Quartie Ever After
Chapter 4: Conflicts
By Wilde Abrams
Author's Notes: Once again, thank you to all of the readers who are reading and reviewing this story. I can't emphasize that last part enough. Reviews - even the ones that are only a few words - are what keep a writer going! So, please take a few moments and tell me what you think! Also feel free to offer some suggestions if you're feeling so inclined.
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.
Sorry it's taken so long to update! I hope you like the new chapter and let me know if I should continue!
# # # # # #
Following another night of enjoyable sex in an attempt to get pregnant, Artie crawled out of bed late morning Saturday, got dressed and started looking at some videos on his computer. He was determined to find a different actress to play Donna so that he could avoid conflict with his producer Antonio on Monday, when he would have to report that he hadn't convinced Quinn to take the part; a part he knew was all wrong for her. He had been thinking about this the previous evening and ever since he'd woken up that morning.
He began going through the list of other actresses he'd worked with who might be right for the part. He managed to scribble down three names before moving into some other recent movies that he was familiar with but hadn't actually worked on. He also researched other up and coming actresses online, and looked at samples of each actress work in YouTube. Finally he looked at the actresses that they had auditioned for other roles in The Reckoning who either hadn't gotten the part that they wanted, or were the second choices for roles already cast. When he was finally done, around late dinner time, he had a list of 12 alternative actresses. Some of them were a stretch, but you never know, right?
# # # # # #
At dinner, Quinn noticed that he was quiet and asked about it.
"Is everything alright?" She asked him. "You've been pretty quiet today."
"Oh, it's nothing serious," he told her. "We are finalizing the cast of the movie. We've got all but three roles filled. I think I told you that Santana got the one she wanted." Quinn noded. "Well the Casting Director is having a really hard time with this one role, so I'm just trying to help her out a little bit." It wasn't a complete lie.
Quinn noded. For a brief second, she wondered if it was a role that she could do. But she dismissed it immediately. Artie and she had worked together before, and he'd seen pretty much everything that she'd ever done, including some theater and student films she'd been in at Yale. She trusted that if she was at all right for the part, he would tell her.
"That's sweet of you," she told him, and went back to her food.
# # # # # #
Sunday morning Quinn and Artie had another lazy morning in bed. Quinn awoke first around 9, and lay there happy until Artie awoke about 40 minutes later. Neither of them managed to crawl out of bed until about 11:30.
After a shared brunch, Artie retreated back into his room go do some more work on his film and wait for his mother to call. The two of them tried to make an effort to do a video chat about every other Sunday. They had scheduled a 2:00 call via text message earlier in the week because it has been over a month since their last chat.
Artie was so deeply engrossed in his work that he literally jumped when he heard the familiar chime of an incoming Skype call.
He smiled when he saw "Incoming Video Call from Nancy Abrams" on his screen. He clicked the Answer button and was awarded with his mother's smiling face on the screen.
"Hi mom," Artie greeted her with a huge grin, "What's New?"
"Nothing much," Nancy said, "your father sends his love.
"Work has been as hectic as ever." Nancy Abrams was a Social Worker who specialized in clients with disabilities. "We have more clients with unique needs than ever before, but our budget was cut again, and it's getting harder and harder to get grants, so we are trying to get really creative with the money that we do have," she finished. Artie smiled. He knew that, while her work was always challenging, and often stressful, that she loved it. "But enough about me. How is my son doing? Any special ladies in your life?"
"I'm in the midst of pre production on my next film The Reckoning," he told her. "That's taking up most of my time. We are almost done with casting and will be starting filming in a few weeks. I'm up for a Directors Guild award so you may see me on a red carpet on TV this Friday."
"That's wonderful, honey," Nancy told him, smiling. She was so happy to see her son succeeding in life. He had never let his disability restrict him.
"To answer your question though, no I'm not dating anyone."
Nancy frowned. They had this conversation every time they talked. He said more or less the same thing each time for the past few years, but she always remained hopeful.
Artie had been going back, and forth the last couple days about whether he should tell his mother what Quinn and he had been up to. On one hand, Quinn wasn't even pregnant yet. But on the other, it would probably come as less of a shock when it did happen if she at least knew that they were trying. Finally he made his decision.
