Here is the next instalment of the What If story. This one centres around their High School reunion. It's all about what if Madeline didn't re introduce them in 2016. I would say this story because of that would be set around 2022.
Please review.
Quinn sighs as she walks into the gym of McKinley high. It has been 10 years since she has stepped into the school and 10 years since she has seen half of the people that are surrounding her. She smiles slightly when she sees half of the student body looking at her in awe, she knows she hasn't aged much since the age of 18 and even though she has a 12 year old, no body can tell she has had a kid.
Suddenly she is embraced from behind and she chuckles when she realizes who it is. Leaning back into the arms of her 'baby daddy' they both look out into the crowd, both of them looking for one person, someone who said they wouldn't be here.
"You do know she told Kurt and 'Cedes that she wasn't going to come Q?" Puck asks as he tightens his embrace around her waist tighter.
"I know, but..." She swallows, "I know it's strange, but she's here. I can feel her."
"That is strange baby mama." He kisses her cheek. "Where's San and Britt?"
Quinn chuckles. "They disappeared as soon as we got here. I think they're planning on relieving their high school experience in one night."
"So planning on doing it all over the school then?"
"That's what I could gather."
"Quinnie!" Quinn turns around at the high pitched squeal of her name and smiles when she realizes it's none other than Kurt Hummel. They had talked on FaceBook over the years, but have not had the chance to get back in touch due to the animosity between his best friend and Quinn.
"Hey Kurt." She wraps her arms around him and buries her face in his neck. He looks just like he did back in High School, like herself he had barely aged at all. He was still as stylish as he was back then and being a fashion designer he really should be.
"Let me look at you" He says when he pulls back. "You barely have aged a day since I last saw you. Noah, good to see you." He turns to Puck and leans his hand out for the other man to shake.
"You too Hummel." He smiles "You still with Blaine?"
"No, no, no. That ship sailed a long time ago. I'm with the man of my dreams now. Liam is he name. Devine piece of the male form if I say so myself."
Quinn smiles. "I've missed you Kurt."
"I've missed you too Quinnie, but enough about you, how's your darling girl? She must be a teenager by now?"
Puck at the mention of his daughter poofs out his chest and starts going into protective dad mode. Puck was a lot of bad things, but he was a good father, and he was probably one of the most proudest fathers in the world.
"She's 12. Not a teenager yet." Puck dishes out his wallet and shows Kurt the latest picture of Madeline he had in there.
"Oh my god, look at her. She always looked like you, but my god, you've got yourself a clone there Fabray. She's beautiful."
"Thank you." Quinn says softly.
"She's amazing Kurt. Like really smart, smarter than me and Quinn already. She's so much like R..." He stops himself and looks at Quinn who is looking at the ground. "You know who. She's a little diva, so kind though."
Kurt laughs. "Look at Mr Puckerman. Gushing over a girl like this. Who knew?"
"You got him started on talking about Maddie."
"So Puckerman, got a special girl?" Quinn scoffs. "I take that as many special girls?"
"How he's not got an STI yet I don't know." She sees Mercedes making her way towards them and her smile brightens as the bigger woman runs over and wraps her arms around her old friend.
"Look at you girl." She says excitedly. "Is Madeline here?"
"She's with my mother." Mercedes eyes widen and her eyebrows raise. "I know. Long story. How are you 'Cedes? I've seen your music in the charts. Maddie is such a big fan."
"Really? Oh I'm so happy about that. You'll have to introduce us again. Sometime this week, I'm not taking no for an answer."
"Name the time and place. I'm here till next weekend."
"I will. How are you doing Q? Anyone special?"
"Nah. I'm concentrating on my career and Madeline at the moment. It's hard being a single parent."
"What do you do now?"
"I'm a photographer. I have this studio in New York. It's small, it gets me by and pays the bills which is enough." She looks behind Mercedes and sees Brittany and Santana entering the room looking a lot happier than earlier. "What about you? Seeing anyone special?"
