Quartie Ever After
Chapter 3: Frustration
By Wilde Abrams
AUTHOR'S NOTES: All I can say is WOW! The continued success of this story amazes me. I started planning and writing this story on a whim about a month and a half ago because I was basically scratching an itch. There is so little Wildebrams fanfic out there that I have to read other ships if I want something new, and one of my favorite has always been Quartie. I've always wanted to write a Quartie story, but I didn't think that there would be any real interest in reading one since the other writers basically stopped around 2013. Boy was I wrong! In terms of reviews, this is far and away my most successful story, and only a few of them have come from people who were reading my stuff before.
DISCLAIMER: This chapter and the ones after it contain discussion about the specifics of adult sexual relationship. While it is not in any way considered 'smut' such discussion may make some readers uncomfortable, so be prepared for that.
Like all of my work, the thrust of the story is the emotional relationships, but I can not properly tell this story without delving into some of the specifics.
I hope you like the new chapter and let me know if I should continue!
# # # # # #
Quinn had her period for most of the remainder of the week, so they just slept on the same bed and relaxed in each other's arms before falling asleep. The time had been relaxing and enjoyable for both of them. But her flow stopped on Thursday so that night, Quinn and Artie started having sex once again trying to get pregnant. Quinn was more relaxed this time, but Artie couldn't tell whether she was warming up to it or just getting better at hiding whatever was bothering her.
Friday evening the two of them had gone out to eat with Santana and Brittany, and the three of them had enjoyed eachother's company. Unlike her wife, Brittany was thrilled to find out that Quinn and Artie were planning to have a child together. She somehow managed to coax a smile out of Santana, and the rest of the evening was much more relaxed. Quinn had gushed over the pictures of Brittany and Santana's kids, and they discussed baby names; and Brittany even offered her suggestions about dealing with the difficulties of being pregnant, until Quinn reminded her friend that she'd been pregnant and given birth sophomore year, a fact that Brittany had somehow forgotten.
# # # # # #
When they got home they were both in a good mood and once again had sex in an attempt to get pregnant. However, Quinn once again pulled away when they were done, but not as quickly, and wasn't as distant afterwards as she had been before. Artie could tell that something still wasn't right. If it were almost anyone else, she probably would've fooled them, but Artie had known her for thirty years, lived with her for seven, and knew her extremely well.
The following morning Quinn took another pregnancy test which also turned out to be negative. The disappointment flowed through her, and her body shook, as she stared at the test strip.
Artie could see the tears starting to form in her eyes as the negative sign appeared on the pregnancy test. She was trying to hide it, but Artie could tell that she was really upset. Her face and body began to tense up and her body began to shake. He wheeled over to her and pulled her into his lap. She buried her face in his shoulder and he ran his hand up and down her back, trying to comfort her.
"Shhh," he told her. "It's okay. It will be okay."
"I'm sorry," she told him with a shaky voice as she wiped away her tears. "I just want this so badly!"
"I know," he told her. "I do too. But we have plenty of time. We've only been trying to get pregnant for a little over three weeks."
"I know," she told him. "But after last night talking to Santana and Brittany and seeing pictures of their kids, it just really got to me, ya know? I could see how happy they are and what a strong impact motherhood has had on the two of them, especially Santana." He nodded. He'd actually had a similar observation. "I don't understand. It happened so easily by accident with Puck way back then, but now that I really want it, it's not!"
"I don't know," he told her honestly and kissed her temple. In the back of his head he wondered if he were the problem, but this was not the time to mention that. "We'll just have to redouble our efforts," he suggested with a chuckle.
"Is that your way of saying that we just need to have more sex?" she asked in a slightly more lighthearted tone, as a smile began to form on her face.
"Maybe…" he answered in a playful tone. "It can't hurt."
"You charmer, you!" she told him, slapping his shoulder playfully.
He reached up with his free hand and dried the remainder of her tears, and the two of them just sat there in silence.
"Maybe we are just putting too much pressure on ourselves?" she finally ventured.
"Yeah," he told her. "It will happen for us when the time is right."
"How can you be so sure?" she asked.
"Because I believe that it will," he told her. Then he locked his eyes with hers and added, "Because I believe in you…I've ALWAYS believed in you..."
Her eyes began to water again as her heart began to melt, reminding herself why she had chosen him to do this with. For as long as she had known him, he was the one person who had always been in her corner, even when she did not necessarily deserve it. Their eyes locked and their faces slowly began to move towards each other. Their lips were mere inches apart when she suddenly snapped out of it.
"You're going to be late for your meeting," she told him.
"Yeah," he said, glancing at the time.