"There is something that I should probably tell you though," he added. Her facial expressions was piqued in interests.
"You're probably going to become a grandmother soon," he told her matter of factly.
She just stared at him in confusion for several moments, "I thought that you said…"
"Quinn and I have decided to have a baby together," he explained. "But no we aren't dating."
"Wait! What?" Nancy asked. "Start from the beginning. What brought this on?"
"Well," he said. "It all started about a month ago. I went to New York with Quinn to attend her biological daughter Beth's graduation. You remember, Puck got her pregnant in 10th grade and they gave up the baby for adoption to Rachel's biological mother, Shelby Corcoran." Nancy noded.
"Well the whole thing brought up some memories and feelings for both of us," he explained. "I've always wanted to have a kid, and Quinn has always intended to have at least one more child. Neither of us have had a real relationship in several years, and aren't getting any younger. The chances of complications increase the older the mother is, and neither of us really want to be raising a child in our 50's, so we figured that it was now or never. We had a long talk about the specifics of how we want to handle it about a month ago, and have been trying to get pregnant ever since. We're hopeful of success soon."
"That sounds so clinical," she observed.
"Well it kind of is I guess," he admitted. "It's not as if we are actually dating."
"Look," Nancy told him, "you know how much I love Quinn. But is this what you really want? What's going to happen when you meet Miss Right?"
"Mom," he told her. "I think we both know that's not in the cards for me. I'm 36 years old. If that was going to happen, it would have by now."
"That's not true!" Nancy responded, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "Plenty of people meet their spouses in midlife. I know that what happened with Tina upset you-"
"-Mom!" He told her. "This has nothing to do with Tina. She's happily married to Mike. They have been for almost ten years, and they are raising a family together. I'm happy for them!"
"Yes," she responded, "but I think being cheated on twice by the same women scarred you."
"Yeah it did," he admitted. "But this has nothing to do with that. My mistakes with other women were my own. I can't put all of them at Tina's feet!"
"What about Kitty?"
"What about her?"
"The two of you were so good together-" Nancy reminded him.
"-Look, mom, yeah we were," he admitted, "for the relatively short period of time that we were together. I know that the two of you bonded over conspiring to get me to get over my fear of living on my own in the big city or whatever. But she'd already been through so much and I broke her heart twice already. I won't risk doing that again, even assuming she'd be interested! She was living on the east coast the last I'd heard, moving on with with her life. She deserves to be left alone. I thought you liked Quinn?
"Of course I like her!" Nancy exclaimed. "Lucile Quinn Fabray was like a daughter to me-"
"-Then what's your problem!" He asked her. "I thought that you'd be happy for us!"
"It's not a problem. I'm just confused," She answered. "I never knew that you had feelings for each other-"
"-I don't. We don't. That's the beauty of this," he answered. "There is no emotional relationship drama."
"Artie there is always drama…."
"Why can't you support me on this?" He asked
"Arthur James Abrams," she told him, using his full name and making eye contact to make sure that he knew that she was extremely serious. "I always have and always will support you in everything that you do. I'm just kind of confused about this and don't want to see you get hurt!"
"I'm not going to get hurt," he reassured her.
"I hope you're right," she told him softly.
They spent the next half hour or so discussing the specifics of Artie and Quinn's plan, and a few other assorted things before finally saying goodbye.
# # # # # #
Quinn was laying on the couch reading Variety online on her iPad when she heard her cel phone ring. She reached for it sitting on a nearby table. When she looked at the screen she saw that it said 'Incoming Call from Franny'
Quinn smiled. She'd left a message on her sister's voicemail earlier that day asking her to call her back. Quinn hadn't really talked to her family much in recent years and wasn't sure how they were going to take her decision to have another baby. Franny Johnson (née Fabray) was four and a half years older than Quinn. She'd moved out, started attending college, and gotten married before Quinn had gotten pregnant, and the family drama between their parents and Quinn had started. As a result, while they lead different lives and had kind of grown apart over the years, their relationship really hadn't been affected by her first pregnancy the way her relationships with her parents had been. Quinn figured that she'd be the easiest one to approach first about her plans to become a mother.
