughter's attention.
"That sounds like fun," Rachel says, grinning at the excitement on Maya's face. "We should go back sometime, huh?"
Maya nods eagerly, and Rachel scoots over to wrap her arms around her wife and daughter. She kisses Quinn as Maya groans from in between them, making them both laugh and squeeze her tightly in their hug. Then, Maya's stomach grumbles, and her cheeks turn bright red.
"Sounds like someone's hungry," Quinn says with a grin, "Let's go get some food in you."
"Pancakes?" Maya asks hopefully.
"Sounds like a plan." Quinn shuffles Maya off of the bed and stands up to walk with her to the kitchen. "Mama can meet us out there."
Quinn and Maya walk out of the room, hand in hand, and it warms Rachel's heart. She slowly gets up from the bed, walking around to stand in front of their dresser to change her clothes. She pulls off her sleep shirt and grabs a random bra from her drawer, sliding it over her shoulders and fastening the clip on her back. Rachel pauses, looking at herself in the mirror in front of her, and she places her hands on her abdomen, running them over the just noticeable curve of her stomach.
She's just over fifteen weeks along, safely through her first trimester. It's been a scary time, these past few months, and they have been extra careful, taking every single possible precaution to ensure that this one doesn't end how the last one did. Luckily, they made it through the first trimester with no problems, and Rachel is glad to be (mostly) over her constant state of nausea and migraines.
They haven't told Maya yet, but they will have to soon, with Rachel's bump growing bigger and bigger each day. It's still hard for Rachel to wrap her mind around the actual life growing inside of her, so she knows that it surely will take a bit of explanation for their three-year-old daughter. Still, Rachel can't wait to tell her.
Quinn had carried Maya, and Rachel is so happy to be carrying their second child. Though she adores her mini-me, they used Quinn's egg this time, and Rachel (not-so) secretly hopes that this child ends up with shiny blonde hair and swirling green eyes. She'll love their child no matter what they look like, of course, but Rachel can't deny the appeal of a miniature version of her wife running around the house, playing with their older sister.
Just the thought brings a smile to Rachel's face.
Just then, Quinn walks into the room, seeing Rachel standing in front of the mirror, hands cradling her stomach. Her eyes zero on in her stomach, and an expression of what Rachel can only describe as pure adoration washes over Quinn's face. She steps towards her, placing her hands over Rachel's.
"You… are radiant," She murmurs, "And I am so incredibly lucky to be married to someone as stunning as you."
Rachel blushes, moving Quinn's hands underneath hers to directly touch her skin. She leaves one hand covering Quinn's while she lifts her other hand to cup Quinn's cheek, pulling her down for a gentle kiss. Quinn kisses her back with the love and affection of eight years of being together, and Rachel can't get over how much she loves this woman.
"You haven't felt anything yet, right?" Quinn asks, and Rachel shakes her head no in response. "You would know if you did. I didn't feel anything with Beth until around twenty weeks. Maya I felt earlier, just because I knew what I was feeling for."
"I can't wait for that," Rachel admits with a flush on her cheeks.
"I can't wait either," Her wife husks. Rachel leans up on her toes to press her forehead to Quinn's.
"I love you," She whispers, foreheads touching, eyes locked on hers.
Quinn smiles softly. "I love you," She whispers back, "And I love our daughter, and I love our life together, and I can't wait for this baby."
Rachel tilts her head just so and captures her lips in a sweet kiss.
She loves mornings with her family, and she knows that their lives are only about to get sweeter.