She stood up and the two of them went their separate ways for the remainder of the day.
# # # # # #
The two of them finished the day as normal, each doing their own thing. That morning he had a first meeting with the costume designer for his film. That afternoon he worked on assorted other things for his film, scouring the script and drafting notes for the production people. She busied herself with housework and looking through Variety and online for roles that interested her.
That afternoon Quinn was making dinner when her mind drifted back to what had almost happened that morning. She had almost kissed him. Not because they were caught up and having sex as usual. No, they shared a brief moment. She wanted to kiss him, and she wasn't sure what it meant. The two of them were just friends - close friends to be sure - but just friends. Despite the attraction growing between them, there could never be more than friendship between them. But she still couldn't stop thinking about it the rest of the day and evening.
Artie noticed that she seemed distracted during dinner, but when he asked her about it, she said that it was nothing.
Later that night they tried yet again to get pregnant, and while Quinn didn't physically pull away as fast she had before, she still seemed distant, and Artie lay there frustrated until he eventually fell asleep.
# # # # # #
Sunday night Artie lay in bed after they had finished having sex. Quinn's distant behavior was really starting to get to him again, especially after what had almost happened the previous day. They had almost kissed, and not as part of the sex. He didn't know what it meant. He'd been telling himself that it shouldn't matter because this was just a means to an end. Something that they had to do in order to get pregnant, and how she behaved afterwards didn't matter.
But it did matter to him.
Quinn and he had been trying to conceive a child for almost four weeks without success and they were getting increasing frustrated. The stress that both of them were under no doubt contributed to their problems conceiving. But he also had the added frustration over how she had been acting. He glanced over at her.
As before, she seemed distant and distracted. She lay on her side, faced away, her still bare back towards him. He had been telling himself that it didn't bother him; that she wasn't his girlfriend; that they were only doing this to conceive a child so it didn't matter. But no matter how much he tried to deny it and qualify it; it did matter to him, and he couldn't keep it inside anymore.
"What's the matter Quinn?" he asked her.
"Nothing," she lied, sighing.
"Please Quinn, " he pleaded, placing his hand on her bare shoulder, "Tell me what's bothering you? I've known you forever, and I can tell when something's bothering you…"
"It's nothing Art-"
"Don't tell me it's nothing," he pleaded. "I know having sex with a paraplegic probably isn't that enjoyable to you, but please, just be honest with me about it! Maybe there's something-"
Her eyes popped out of their sockets at his words, and she abruptly turned to face him.
"Is that what you think?" She asked him with a shocked look on her face.
"What else am I supposed to think?" He asked. "You seem to be enjoying it just fine during the act itself, but as soon as we are done you pull away, and you're distant and distracted as if you can't stand it, and can't pretend that you're enjoying it anymore! Does it really revulse you that much?"
This really seemed to bother her. Her voice cracked. "Oh my God, Artie! You're completely wrong-"
"Then tell me what's the matter! We've known eachother forever. I would have thought that you'd know by now that our friendship goes deeper than that-"
"That's just it," She told him. "We are friends … just friends, and yet I've been having the best sex of my life with you, and it's confusing the hell out of me!"
"What…!?" out of all the things she could have said, this was the most unexpected.
"I've literally never had an orgasm during sex without self stimulating, and not only is it happening with you, but it's happening every single time, and they are the most powerful orgasms I've ever had! I don't know how you couldn't tell! My entire body quivers."
Artie just lay there dumbfounded. "I just thought that you were pretending in order to please me…"
"I'm not that good of an actress, Artie!" She shot back.
He smiled, pleasantly relieved, but was also confused. "I don't understand," he told her. "There's nothing wrong with that. Sex is supposed to be enjoyable."
"With someone you're in love with!" She finished. "Artie we are supposed to be just friends. You're only supposed to enjoy sex that much with the love of your life. Not someone who is just your friend, whom you're trying to conceive a child with."
"Quinn," he asked her, "have we ever really been 'just' friends? Except when you moved away, and for a while during high school, we've always been pretty close. Maybe I'm overstepping things by telling you this, but you're one of the most important people in my life, and have been for thirty years!"
"That's not what I meant," she told him. "You know that I feel the same way."
Artie was shocked at her admission. He'd been hesitant to tell her how important she was to him, because he didn't really think she felt the same way. But she had just admitted that she did. He was also having the best sex of his life. The thought that she wasn't enjoying it herself hurt him deeply. He was trying desperately to deny, and hide it for fear of his long buried feelings for her surfacing and being inadvertently betrayed. That was why this whole mess was bothering him so much.