Quinn smiled, set the iPad aside, and hit the answer key
"Hey sis," she began, "thanks for calling me back! How have you been?"
"Yeah," Franny answered, "it's been a while!"
"Sorry about that," Quinn told her.
"It's not your fault," Franny told her sister. "Either of us could have initiated contact. We are both really busy with our lives. Is that why you called, just to catch up? Your message sounded like you had something specific on your mind."
"No," Quinn admitted nervously. "I was just going to kind of ease into this…"
"Okay," Franny said, realizing that something was definitely up. "Talk to me, little sis. What's going on? You don't need to be nervous."
"I know we haven't been exactly close in a long time," Quinn told her older sister apprehensively.
"That doesn't matter," Franny said, starting to get nervous herself. "I'm your sister and I love you! You can talk to me about anything." What was in her sister's mind that had her so agitated? "What's wrong?"
"Um," she began, "you remember Artie Abrams right?"
"Of course I remember A.J. Abrams," Franny responded. "I used to babysit the two of you when you were little, and I gather the two of you are still close. I see you on TV and Red Carpet events at least twice a year!"
"He hasn't gone by A.J. In a long time," Quinn told her.
"Old habits die hard," Franny said, laughing. "It took me forever to stop calling you Lucy."
"Anyway," Quinn said, bringing them back on topic, "I'm not really sure how to tell you this or know how you're going to react-"
"-Just tell me!" Franny said.
"-We're … We're going to have a child together," Quinn finally spat out.
"You're pregnant?" Franny exclaimed. "That's great!"
"Not yet," Quinn told her, "But we've been trying for about a month, and hope to be successful soon."
"Wow," Franny said. "Who would have thought that you two childhood friends would have ended up together, especially after we moved and you were separated for four years!"
"You understand that we aren't in a relationship with each other, right?" Quinn reminded her sister.
"Yeah," Franny said, "I understand. But whether you're in a relationship or not, having a child will permanently intertwine your lives together. As long as you've known each other, it makes sense that you'd choose each other for this."
"Yeah," Quinn admitted, "You're taking this news better than I expected."
"Why wouldn't I?" Franny wanted to know. "If it makes you happy, then I'm all for it! And from everything I know about him, my future niece or nephew's father is a really great guy!"
"I'm so glad to hear you say that," Quinn said, relieved. "And yeah he is!"
"What?" Franny asked. "You didn't expect me to be all judgemental like mom and dad were when you got pregnant at sixteen, did you?"
"Not so much expect," Quinn admitted, sheepishly. "But honestly, there was a definite fear."
"Oh, Quinny," Franny said, "You don't know we very well. I can see we need to make a specific effort to talk to and see each other a lot more than we have! I would never treat you the way they did! Ever!"
"I am so relieved to hear you say that," Quinn said, relief washing over her, "because my friends are great, but I think I'm going to need my sister's support on this!"
"I've got your back little sis," Franny said. "Whatever you need, I'm here for you, even if I'm living in Ohio."
"Thank you so much," Quinn said. After a few moments of silence, Quinn added. "I'm almost afraid to ask you this. But how do you think mom and dad will react? As nervous as I was telling you, I'm terrified of telling them."
"Well," Franny said, taking a moment to give it some thought. "I think it will be a shock to them. I know from little things that they have let slip here and there that they don't expect you to have any more children.
"But after getting over the initial shock of it, I think mom will accept it, and eventually get very excited about it. I've never really told you this, because I thought that it was a sensitive subject, but she has been very excited every time one of my kids was born, and has taken the time to spend time with each of them. Dad has too, but given the history between you two and the fact that you've never completely recovered from when he kicked you out, it's a really big question mark. I really don't know how he'll react. But if it will help, I'll go with you when you tell them."
"I may take you up on that," Quinn told her.
The two sisters continued to talk for the next hour and a half about Franny's husband and kids, as well as Quinn's relationship with and plans with Artie, before finally hanging up.
# # # # #
That evening at dinner, as usual, Quinn and Artie talked about their respective days.
"How did your talk with your mom go?" Quinn asked in between bites. She knew that he'd been excited to talk to his mother.