"I'm married now. I have a little boy. Nicholas. He's adorable. I'll bring him along when we meet up." Mercedes stops talking and takes in the woman in front of her for a minute knowing what the girl wants to ask. "She is here." Quinn's eyes snap to hers and fear covers her face. "Kurt convinced her to come, might have told her a white lie about you not coming."
Quinn closes her eyes and sighs when she realizes this was a set up. The woman she loved, the reason why she couldn't move on and find someone and be happy with was in the room tonight. She hadn't seen her in over ten years however, she still thought about her everyday, still wanted her back in her life everyday.
"It's a set up?"
"Sorta. You know my boy Kurt, he is a sucker for a happy ending." She whispers to Quinn making sure Puck & Kurt don't overhear.
"Where is s..." Quinn doesn't get to finish her statement when the name 'Rachel' is shouted out by Brittany at the highest possible level making half of the room cringe at the sound. Quinn watches as a 5"2 woman is enveloped into a hug by the blonde, and is shook from side to side as the girl is given one of the famous 'Brittany hugs'.
Santana soon joins in on the embrace and Quinn watches on fondly as does Puck who steps into her personal space and whispers in her ear. "Go get in on it."
"No. She's got to make the first move tonight Puck. I'll break if I go over there and she turns me away or ignores me." She sighs. "It's taken me 10 years to get over her... if I... what?" She asks when a smile breaks out over his face. He motions behind her with his head and she takes a deep breath before turning around to see Rachel stood there, looking as gorgeous as ever, flanked by Santana and Brittany on either side of her.
"Quinn. I thought you said Rachel wasn't going to be here." Brittany exclaims excitedly. "Look. She's here."
"I can see that."
"Look Faberry. Stop eye fucking and actually go do something about it." Santana says making half of the occupants of the circle blush.
It's Rachel who breaks the gaze and she walks in the direction of the exit of the hall, throwing a look back over at her shoulder indicating that Quinn should follow her somewhere private. She looks to Puck, her 'date' for tonight to see what she should do. He bends down and kisses her cheek.
"Text me if you want me to wait to give you a lift back to your moms. If not, I'll look after Madeline and divert her questions." He smiles. "Go get her baby."
Quinn smiles at the group and Santana takes her hadn and squeezes it making Quinn smile even brighter in response. She walks out of the hall and starts to look for Rachel, as she expected her to be waiting for her when she got out. A light bulb goes of in her head, and she turns on her heel and begins to walk in the direction of the auditorium, the place which became their place through their last few years of High School.
As she walks into the auditorium, she stops and takes in the sight of her ex-girlfriend who is sat on the edge of the stage her legs dangling over the edge. Rachel looks the same as she did ten years ago, her hair is chopped a lot shorter, and she has an air of maturity surrounding her now that wasn't there when they were younger. The one thing that Quinn notices the most, and she's noticed it when she's seen pictures of Rachel in the press, is that the other woman looks tired. There used to be so much life in those expressive eyes, but now there doesn't seem to be much at all.
She coughs and Rachel's head snaps up and smiles brightly at the sight of Quinn. Quinn walks forward and stands in front of Rachel, and for a few minutes they stare into each others eyes, trying to map out each other's emotions like they used to when they were together. Suddenly Rachel is jumping off the stage and into Quinn's arms, making the blonde stumble back in shock. She holds onto the 5"2 body making sure she's not hurt, and holds onto her tighter than what is really comfortable for both women. They need this connection though, after 10 years, they have been craving it and this was the attention that they needed.
Quinn manages to carry Rachel backwards and when she feels the seat behind her she sits down and cradles the other woman in her lap. Her head is buried in her neck and she is silently crying with happiness at having Rachel in her arms again.
After a few minutes, they pull back and look at each other again. It's Rachel who breaks the silence. "I have missed you."
"I missed you too angel. So much."
"Why didn't you come find me?" Quinn looks confused. "You said you'd come to New York and find me. You said..." Quinn covers her mouth with her fingertips stopping her train of thought.
"I did. I came backstage after one of your shows. You had already gone home, and your co-star said he'd give you my card." Rachel groans.