"Then what's the matter?" He offered. "Sex should be enjoyed. We both clearly have needs that aren't being filled elsewhere. If we are going to continue this until you get pregnant, then I think we should stop being guarded about it and just embrace it."
"That sounds dangerously like Friends With Benefits," she warned him.
"That just makes it sound cheap. Let's just drop the labels," he proposed. "Enough others will try to assign labels to us once word of this gets out. Let's just not worry about labeling ourselves and just enjoy the experience."
They both just lay there for several moments and let what was said between them sink in.
"Okay," she finally relented, and leaned in and gave him a passionate kiss.
She crawled on top of him again, and the two of the engaged in a second round of powerful sex. Neither of them held back physically or vocally as they held each other, and each climaxed.
This time she didn't pull away afterwards and they fell asleep in each other's arms.
# # # # # #
The following morning, Artie awoke to see Quinn still in his arms gazing at him.
"Well good morning sleepyhead," she said joyfully. They both smiled as she continued. "Thank you for last night. The talk and…"
Both laughed.
"You're quite welcome," he told her. "And thank YOU. It's been a long time since I've enjoyed sex, and I definitely think that the fact that we are so close factors into that. You had me worried there for a while. Thank you for finally letting me in. Guarded Quinn is so frustrating. Please just be honest with me about what you're thinking from now on."
"I'll try," she said and kissed him on the cheek. "It's not something that comes naturally to me. But if there is anyone in my life who I can open up to more, it's you."
She leaned in and kissed him again. "Care to go for round three?"
He grinned and pulled her close to him again, and the two of them had sex for the third time in under ten hours.
When they were finished, she lay there in his arms just enjoying the afterglow. Neither of them had any plans for the day so they decided to just spend a lazy morning in bed.
Quinn's mind drifted to considering her relationship with Artie. He really was the most important person in her life. He probably always had been. He was the only person in her life who had never had any expectations of her or tried to get her to change herself to meet what he wanted.
She could see herself falling for him so easily, but knew that there was no way that she could let that happen, because there was no possible way that he would even return those feelings. That thought made her a bit sad, but she knew that she was lucky to have him, even though he was 'just' her friend.
# # # # # #
Over the next few days things got very busy for Quinn and Artie. Artie's days were filled with casting sessions and other meetings. Quinn attended three more auditions. In her free time she did some research with WebMD online and some other sources and discovered that, while she could technically get pregnant at any time, the most fertile time for a woman didn't begin until the middle of her cycle, around day 14, which wasn't until the end of the week. Somehow she didn't remember that ever coming up in middle school health class. But come to think of it, sex ed wasn't very informative in general back then. After all, she'd somehow managed to convince Finn that he'd impregnated her via hot tub.
She felt a pang of guilt at the memory of her late ex boyfriend who had died way too soon. She really had loved him, and had a hard time understanding and accepting the fact that he never loved her the same way that she loved him. Unfortunately for Quinn, his heart had belonged to Rachel Berry from the moment he'd met her, but due to her own stupid attitude and choices, she'd treated him so badly that she all but pushed him into Rachel's arms. Knowing what eventually happened, she deeply regretted opposing their wedding Senior Year. God only gave you so much time on this Earth. You never knew how much time that would be, and when your time was up, it was up. That was a hard lesson she'd learned from Finn's untimely passing. Treating both of them as badly as she had was one of the biggest regrets of her life.
She had also downloaded one of those period tracker things for her phone to help her determine when she would be ovulating. She told Artie about this and they decided to redouble their efforts this weekend.
She also did some research into pregnancy tests and found out that she was thinking about them all wrong. They weren't meant to be taken at just any time. She was taking them too soon and it was best to wait until about a week after missing a period for the best results. Not doing that, along with not strictly following the instructions on the test itself could lead to a false negative. She sighed, and decided to try to be more patient.
# # # # # #
Friday evening Quinn decide to go all out in her preparations like she had the first night that they'd slept together. They had been having sex all week, but this was different. According to her period tracker app, she was entering the phase in her cycle where she should be the most fertile, and her temperature was up slightly so she should be ovulating.
# # # # # #
Artie was getting really excited. This week had been one of the most exhilarating weeks of his life. Pre-production was well underway for his movie. A little over half the characters were cast. His plans and meetings were going well, and on top of that he was enjoying an amazing sex life, even if he wasn't in a relationship with the woman he was sleeping with. That last bit bothered him a little bit, but he reminded himself that there was no way she would ever consider dating him for real, and brushed those thoughts aside.