"Pretty good," he told her, but his tone wasn't that convincing.
Quinn gave him a perplexed look. Generally he was pretty excited after talking to his mom. "Just good?" She asked.
"I started out excited to talk to her," he admitted. "But I have to admit that I was bummed when I found out that she wasn't as excited as I'd hoped when I told her about us trying to have a baby." Quinn's expression changed to that of genuine confusion. She'd always experienced nothing but complete support from Mrs. Abrams. "Oh don't worry, she's still supportive. She just doesn't understand why we are doing this."
Quinn reached across the table and placed her hand on his forearm. "I'm sorry Artie," she told him. "I know how important your relationship with her is."
"I just wish she could understand how import this is to both of us," he signed.
"I'm sure she will in time," Quinn told him. "Do you think it would help if I talked to her?"
"No," Artie said, "I'm sure it was just the initial shock. She will warm up to the idea."
"Well if it makes you feel any better," Quinn said, with a smile, "When I told Franny about it, she was thrilled. I didn't see that coming at all!"
"That's great!" He said.
"I think this is actually going to bring us closer," Quinn gushed. "We've decided that we've grown too far apart and wand for rectify that. She's actually going to come visit us in a couple weeks."
"I'm happy for you," Artie said but then abruptly changed the subject, "I have to get my tux dry cleaned for the Directors Guild Awards this Friday. You're still attending with me, right?"
"Wouldn't miss it!" She told him. "I've grown quite fond of our Hollywood Event 'dates'."
"If you have a dress that needs dry cleaning," he told her, "just leave it out and I'll take it with me when I drop mine off in the morning on the way to the studio."
"Okay," she noded. "On a more serious note, we've been trying to get pregnant for over a month now. I think it would be a good idea to go see our doctors this week and make sure everything is okay medically."
"Okay," he said, slightly surprised that she was mentioning this again so soon. He really didn't think it was that unusual for couples to be trying to have a baby this long or even longer. He didn't get the sense of urgency. But he wanted to make her happy, and it wouldn't hurt to be checked out. "Do you want to make the appointments," he asked. They went to the same medical practice, "or should I?"
"I can do it," she said, "I'm sure you'll be busy tomorrow, and I should have plenty of time I'm between auditions, and I have access to your Google Calendar."
"Yeah," he said, and continued to wonder, not for the first time, why she was in such a rush.
# # # # # #
Monday Morning Artie was filled with apprehension as he wheeled himself into the production office.
He had barely begun to remove his papers and iPad from his bag, when Antonio wasted no time getting down to business.
"So," Antonio asked, "do we have a Donna?"
Artie knew full well that this was Antonio's way of asking weather Artie had talked to Quinn or not. He decided to answer the question indirectly.
"I spent a good chunk of Saturday making a list of possibilities," he began, "and have emails and calls out to about half of them, inviting them to schedule an audition this week."
"But no Quinn," Antonio inferred from his non answer.
"No Quinn," Artie confirmed, with a sigh.
"Dammit Abrams!" Antonio shouted. "I gave you a very specific instruction, and I expected it to be followed."
"I understand that," Artie told him. "But as I've already told you, in my judgment as a director, and as her friend, this role isn't right for her-"
"-I don't give a damn what you think," Antonio interrupted, shocking Artie, who had always had a very pleasant working relationship with Antonio, "There is a lot of money riding on this movie, and we are running out of time to cast this role! If we weren't so close to production-"
"Last Friday you told me that the deadline to cast this roles was this Friday," Artie responded. "I have a list of possibilities here, and am positive that we will find our Donna on this list of twelve names."
Antonio could see that Artie wasn't going to back down, and it would be way more expensive to replace Artie as director than a possible delay in filming the Donna scenes if they didn't have her cast by the time they started filming, so he finally answered with, "You had better be right," and reached for the list Artie was handing him.
Artie, Antonio, and Linda spent most of the rest of the day scheduling appointments with the remaining women on Artie's list and auditioning two of the women who had gotten back to them. The day was productive, but the tension between Antonio and Artie was thick.
# # # # #
Tuesday afternoon, Quinn was walking out of an audition when hispanic looking man approached her.