"Charlie Perry?" Quinn nods remembering the name from somewhere. "Yeah he had a big crush on me, he knew all about you so must have recognized you from the pictures in my dressing room. I'll kill him." She lifts her hand and cups Quinn's cheek, stroking it gently with the pads of her fingertips. "You came for me?"
Quinn nods. "I had a ring. I had everything planned out. I wasn't going to let you go again. This was 2018. 4 years ago."
"A ring?"
"Yeah."
"Oh." Rachel closes her eyes and lets out a deep breath as her brain tries to process that information. A face flashes into her mind and her eyes snap open. "Madeline. How is she?"
Quinn smiles proudly. "She is amazing Rae. Really amazing. She is so much like you it's scary. Puck is always joking around saying that I lied as she was obviously your spawn." Rachel smiles at this. "She's smart. Really smart. Imagine Artie, myself, you and San combined and she's only twelve." She sighs. "She doesn't remember you. She loves you, she really loves you and misses the idea of you, but she was a baby. We've made sure she saw all of the home videos growing up, but... she doesn't..." Quinn sobs at this and Rachel leans forward and kisses her forehead.
"Hey it's OK Princess. It was my fault for not staying in contact, for letting my hurt ruin my relationship with your daughter."
"Our daughter. She has been raised to know she has two mothers and a father. That has never changed Rachel and even if I had someone, you were always her mother." She says with conviction.
"Can I see her again?" Rachel asks nervously. "I mean, do you think she'll be okay with that?"
"She'll absolutley love it Rae." Quinn smiles brightly at this news and stares into Rachel's eyes. Before both of them know it their lips are attached and they are both moaning as they re-learn each other. After what seems like hours, they pull back and hold each other tightly. "What does this mean?"
"Are you still in Boston?"
Quinn shakes her head. "I live in Soho. I have a studio there."
"A studio?" Rachel asks with a furrow brow.
"I'm a photographer. I've done okay for myself. I have a lot of work in magazines and stuff." Rachel smiles proudly.
"We can make this work. If we're in the same state, we can do this Quinn. Are you up for it?" Quinn nods and brings her lips to Rachel's again.
"It's going to be hard."
"Maybe. You're not seeing any..." Quinn cuts her off before she can finish the statement by shaking her head. "Good. Me niether. We were meant to be Princess, we'll make it work." She curls into Quinn's body even more. "Tell me about your life, about Puck, Brittany, San."
"Well, Brittany and Santana moved to New York in 2017. Brittany had an oppurtunity to teach dance and Santana finished off her law degree at NYU." She smiles. "They now have a little boy, Alejandro. He's just turned one and is the perfect blend of San and Britt." She swallows hard. "Santana went through a hard time when they moved to New York. She was raped and it's been tough for her to get over it." Rachels eyes widen in shock at the news. "Alejandro helped. He is a joy to be around. Imagine Brittany's enthusiasm, Santana's penchant for getting into trouble and your rambling abilities all rolled into one." Rachel scoffs at this. "He is truly adorable."
"He sounds it. What about Noah? Has he found anyone?"
Quinn shakes her head. "He works for the NYPD. Any hours he isn't on the job he spends with Maddie, he has a few lady friends but no one special yet." She sighs. "Just not the right time yet I guess." She turns to look into her eyes. "Tell me about you now angel and everyone in your life."
"Uh, I'm currently on stage in a performance of Wicked. I'm Elpehba of course." Quinn chuckles at this. She knows this as she's seen the show a few hundred times. It's cost her quite a bit of money, even with Tina's help at getting cheaper tickets. "Uh, I've had a few relationships in the last ten years. Nothing ever felt as right as this though. Just being in your arms again is... amazing."
"It is."
"Alright. Now this is a sight that has been missing for the last ten years." Santana says.
Quinn and Rachel look up and smile when they see Santana, Brittany, Puck, Mercedes and Kurt walk into the auditorium all smiling at Quinn and Rachel.
"What does this mean? Are you and Rachie back together Q?" Brittany asks excitedly.