Quinn had told him at dinner that she was ovulating, so after dinner, Artie did his before bed routine early. He took a shower and changed into his usual sleeping attire. At some point over the last month he had switched to satin boxer shorts and begun to forgo the usual undershirt, displaying his ample pectoral muscles, one of the benefits of being confined to a wheelchair for so long.
He had barely slipped into bed when he heard the sound of the shower in the next room. He didn't bother looking at his laptop or iPad, because he knew he wouldn't have long to wait.
# # # # # #
As soon as Artie had vacated the bathroom, Quinn got up off the couch and was in the shower herself. She took a long thorough shower, making sure to get herself as clean as possible. She shaved her legs and pubes, even though they didn't really need it. She dried herself off and did her hair and makeup, before splashing on a little perfume.
Unlike before she decided to forgo the nightgown, figuring that it wouldn't be on for long anyway. She left the bathroom and walked over to his bedroom comply naked.
# # # # # #
Artie lay in his bed expectantly when he heard the water of the shower turn off. A few moments later he saw the door open, but he was completely unprepared for the site that befell him.
Artie had seen Quinn in various levels of undress many times. Even before they had started trying to get pregnant, they had been roommates for about seven years, and if you lived with someone long enough it was only a matter of time until you accidentally saw them in some state of undress, which he had a handful of times. That didn't even count the time when Artie had wheeled past a dressing room before Regionals his junior year and caught a glimpse of a half naked Quinn changing into her dress because she hadn't closed the door all the way. He hadn't been able to look her in the eye for a week after that. Of course nothing had been left to the imagination since they had been sleeping together trying to have a baby.
All of that paled in comparison to the image that appeared before him now. The door open and a stark naked Quinn strode confidently into the room. Her hair and makeup were done; her body freshly shaved. But unlike before he wasn't wearing a stitch of clothing or jewelry. All she had on was a broad smile as she approached him. His eyes met hers as she quickly approached him and joined him on the bed.
She gave him a searing hot kiss, which he returned. She pulled back the covers, slipped off his boxers, straddled his body, and … nothing happened.
# # # # # #
Two hours later the two of them lay next to each other in bed, frustrated. No matter what they did, Artie had been unable to achieve an erection. There had been plenty of flesh on flesh contact, she had give him some of the below the waste physical stimulation that he'd mention not needing but enjoying. She'd even tried oral stimulation and having him touch her.
But nothing had worked.
After about an hour they had given up.
"I'm sorry Quinn," he told her after several minutes of silence after she had given up.
"No," she choked. "Don't be sorry. This is MY FAULT! I'm putting way too much pressure on you. I'm sorry!"
"Quinn…"
"It is…"
She met his eyes and he could see tears welling. He knew that he would not be able to convince her otherwise. He sighed and pulled her into a hug, kissed her cheek and dried her eyes with his fingers.
"It will be okay…." was all he said, and all that she really needed to hear.
Eventually the two of them had managed to fall asleep.
# # # # # #
The following two nights had been more or less repeats of the first.
The weekend passed with numerous efforts to cure Artie of his impotence, but to no avail.
Monday morning Artie resumed his casting sessions and other meetings, and Quinn had another audition.
The two of them agreed to just relax and try to take the pressure off of themselves. Each night they shared a bed and cuddled, but Artie wasn't able to 'get it up' until Wednesday. But by that time Quinn was no longer ovulating.
This whole mess was very frustrating to both of them.
# # # # # #
Friday morning Artie approached Quinn at the breakfast table.
"I've been thinking," he began, "That maybe we should go see our doctors to make sure we are both okay medically."
"I've been wondering the same thing myself," she responded. "I just didn't want to say it. Fertility treatments are so expensive though …"
"We don't know for sure that it would be necessary," he reassured her. "One of us could have some minor medical problem that's easily corrected, or there may be nothing wrong at all. If nothing else we can get peace of mind, and pick the doctor's minded for ideas about what we haven't tried yet."
"Yesh," she told him. "You're right. But if fertility treatments are need-"
"Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves," he told her. "If there's a problem we can face it together."
She smiled and kissed him on the cheek, once again reminding herself how lucky she was to have a friend like him.
# # # # # #
Friday afternoon Antonio the Producer, Linda the Casting Director, and Artie were going through the cast list of the movie, finalizing their first and second choice actors and actresses for the film as the audition process was coming to an end. Santana had made the cut and was being offered the role that she had auditioned for. They had found good people for virtually all of the roles in the film. There was really only one important role left to cast and two other minor ones. All in all it had been a very successful few weeks.
As they were starting to pack up their belongings, Antonio turned to Artie.
"Artie," Antonio addresses him, "Have you got a second?"