"Excuse me," he greeted her, extending his hand to shake her hand, "are you Quinn Fabray?"
"Yes," she answered, shaking his hand, "yes I am."
"My name is Antonio Juarez," the man told her, offering her a business card. "I'm the executive producer on a film titled The Reckoning, with Paramount."
"That's Artie's movie," she said.
"Yes," he confirmed, "Arthur Abrams is our director. Anyway, my Casting Director Linda Schwartz, and I think that you'd be perfect for the role of Donna in our film, and would like you to audition."
He handed her some papers containing the sample scenes for the role. "We'd love you to take a look at these sides and schedule an audition, if you're interested." He held out his business card.
She got a very confused look, "That's odd," she told him, "Artie didn't say anything about this." In fact, Artie had specifically said that she wasn't right for the part they were casting. Why would he lie to her like that?
"Yes," Antonio said, "I'm afraid I have to admit to a bit of creative differences on that. Both Artie and your agent were reluctant to bring this opportunity to you for some reason, necessitating this rather unorthodox introduction. I saw that there were auditions here today for another role that you might be right for, and took a chance on seeing you here."
He offered her his card again, and this time she took it, a confused look on her face.
# # # # #
When Quinn got home she began studying the pages Antonio had given her, and with each passing read through, she began to get angrier and angrier with her friend Artie. Antonio was right, the part seemed perfect for her. Why would he withhold the role from her. They'd worked together many times, so it wasn't a fear of mixing business with friendship.
When Artie rolled through the door, smiling, she was fuming.
"Hey Quinn," he said, "how was your day? Any luck with any of your auditi-"
He stopped mid sentence when he saw the look on her face.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
In response she held up the pages Antonio had given her.
"Where did you get that?" He asked.
"Antonio Juarez approached me when I was leaving another audition this morning," she answered. "I don't understand how you could do this to me! This role seems perfect to me and you not only didn't tell me about it, but you lied to me. I thought that we were friends and that you had my back!"
"Quinn," he began, not sure where to start. This was the last thing he expected to come home to. Antonio was a real piece of work. "It's like I said before, the role is all wrong for you-"
"-That's bullshit, Artie," she retorted, "I've been reading these sides all afternoon, the role seems to be written with me in mind! After everything we've been through, I thought I knew you better than that!"
She ran off into her bedroom, buried her pillow and began to cry.
"Shit!" Artie shouted into the empty room.
# # # # #
That evening, no matter how much he tried, Artie couldn't coax Quinn out of her room, or get a response out of her other than a tearful "Leave me alone!" Or angry "Go away!"
That night for the first time in weeks, Quinn sleep in her own bed, and Artie was treated to a very cold shoulder the following morning at Breakfast.
# # # # #
Wednesday morning Artie was working at his desk at the studio when Santana walked up and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Hey," she turned told him, waving her copy of the script at him. "I just wanted to stop by and say thanks again for the part! I'm really looking forward to sinking my acting teeth into it. It should really look nice on my resume and reel. I know it wasn't entirely up to you, but I'm sure your opinion made a lot of difference."
In fact, the decision had been unanimous, but Artie simply said, "You're welcome. I'm sure you'll do great."
"So how's Q?" Santana asked. "I haven't had the chance to talk to her since the four of us had diner."
"Actually," he told her with a frown, "she's kinda pissed at me right now?
"Why?" Santana asked, a puzzled look on her face.
"Antonio and I had a difference of opinion, and he went around me and asked her to audition for a role that I don't think she's right for," he told her.
"What role?" She asked.
"Donna," the answered.
"You're kidding."
"Nope."
"That's not even remotely right for her," Santana marveled.
"Like I tried to tell her."
"Has she read the script?"
"Antonio gave her some sides," Artie answered.
"Yeah," Santana said, "But has she seen the entire script?"
"Not that I'm aware of," he said. "Antonio is really pushing her to audition. We don't typically share the entire script until we've officially offered someone the part."
"Hmm..," Santa said.
# # # # #
Wednesday afternoon and evening Quinn continued to give Artie the cold shoulder, and that night Quinn once again she slept alone in her own bed.
