Hello all!
I hope to continue this story for a while now. I've been overloaded with assignments and now I've completely got rid of those and it's Christmas, I have time off from University so I hope to write a lot!
I hope this chapter's ok to tide you over until the next update, I felt you (Whoever is still reading) deserved a lengthy chapter!
Don't worry, I will finish this fic!
Happy reading!
- Klaine2314
Chapter Nineteen:
Pictures from various vacations of Shelby and Beth adorned the walls. Shelby showed them into the lounge where they were greeted with more photos of Beth. Quinn guessed they were from Beth's 'milestones'; her first day of school; first prom date; graduation. Each picture made Quinn's heart swell more. She knew she'd never have been able to provide most of the things she'd have wanted as she grew up. Each picture made Sam realise how a like Quinn and Beth were. He really wanted a mini-Quinn, someone who would remind him of his wife everyday.
"Please, sit down." Shelby said ushering them onto the couch. She took the armchair opposite. "Can I get you anything?"
"No, thank you." They both responded shaking their heads.
"I suppose we'd better cut to the chase, why are you here?" Shelby asked bluntly. "Not that it isn't great to see you, Quinn. You've matured into an elegant, graceful, beautiful woman and I take it this is your husband?" Shelby added noticing the rings on the two blonde's ring fingers.
"Ah yes, sorry. Shelby, this is my husband Sam. Sam this is Shelby, Beth's mother."
"Nice to meet you." Sam said, offering his hand for Shelby to shake.
"You too." Shelby replied, shaking his hand.
"So I guess we might as well dive into why we're here." Quinn suggested.
"That'd be good." Shelby added with a forced giggle.
"Well Beth's been staying with us. She turned up on our doorstep; pregnant and homeless. We couldn't tu-" Quinn began but was cut off.
"I know. She's spoken to me. I told her to contact me when she'd found you. As for homeless, I never kicked her out, that's an exaggeration. We had an argument, but they've never been this extreme..." Shelby began.
"We fight, storm into our rooms, cool off and apologise later. This time thought it just escalated. I assume since you thought she'd been kicked out that you don't know the full story?" Shelby asked. They both shook their heads. "We only know what Beth has told us." Sam added.
"It's only fair I tell you what really happened... Since she found out she was adopted, she's been desperate to meet you and Noah. She's met Rachel and naturally Rachel told her things about the two of you. Until recently, I'd stopped her from meeting you. Emotionally she wasn't ready. I didn't want her to go through what I put Rachel through. I didn't want you to reject her like I had with Rachel. I had no idea how you'd react to the daughter you gave up eighteen years ago just randomly turning up on your doorstep; especially after I'd seen you in the grocery store and you knew I was back in town. I didn't want her knowing we lived in the same town. Once her hair returns to blonde, she'll truly see how a like the two of you really are. Imagine if she'd run into you at the grocery store, she'd have known exactly who you were."
"So what exactly caused her to storm out?" Quinn asked.
"You did." Shelby confessed.
"Excuse me?" Quinn replied, completely dumbstruck. Shelby took a brief pause before continuing with her story. "We were eating dinner and I brought up the pregnancy. I needed to know what she was planning to do; was she keeping it or putting it up for adoption? She was five months gone at the time and I needed to know if I should be starting to convert the guest bedroom into a nursery. She just kept saying she wasn't sure."
"I brought up how you'd given her up so that someone who couldn't have a child could have one. She got a bit sensitive when I mentioned you, mainly because I wouldn't allow her to meet you. She felt like she should, so she could get another opinion. Again I opposed it stating emotionally she wasn't ready, there was that and then if you multiplied it with pregnancy hormones, well I decided that was a really bad idea." Shelby told them.
Both Quinn and Sam nodded in agreement with Shelby's pregnancy hormone comment, although Sam abruptly stopped when Quinn saw him nodding. Shelby let out a light giggle, the noise that escaped her throat sounded like it had been trapped in her throat for years. "I have no idea what you mean about pregnancy hormones. This one here was a little ray of sunshine when she had our little boy." Sam joked.
"You have a son?" Shelby asked.
"Yeah, he's called Larry. He's almost eight." Sam replied, taking a picture out of his wallet to show her. "Wow" where the only words that Shelby could muster.
"I know right? Beth may be identical to me, but Larry's completely identical to Sam."
"Although he's as eloquent as Quinn at times." Sam added.
"Enough about Larry, please, finish what you were saying." Quinn told them, pulling the focus back to why they were there.
Shelby nodded her head before continuing her story. "We dropped the subject for a week or two. I knew an argument wouldn't solve anything and the stress wasn't good for the baby. Instead I subtly dropped hints hoping she'd give me a definite answer. I hoped she'd take into consideration that going to college would be put off for a while longer; her youth would be over; and it was going to be a lot of work." Again Quinn and Sam nodded in agreement. They knew it was difficult raising a child and they were both adults, who had the means to support a child.
"She kept mentioning that she should meet you to ask how hard it was to give her up. She wouldn't take my word for it, stating that the reasons I gave Rachel up were completely different from hers. I told her flat out that now she was eighteen you were legally allowed to find her and so far had opted not to. I told her the chances of you looking for her were very slim.
"At this point, our tempers were reaching boiling point, I really wanted her to storm out and cool off, but she's stubborn and kept going. Instead of storming out, she stormed over to me and stood less than ten centimetres from my face absolutely seething. She ordered that I never said that again. I knew the instant I'd said it that I was out of order. She reminded me that she was eighteen and therefore she could find you legally. I calmly told her to do it, and to call me when she did.