Artie stopped what he was doing, confused. He thought that they were done for the day.
"Yeah," he responded, "What's up?"
"Linda and I wanted to talk to you about the character of Donna for a minute," Antonio told him. Donna was the character that they still needed to cast.
"What about her?" Artie wondered.
"Linda has an actress that she thinks would be ideal for the part," Antonio informed him.
"Great," Artie told them, smiling. "Make an appointment and get her in here!"
"That's the problem," Linda answered. "Her agent doesn't believe that she would be interested, and won't bring it to her."
Artie frowned. This wasn't uncommon in Hollywood, and wasn't surprising given the role that they were talking about. A good percentage of actresses in Hollywood would not be interested in a role like that.
"We were hoping that you could help us with that," Antonio added.
Artie was confused, "I don't understand what I could do about it," he told them.
"Well it's our understanding that you know her," Linda answered. "She was in two of your previous projects... Quinn Fabray…."
Artie just sat there stunned for a moment. "Quinn?... You want Quinn to play Donna?..."
"Yeah," Antonio. "Physically she's ideal for the part, and we know that she can act, and that you can get good performances out of her."
Artie was completely shocked and shook his head. "No," he assured them. "This isn't her kind of role. She wouldn't be interested."
"How can you be so sure if we don't ask her?" Linda asked him.
"Because I know her," he answered simply. "I've actually known her longer than Satana. She was in that same production of West Side Story that Santana told you about. Trust me, she wouldn't be interested."
"Artie," Antonio told him. "I don't need to remind you that we haven't been able to find anyone else for this role, and we are running out of time. We start filing in THREE weeks."
"I understand," Artie told him. "But that doesn't change the fact that this part isn't right for -"
"No, Artie," Antonio interrupted him, "I don't think you do understand. We are between a rock and a hard place. We need this role cast by the end of next week at the latest. I'm pulling rank. I need you to discuss the role with her."
Artie sighed and nodded, "Okay…. But I still don't think she will be interested."
"Let's let her make that decision, shall we?" Linda answered with more bite than necessary.
"And if she is as immediately unreceptive as you think that she will be," Antonio added, "I expect you to do your best to sell it to her. Do I make myself clear?"
Artie sighed and noded. Sometimes he hated this business.
# # # # # #
Quinn sat at the kitchen table with her laptop paying bills. It was nine weeks since her last job, and all of her auditions this week had been rejections. This was hardly unusual. She had always been slightly picky about the roles that she auditioned for. Her living arrangement with Artie allowed her that flexibility.
But things were about to change. With the prospect of bringing a child into the world, her expenses were about to increase quite a bit. Artie had told her not to worry so much about it. But how could she not? Children were expensive enough, but add to that the cost of medical bills - a sonogram cost a whole lot more than the $685 that they did when she was 15 - and now possibly some form of fertility treatments or in vitro fertilization, it would not be fair to ask Artie to shoulder the bulk of those costs. She was slowly eating away at her savings, so she needed some more income soon!
She was sitting thinking about all of this when Artie rolled into the room.
"Hey," he greeted her. "How was your day."
"Rejected again," she responded with a sigh.
"I'm sorry," he comforted her with a hug.
"It's okay," she told him. "It's part of the business. I have been thinking that I may have to relax my standards about what I audition for, though."
"No, Quinn," he told her. "Don't do that!"
"What choice so do I have?" she asked him. "I'm eroding my savings-"
"I told you not to worry about money!" he told her.
"And I really haven't been that much," she answered. "but raising a child is expensive, and it's not fair to expect you to shoulder the bulk of the expenses indefinitely."
Artie sighed and noded. He didn't want to admit it but she was right. While he could afford most, it not all of the expenses himself with the income he was currently bringing in, there was no guarantee that would always be the case. He also knew that Quinn was very independent, and always had been. She could never be satisfied being supported by someone else. She had to feel like she was supporting herself to be happy, and there was no way that he would take that from her.
But, he knew that the Donna role could not have come at a worse possible time. She was frustrated, and thus emotionally vulnerable. It probably wouldn't be that hard to convince her to take the role if he wanted to. But he knew that she would regret it later if she did, and would probably resent him for talking her into it. He would also have to live with himself for what he had done, and he wasn't willing to do that to any actress, let alone his best friend.
No, he decided not to talk to Quinn about the Donna role. He had two days to figure something out to tell Antonio.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
Sorry about the cliffhanger! If you're an avid follower of Glee, you might be able to guess why Artie doesn't think she would want the role.
Thanks again for all of the support. Please review, tell me what you think, and let me know if you want me to continue!
[ minor text revisions 4/30/17 ]