# # # # #
Thursday Quinn and Santana had lunch together.
"How's it going Santana," Quinn asked her friend, greeting her with a hug.
"Good," Santana told her.
The two of them sat down and a waitress arrived to take their drink orders and food orders. Once the waitress left, Santana wasted no time getting down to business.
"So how's the baby making going with Wheels?" She asked.
"I think that's on hold for now," Quinn said, sadly.
"Why?" Santana asked, surprised, "because you had a fight?"
"You know about that?" Quinn asked, clearly surprised.
"You know I was cast in the role of Delia in the film right?" Quinn noded. "Well I was in the office yesterday filling out paperwork, and getting my measurements taken for wardrobe. I stopped by his desk on my way out and he said something about it," Santana answered. "I was hoping to hear our side…"
"There's not much to tell," Quinn said, angrily. "Basically, not only has he been holding out on me, but he lied to me. I thought he had my back. He knew that I've been struggling to find work, and that I was going to need to increase my income soon to replace my dwindling savings, and pay my share of the baby expenses. There's a prefect role in this movie for me, but he not only didn't tell me about it, but he actively tried to block them from offering it to me! I thought I knew him, but no I'm not sure I do anymore!"
"The role of Donna?" Santana asked.
"Yeah," Quinn responded enthusiastically.
"Quinn," Santana said, "have you actually read The Reckoning?"
"That Antonio gut gave me several sides," Quinn answered, "and I have an appointment for an audition with Antonio and Linda this afternoon."
"Look I don't want to get in the middle of your fight," Santana admitted with a sigh, "but I actually agree with Artie on this."
Quinn got a shocked look on her face.
"Read the entire script, Q!" Santana said, producing her copy from her bag and laying it on the table between them. "Judge for yourself. Pay special attention to scenes 73, 96, and 116. I've bookmarked them for you. Remember when Lady Hummel begged us to come to New York and talk Rachel out of doing that student film?"
"Yeah," Quinn said, starting to get the picture.
"Well," Santana told her, pushing the script across the table to her. "That was tame compared to this. I'll support you whatever you decide. But I think you should have all of the facts first before you make a final decision. And try not to judge Wheels too harshly. It's actually pretty sweet that he thinks he needs to protect you."
# # # # #
Artie was sitting at the kitchen table going over some of his notes when he heard Quinn enter. It had been a long day at the studio. They had finally finalized the cast last list and chosen a second choice for Donna in case Quinn decided not to take the role or they decided she wasn't right after all. Artie was still deeply upset about the whole deal and left for the day before Quinn was scheduled to arrive for her audition. He didn't think he'd be able to keep from arguing with them during her audition, so he recused himself.
He was so distracted that he didn't even hear her come in and practically jumped when he felt a pair of soft arms embracing him.
"I feel like such a fool, Artie," Quinn told him. "I can't believe that I thought that about you and said those things about you! You've been my friend for thirty years and you have always had my back. I should have known that you wouldn't just betray me. Please forgive me!
"I can forgive you anything," Artie said. "You're my best friend. You really hurt my feelings though."
"I know," Quinn continued, hugging him tighter. "I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me."
He turned his chair around and tugged her into his lap, holding her close.
"I've known that you set you professional boundaries back when you started your career. You would not do nudity or simulated sex. That's definitely limited you in your career, but you've also ended up doing less, but more meaningful roles." Quinn nodded. "I knew that the role of Donna wasn't right for you for that reason. I didn't tell Antonio or Linda that because I knew they would just try to talk you into it anyway, and maybe offer you more money, which I know you think you need."
"I wish you had trusted my enough to let me make that decision myself," she told him.
"It was never about trust, Quinn," he told her. "I just know how persuasive Antonio can be.
"When Antonio decided to push the issue, I had every intention of talking to you about it. But when I came home, and you were paying bills and worrying about money, I panicked. I thought that if they sensed any opportunity to take advantage of you they would take it.
"I should have known he wouldn't let go so easily. I've seen him use his powers of persuasion before on others. I just thought he respected me enough to not to do that to me. I was obviously wrong."
"Why would you work with someone like that?" Quinn asked.
