Epilogue: All You Need Is Love

2027

Quinn jerks into consciousness to the sound of Steve Perry singing in her ears. It only takes a few seconds for her to realize that she isn't in her bed where she distinctly remembers falling asleep in Rachel's arms after a night of enthusiastically celebrating her Tony win. She opens her eyes to find herself reclining in a plush chair in the study downstairs, and she grins. Not even the tiniest doubt remains that her teenaged self's trip into the future might have been a dream that she'd somehow subconsciously fashioned into reality once she'd finally gotten the chance to be with Rachel. She stops the song from playing and twists her wrist to turn off her phone before pulling the ear buds out of her ears and tossing them back onto the table.

Glancing down at her clothes, she laughs, because it really had been one of Rachel's shirts that she'd grabbed out of the closet. "Rachel," she whispers with a smile. It's been fifteen years since her first glimpse of this life, and there are still moments when she's in awe that she'd really ended up here, with a successful career as an actress and a wife and daughter that she adores. It certainly hadn't been an easy road, and Quinn had given up believing this future could be real on more than one occasion when she'd been younger—thinking it was a crazy dream or that she'd somehow screwed everything up by being a little too patient with Rachel—but apparently, Quinn really has always been destined to end up right here in this moment.

Her head is throbbing slightly from the experience, but it's hardly worse than a mild hangover, so she's pretty confident that her past self had gotten the hell out of here before she'd caused any long-term damage. Quinn had been trying to prepare herself for this event as the date of her trip had crept closer and closer, but so many little details had been purged from her memory in the years when her physical and emotional distance from Rachel had made everything seem like a fantastic dream, and the hours between last night and right now are nothing more than a gaping black hole of nothingness. She's completely dependent on what's left of her fifteen-year-old memories to fill in the blanks from this morning, but she does remember that she'd told Rachel she was going for a walk.

A walk she currently has no interest in taking.

She hates lying to her wife. They don't keep any secrets from each other these days—except for this one, crazy thing that Quinn has never mentioned, partially because she hadn't been one hundred percent certain that it had really happened until right now and partially because she still thinks it would make her sound like a mad woman if she tried to explain it. So she tells herself that Rachel will forgive her for such a tiny omission, because it really doesn't change anything significant about their life together.

And speaking of that—

Quinn stands up from her chair on surprisingly solid legs. Apparently having her body snatched by her past self's consciousness hasn't left any ill effects other than the lingering headache. It's a good thing, because all she really wants to do right now is spend the day with her family.

She practically runs through the lower level of the house—a stone Tudor tucked snugly between a copse of trees in Riverdale that they'd bought shortly before Ava had been born—in search of her girls, finding them both in the theatre. It's not actually a theatre but more of a game room with a state of the art entertainment system, but Rachel likes to call it the theatre, and Quinn finds that it's easier to just indulge some of her wife's harmless, little quirks.

Quinn pauses at the entry, taking a moment to observe them. Ava is sprawled across the plush, red bean bag chair that Kurt had bought her last Christmas, her head propped on her folded arms as she watches her current "favorite movie ever" for what has to be the fiftieth time, quietly reciting every other line of dialogue right along with the characters. Rachel is lounging sideways on the sofa with her feet propped up on the cushions, reading over the script for the film adaptation of Orange Is the New Black: The Musical. Her agent sent it four days ago with an offer for her to play Morello, and Quinn thinks that she should take it. It's not the lead, but it seems like an outrageously fun part, and she thinks it might just be enough to get Rachel an Oscar nod—maybe they'll both end up one statue shy of the EGOT.

Rachel is turned away from her, so Ava is the first to notice the movement of Quinn's shadow across the floor, and her eyes dart away from the animation on the screen to alight on Quinn. "Mommy, you're up," she squeals happily, launching herself off the bean bag and running for Quinn's legs.

Quinn squats down with a wide smile, arms open and body braced for impact, and she wraps her daughter up in a hug the moment she makes contact. "There's my little peanut," she coos before she plants a single, smacking kiss on Ava's cheek. She adjusts her hold on the precious, little body in her arms and stands, sweeping Ava off the floor amid the sound of carefree giggles.

Rachel sits up on the sofa, dropping her feet onto the floor and tossing the script aside with a confused smile. "I thought you were going for a walk."

"Can I come, Mommy?" Ava asks eagerly.