Quinn looks to Rachel who smiles softly and gives her a small nod. Quinn looks back to the group and with one of the brightest smiles she's had in 10 years she exclaims "Yeah. It looks like it."
"Bout fucking time if I say so myself." Puck says. "This girl has been pining over you for the last 10 years Rach."
Rachel smiles. "It's good to see you again Noah."
"You too Rach." He looks at Quinn. "She coming home with us to see Madeline tonight?"
Rachel eyes widen in hope and she turns to look at Quinn who smiles and nods. "If we go now we can get to her before mom manages to get her to bed."
"Mom?"
"Yea. She's back in my life." She nudges Rachel slightly, who takes the hint and gets off her lap. Standing up, they clasp their hands and make their way out of the auditorium.
Quinn walks in through the door to her mother's house, as quiet as possible, her hand in Rachel's as the shorter woman follows behind her. She smiles when she sees her mother and Madeline cuddled together on the couch watching an old telivision show.
"Wait here." Quinn walks into the living room and greats her mother and daughter with hugs and kisses. "Mom can I talk to you about something a second?" Judy nods and follows Quinn into the hallway, and when her eyes land on Rachel her eyes widen in shock.
"Is this?" Judy asks Quinn who nods with a smile. "It's nice to finally meet you. Quinn has talked about you so fondly over the years."
Rachel stares with an open mouth, Quinn filled her in on how much Judy had changed over the years but she was having a hard time accepting that the woman that threw Quinn to the streets was now standing in front of her.
"She's struggling with you being back in my life."
"Understandable."
"Let me go talk to Maddie a sec. Keep her occupied a second Mom." Quinn walks into the living room and sits down next to her twelve year old daughter. Maddie smiles up at her mother. "I need to talk to you about something Mads."
"Whatever is was, dad did it not me." Quinn groans. This usually means she'll find out something in the next few weeks that Madeline and Puck had done. Getting information out of the two of them was impossible, so there was no point delving deeper.
"I really don't wanna know. Madeline, you know I went to my 10th Anniversary reunion at McKinley today?"
"Yeah"
"Well I bumped into someone. Someone who... Mads, I bumped into Rachel." Madeline's eyes widen. She knows who that woman is. She's the 'mother' she never really knew. Shes' the woman that raised her when she was a baby, she was the woman that held her mothers heart.
"Is she here?" Madeline asks, showing the same excitement as Brittany did earlier. Quinn smiles knowing that the girl is very happy at the idea of seeing her 'mama'.
"Yea. Are you ready to see your mama again?"
Madeline nods happily.
"Does she remember me?"
"Of course she does baby girl." She says softly. Raising her voice she calls out to the hallway. "Rae, you wanna come in?"
Rachel walks in and stands at the doorway and watches her baby girl. At 5"4, Madeline was a bit taller than Rachel, which makes the brunette look on in amazement. "My little star" She sobs out making Madeline smile brightly. She turns to look at Quinn for permission of some sort, and Quinn nods. As soon as she does, Madeline has wrapped her arms around her 'mama' and is sobbing into her neck. Rachel's arms come up around her daughter and she too is trying to stop the sobs. "Let me look at you." She says when they finally pull back. "You're so tall. So grown up. Oh I've missed you my little gold star."
"I've missed you too mama." She whispers. "Mom and dad have always told me about you, I know everything. I never dreamt I'd get to see you again."
"I'm not going anywhere now baby. I promise you that." She pulls her back into her arms and keeps her arms around her.
"I love you mama."
"I love you too Maddie. So much."
Suddenly another pair of arms is thrown around the two of them, and the younger blonde and the brunette let out a laugh hugging Quinn back tightly. "This is it now Rae. You are not going anywhere."
"I don't plan to. This is my family now."
Another one should be up soon. Please review, and give me some more prompts for what if's. It does seem that there are very few people reading this story, and my snapshot one, so I think by the beginning of July I'll be finishing both of them so I can concentrate on other things. If you want any what ifs or snapshots filled by then, please send me a message or a review. THanks