"There are a lot of people in Hollywood like that, Quinn. Making movies makes a lot of money and money heavily motivates people, drawing the worst out of them. It changes people. I risked my job sticking up to him."
"He could fire you?" She asked, surprised. Suddenly she started to feel a twinge of guilt.
"He's the Executive Producer," Artie reminded her. "I'm the Director. He absolutely could have fired me. He stopped short of actually threatening to, but the implication was clearly there.
"That's why I wasn't at the audition. I was afraid that I would say something that I would regret if I witnessed it."
He gestures to his notes. "I've been going through the script trying to come up with reasonable excuses for dropping those objectionable scenes," he told her. "The shower scene we could maybe lose, but the sex scene and death scenes are pretty integral to the story."
"I don't understand why you chose this film to with on in the first place," she said. "It doesn't seem like your kind of project at all."
"Money, Quinn," he answered. "It's great to choose your projects wisely. But ultimately we have bills to pay and it diversifies my resume. This project is changing and paying me very well. Working behind the lense doesn't carry the stigma for a director that it does for an actress. It's Horror/Sci Fi movie, so it's expected that it's going to have at least one gratuitous shower scene. It's like a requirement or something. I just didn't want it to be someone who isn't completely comfortable with it."
"Well you don't need to worry," Quinn told him. "I actually cancelled my audition after Santana let me read her script over lunch. Antonio was disappointed, of course, but he said that they would ultimately give the role to their second choice."
"Beatrix McClain," Artie told her. "She attended NYADA with Rachel and has a similar look to you, and was actually really excited about the role when we audition her yesterday."
"That's good," Quinn said.
"So," Artie said, changing the subject, "We've missed two days of possible baby making time." She smiled. "You interested in playing catch up?" He gave her a mischievous grin.
"Of course," she said.
"Okay," he said, kissing her on the cheek and he began wheeling her to the bedroom
# # # # #
Friday morning Quinn and Artie sat together in the doctor's office as doctor Joseph Roberts addressed them.
"We've given you both a complete physical," Dr. Roberts told them. "We are still waiting on that blood and urine work of course, but as near as we can tell, there is nothing medically wrong with either of you that would prevent conception."
"Then why are we having such a hard time conceiving?!" Quinn asked, clearly very frustrated. "I got pregnant literally my first time having sex back in high school! Why is it so difficult now?"
"Well," the doctor said, "not to be insensitive, but that was a long time ago. You're not sixteen anymore, Quinn."
Quinn, nodded, acknowledging his point.
"The older you get the fewer eggs you have, and the less likely for conception to occur," he added. "Your first pregnancy was a natural delivery, and we weren't able to see any scarring of your uterus during your gynecological exam that would complicate a fertilized egg implanting on the uterine wall. So that's good."
"So you're saying that you can't find anything wrong with me?" Quinn asked, frustrated. This would be so much easier if there was something that they could identify and treat.
"As I said, we are still waiting on blood work and urinalysis," the doctor said, "but yes, so far we have found nothing medically wrong with you."
Quinn bowed her head in disappointment and Artie lay his hand on her shoulder in support.
"What about me," Artie asked, quietly.
"Well," the doctor answered, "there are no records of you ever reported any sexual dysfunction before in your records other than the brief bout of impotence a couple weeks ago that you reported, which is completely normal. Nonetheless, it's not uncommon for men in with your injuries to by sterile or have problems conceiving.
"We'll let you know about your bloodwork and urine samples," the doctor said, "but if you wouldn't mind providing another sample as well."
He handed Artie a small cup labeled "Abrams, Arthur J - Seamen Sample."
"I'll leave the two of you alone to collect that," he said, excusing himself from the room. "We'll let you know about the test results next week."
And with that the two of them were left alone in the exam room.
# # # # # # #
Author's Endnote: And at long last this story had finally been updated. I'm excited about this story again after revisiting the outline. What was originally planned to be a nine chapter story is now fourteen. I've also gone back and updated the text of the previous chapters today (4/30/17) with typo fixes and other minor corrections.
As before, if you like what you're seeing and want to see me continue (sadly so few of us are still writing fanfic), please take a few moments to give me a review. It keeps me motivated.