Quinn shifts Ava against her side, getting a firm hold on her. "Later, peanut," she promises. She glances at Rachel with a sheepish smile. "I changed my mind about the walk. I thought we could all go to the park this afternoon instead. Maybe have a picnic."

"Can we, Mama?" Ava begs. "We can take Mr. Darcy and play catch?"

Quinn stifles her laughter. "Yeah, can we, Mama?" she mimics to Rachel.

Amusement dances in Rachel's dark eyes as she stands and steps closer to her wife and daughter, shaking her head. "I somehow doubt that Mr. Darcy will agree to that plan."

"Maybe we could bribe him with some catnip," Quinn suggests agreeably, trying to imagine their reclusive cat frolicking in the park like a puppy—although Ava did manage to get him to walk on the leash for at least a dozen steps that one time. If anyone could get him to play catch, it would be their very tenacious daughter.

Rachel reaches out and pinches Quinn's hip in silent warning. "Why don't we leave Mr. Darcy home to nap today? We could try out the kite that Aunt Brittany gave you instead."

The little frown that had appeared on Ava's lips at being denied instantly disappears, and she bounces in Quinn's arms. "Can we sing the kite song too?"

Rachel positively beams at her. "Absolutely. We can hardly go fly a kite without singing the kite song."

Quinn groans good-naturedly while Ava shouts out an elated, "Yay!"

"I guess I'm outnumbered on the singing," Quinn complains.

Ava giggles, and Rachel grins, fitting her body into Quinn's side as she rests a palm on Ava's hip. "You'll always be outnumbered on that, baby."

Quinn sighs dramatically. "I suppose I'll just have to live with it."

"Oh, please," Rachel challenges, "you know you love it."

Quinn runs a tongue over her lips as she gazes into Rachel's eyes. This is her life, and, "I do love it," she admits easily. "And I love you." She tilts her head and leans down, catching Rachel's waiting lips in a tender kiss.

"Ew…you're being gross and kissy again," Ava protests, effectively ending their sweet moment.

Quinn and Rachel pull apart with matching grins, and then Quinn turns her face toward her daughter. "We'll show you gross and kissy," she threatens playfully, shifting Ava in her arms as she peppers half a dozen sloppy kisses over her face. Rachel is quick to join in, turning Ava into a squealing, squirming, laughing target for her mothers' loving attack.

"Stop it, Mommy! Mama!" Ava demands through her giggles, and Quinn and Rachel finally relent.

Quinn's arms are starting to feel the strain of their daughter's weight, so she gently sets her down on her feet. "Ugh. When did you get so big?" she laments. She can still clearly remember when Ava had been just a tiny baby, so fragile and nearly weightless in her arms. Quinn could have held her forever—and had attempted to do just that on numerous occasions. She's nearly five now, and time is starting to feel like it's racing away. Maybe she should have another talk with Brittany about that time machine of hers.

"I'll be bigger than Mama soon," Ava announces proudly.

"You probably will," Quinn agrees with a nod. "In another year or two," she adds, smirking mischievously at her wife.

"Hey. Not that soon," Rachel argues petulantly.

Quinn bends over, whispering to Ava, "Maybe five years." Their daughter is almost all Rachel, but she's got enough of Kurt's genes in there too that Quinn suspects she'll end up taller than her mama.

"I heard that," Rachel grumbles, smacking Quinn's backside lightly as she straightens.

Ava giggles, and then she sobers with impressive speed, innocently folding her hands in front of her and gazing up at Rachel with her lower lip caught between her teeth. "I love you, Mama."

Rachel sighs in defeat—a smile tugging at her mouth. "I love you too, little star," she says sweetly, brushing a hand over Ava's soft hair, "even though you did pick up all of Mommy's tricks for getting your way." She gently touches the tip of Ava's nose with the pad of her finger to emphasize her point.

Quinn barks out a laugh. "Excuse me? Whose tricks did she pick up?" Because their daughter has already perfected Rachel's storm out, her pout, and her amazing ability to cry on cue. Well—maybe that last one might be Quinn's trick too.

"That is decidedly your move, Quinn Fabray," Rachel scoffs, pointing down at Ava, who's now grinning widely.

And okay, so maybe Quinn taught her a thing or two. She folds her own hands in front of her and catches her lip between her teeth, winking at Rachel. "I love you, Rach."