"She stormed out, I expected her to cool down and that would be it. Except it wasn't over. She came storming down the stairs with her suitcase insisting she'd find you. She told me she'd find somewhere else to live. Thanks, by the way, for taking her in, I expected her to return later that night, but when she called to say she was safe, I was relieved." Shelby finished.
"It's been great having her stay with us, but-" Quinn began.
"But?" Shelby interrupted.
"Well, everything started out fine, she's bonded with us and met Noah, but the more time I spend with her; the more I realise how little I could have provided for her had I kept her." Quinn stated. Sam edged closer to his wife. He entwined their fingers together for support. "I think all the time I missed out and I know now is an opportunity to rectify that but the distance between us is too great."
"This sounds too similar." Shelby mumbled.
"I know. It's like what you went through with Rachel. I never understood why you wouldn't want to get to know her, she's an amazing per-" Quinn abruptly stopped, realising she was rambling.
"It's similar to Rachel, but not the same. You've got to know Beth, I never got to know Rachel, as soon as we met that was it. I couldn't handle a hormonal teenager, but you, Quinn, you've not only got to know Beth, you've taken her in and handled not just teenage hormones but pregnancy hormones too, added with looking after your son and Sam it's a wonder you've had time to even spend with her at all."
"I really wanted to know her, luckily work understands how hard this is or I'd probably have conceded defeat a lot earlier."
"Conceded defeat? You want her to move out?" Shelby enquired.
"You're her mother, Shelby, not me. You're going to be her child's grandparent, not me. It's only right that she comes home." Quinn said, Shelby noted the finality and sincerity in her voice.
"You don't understand how great it'd be to have her home. She's my baby." Shelby said, a small smile appearing on her face.
"Come over later, I don't know how we're going to do this without offending and upsetting her; we'll figure something out." Quinn said rising from her seat on the couch. Shelby showed them to the front door and watched the two young blondes drive off into the distance.
Sam placed his hand on Quinn's knew as they drove home. "Are you feeling better now, baby?"
Quinn sighed before answering her husband. "I'm glad everything's off my chest but I feel dreadful. We're effectively kicking her out. I'm kicking my own flesh and blood out of our house."
"It's for the best, baby. You said it yourself Shelby is her mother. It's going to be the best for Larry too."
"Why?" Quinn queried.
"Larry always wanted to be the elder sibling, so he could be the role model. I told him he could be a role model to Beth's baby, but I don't think he felt it was the same thing. He knows that he's going to be an uncle, when he really wants to be a big brother."
"Sam, what are you trying to say?"
"I'm trying to say that Quinn, I really want us to have another child. I know that we can't conceive but we can adopt or try IVF. I really want a daughter, one that reminds me of you. I want to look into her eyes and see the warmth from her soul. I want her eyes to pierce me with love, exactly like yours do. I want her to speak in the same soft tone that you do. I want her to have a grace that parts the street when she walks. I want to scare off potential boyfriends when she starts high school. I want another child with you, Quinn, I really do."
"Sam, I do too. I want everything you just said, I want to be able to go crazy with pregnancy hormones, I want to be able to carry our daughter for nine months and most of all I want to give Larry, a little sister, but we have to remember what Doctor Connelly said, it's highly unlikely that we're going to conceive again, plus at the moment regardless of the possibilities and options we have it's not the right time, not now we have this going on. Hold that thought, once we get through this, then we can discuss it again, we can discuss all the possibilities, ok?" Quinn told him as they drew into the driveway. "Ok, but I'll still think exactly the same. You have a son who when you look at, reminds you of me. I want that feeling." Sam added as he took off his seat belt.
They made their way into a silent house. They found a note on the fridge: "We've gone to the park, we'll bring back pizza. See you later, from Larry and Beth.Xx"
"Well it looks like we have a little more time alone." Sam said raising his eyebrows. Quinn blushed. He moved closer and wrapped an arm around her waist. "So..." He mumbled into her ear, lightly kissing her neck. "So..." She mumbled back, arching into his touch, craving for more passionate kisses. "How are we going to deal with Beth?" Sam asked, chuckling as he pulled away from Quinn.
"Huh?" It was the only response she could muster. "You... you said... we have time alone. Remember, how little alone time we get?" She finally uttered. "I thought you wanted to fill it with something...you know." She added, as she blushed a deep shade of crimson.
"I do... I want to talk about how we are going to deal with Beth tonight...Get your mind out of the gutter, Fabray. What did you think I wanted to do?" He asked, raising his eyebrows suggestively once again. "You are so dead." Quinn spit back playfully.
"What are you going to do about it?" Sam joked. Quinn was about to step forward and tell Sam exactly what she planned to do when the front door bust open. "Hey Mum! Hey Dad!" Larry shouted bounding into the kitchen carrying two pizza boxes.
"Guess what we've done today?" He asked, before waiting for an answer, he flung himself into recounting his day with Beth. Quinn moved over to the dining table and sat on Sam's lap. She turned into Sam and whispered into his ear. "Don't worry I haven't forgotten and I fully intend on showing you what I was going to do about it. I suggest you join me and my mind in the gutter." She turned her head back to Larry and continued to listen to his story.
She felt Sam grin into her shoulder, knowing full well his mind was securely trapped in the gutter and not listening to their son's story. Quinn only hoped now that tonight wouldn't be too bad, she had a feeling however, that it would be.