Shaking her head indulgently, Rachel steps into Quinn's space and curls a hand around the back of her neck. "Every single time," she murmurs before brushing her lips over Quinn's.

Ava tosses out her hands in exasperation. "You're kissing again!"

Quinn chuckles, nuzzling her nose against Rachel's for a second before she pulls back in time to see Ava flounce over to her bean bag chair and flop down into it with her arms crossed. "Someday you'll really like kissing," she warns her daughter.

Ava shakes her head dramatically. "Nuh uh."

Quinn shares a knowing look with Rachel, and Rachel giggles. They're both going to remind Ava of this when she brings her first boyfriend or girlfriend home—in thirty or forty years.

"Finish watching your movie while Mommy has her breakfast," Rachel instructs Ava. "Then we'll practice your scales before we go to the park, okay?"

"'Kay," Ava agrees, shifting around on the chair to get comfortable again as the still-playing movie reclaims her attention.

Rachel smiles affectionately at Ava before she turns back to Quinn and rubs her palm over Quinn's arm. "Come on. I'll get you those pancakes," she offers, already moving out of the room.

Quinn follows along, vaguely remembering the pancakes—she's pretty sure there was supposed to be bacon too. Or maybe it's just the lingering scent of it in the air as they get closer to the kitchen that's making her think she remembers. Rachel has never been able to completely convert her to her vegetarian ways, and Ava is following right along in Quinn's carnivorous tendencies, much to Rachel's chagrin.

Inside the kitchen, Rachel walks to the refrigerator, pulling out a bowl of batter and a plate of bacon to be reheated in the microwave. "The coffee pot is still on if you want a cup," she tells Quinn as she sets about heating the skillet that's still sitting on the burner.

Quinn nods distractedly, more interested in observing Rachel as she tries to fit together the pieces of what, for her, happened fifteen years ago. It feels like everything is perfectly normal—like that little glitch in time never even happened—but she knows differently. She knows that Rachel had been worried about her while her past self had taken over and proceeded to freak the hell out. "I'm sorry I was so weird this morning," Quinn apologizes, leaning back against the counter beside her wife.

Rachel pauses in the middle of spooning a glob of batter onto the skillet, glancing at Quinn with a relieved smile. "I'm just glad you're feeling better now."

"So much better," Quinn promises, unable to resist the urge to lean over and kiss her wife. She threads her fingers into Rachel's hair, deepening the contact as much as she can with the odd angle, which isn't much, but she really wants to give Rachel a good-morning kiss without being interrupted by their precocious daughter.

"Mmm," Rachel hums when Quinn finally tears her lips away. "You certainly are," she agrees.

Quinn trails her fingers over Rachel's cheek, so very happy to have her and Ava and this life that they're making together. "You know, I've been thinking," she begins, licking her lips nervously as she drops her hand back onto the countertop. "It's been awhile since I've really had any significant downtime, and I'll be done with the play in August. Maybe I could take a break from acting for the next couple of years, and we could think about expanding our family."

It's something that she's been thinking about for a while now, but today finally feels like the right time to voice her desire out loud. Next to her, Rachel grows incredibly still as she stares at Quinn with increasingly hopeful eyes. "You...you want to have another baby?" she whispers.

"Yeah," Quinn breathes, grinning. "I think we've got this motherhood thing down. And Ava did mention that she'd like a little brother to boss around."

Rachel drops the spoon that she's been holding back into the batter and slides her arms around Quinn's shoulders with a wide, happy smile. "Yes. Yes, I absolutely want another child with you," she exclaims, dragging Quinn down to meet her lips. And then, "Just so we're clear," she murmurs, "you'll be the one getting pregnant this time, right?"

Quinn laughs joyfully, nodding her agreement. It's only fair that she should experience the joys of pregnancy again after Rachel had so lovingly volunteered to carry Ava just a few, short years after helping Kurt and Blaine become dads. "Think you can manage to knock me up?" she jokes.

"Well, I'm certainly going to try," Rachel promises with a wicked smirk, recapturing Quinn's mouth.

Quinn forgets all about her breakfast, sated by thoughts of the woman in her arms, their beautiful daughter, and the possibility of more children to come. She doesn't need Brittany's time machine to show her what an amazing life she's going to have in some distant future—she's already living it.

A/N: The short epilogue was added by request.