Chapter Two: 7 Weeks
The first time Santana Lopez had laid eyes on Quinn Fabray had been at cheerleading camp, the summer before high school, and there was something about the blonde that struck up feelings in Santana that she had never felt before. The girl had a power about her, even the seniors had been falling over themselves to make friends with her, but for Santana the feelings were more than she had ever felt for another girl before, something that extended beyond the simple want of friendship and had developed only further through the years they had known each other.
Unknown to Santana, the instant connection had been just as strong for Quinn, though her feelings had taken longer to develop, she had known after being around Santana for just a few days that she wouldn't mind if her universe centred only around the feisty brunette that gave her butterflies, made her smile and frazzled her nerves, all at the same time. Years down the track and the brunette still invoked those same mix of feelings in Quinn, with a simple smile, a lingering hug or a shared intense gaze.
And right now, in the bathroom together, the whole rest of the world and all their problems seemed to melt away as lips slowly danced together, bodies pressing closer together in an embrace that was both loving and passionate, until the sound of Santana's phone receiving a text broke them apart.
"Shit," Santana muttered, stepping away quickly from Quinn who mumbled an apology, mistaking the brunette's curse to be directed towards her and not the interruption. "God not you, Q, my stupid phone."
Quinn let a smile tug on her lips at Santana's explanation, kissing Santana had felt so right, there was only one other person she had ever kissed that had stirred feelings in her like that, Puck.
Puck. Suddenly Quinn felt her stomach tighten. They were going to have to tell him that he was going to be a Daddy, times two, and Quinn wasn't sure how the party-animal was going to take such news.
"Have you told Puck yet?" Quinn asked Santana, just as a group of girls pushed into the bathroom and Santana took hold of her hand, dragging her out into the busy hallway.
"I'm meeting him now," Santana explained. "He's going to freak."
"Times two," Quinn reminded her, and the two shared a worried look. "Do I tell him first, or Finn? How did I fuck this up so much?"
Santana's eyes narrowed as she spotted Finn further down the hallway, his head bowed down as his lips locked in a sweet kiss with Rachel Berry.
"Uh look ahead," Santana warned, tightening her grip on Quinn's hand as the blonde saw what she was referring to.
"I'm not really mad at him," Quinn confessed, watching as the pair broke apart sheepishly. "I mean I'm pregnant to his best friend and I just kissed my own best friend in the bathroom. I've been using him to get my own way around here, but I think this current situation is going to bring a burning end to my claim of popularity now."
Santana was surprised how calmly Quinn was talking about the situation, but she knew there was still one big problem in all of this. Quinn's parents were going to kill her when they found out she was pregnant.
"Come with me, we can talk to Puck together, okay?" Santana suddenly had the overwhelming need to protect Quinn, and she had to resist the urge to connect their lips once more as eyes met and Quinn shot her a thankful smile.
"Okay," Quinn agreed softly. She would talk to Puck with Santana, and then she would tell Finn afterwards, but maybe before she talked to Finn, her and Santana could talk a little more, or maybe continue where they had left off in the bathroom.
God what is happening to me? Quinn thought as she followed Santana down the hallway to met Puck. With everything that is going on, kissing Santana shouldn't even be on my mind. But no matter how much she tried to concentrate on the task of telling Puck, her thoughts kept drifting back to the bathroom and wondering why it had taken her so long to realise the feelings she had for Santana were those of love, not just as a friend, but of true love.
The girls met Puck outside by his truck, and he smiled as he watched the two beautiful girls walking hand-in-hand towards him.
"Well if it isn't my fantasy arriving right now, ladies," Puck joked and Quinn's stomach erupted in butterflies as she was instantly clouded with images of herself with the girl next to her and the boy in front of her, at the same time.
"You wish, Puckerman," Santana shot back, and Quinn had to swallow back a moan, the images in her head quickly working with her newly overloaded hormones to create a quick reaction within her body. "You're taking us both to the park, okay?"
The short drive to the park was filled with a comfortable silence, Quinn sat between Puck and Santana on the bench seat, her hand still joined with Santana's, and Puck kept shooting her warm smiles every few minutes until they arrived at their destination.
When they arrived, Santana got out of the truck, tugging Quinn lightly behind her as Puck got out of the driver's door and met the two girls on the other side of the truck.
"You said we have to talk?" Puck asked Santana and the brunette nodded, pointing a few feet away to a shady tree.
"Let's sit down there," Santana and Quinn followed Puck over to the tree, sitting down across from him, their fingers still clutching the others' for support.
Neither girl was sure how to start the conversation with Puck. Though talking was usually something both girls were good at, and both were also good at telling things how they were and not skirting around issues, this was bigger than anything they had dealt with before.
After a few minutes Puck spoke, breaking the silence.
"Are one of you pregnant?" He asked, figuring it was better to get this over with quickly.
"We both are," Santana managed to answer back, moving her gaze up to see the confusion pass across Puck's face before a smile appeared there instead.
"Both of you?" Puck questioned and the two girls nodded. "I'm going to be a Daddy?"
"Times two," Santana used the phrase Quinn had said earlier, though she had to admit Puck was taking it a thousand times better than she had ever hoped he would.
"Awesome," Puck grinned. "The Puckasaurus is a machine!"
"Trust you," Santana teased, her nerves settling at the sight of Puck smiling, but Quinn still stayed tense next to her. "Q, what's the matter?"
"Finn is going to kill me," she said gently. "Not to mention my parents."
"Finn won't care," Puck countered. "He's too busy thinking about getting into Berry's pants."
"My Mom already knows about me," Santana told the other two. "She was surprisingly okay with it, and we told my Dad and well, he wants to kill you, Puck, but he's okay too."
Puck shrugged, "My Mom is going to be so pissed I got two girls pregnant and neither of them are Jewish."
Quinn didn't comment, she knew how life went at the Fabray house, important things were swept under the rug and never discussed because they might bring shame upon the Fabray name. Unless of course Russell Fabray had been drinking, then he would rant and rave for hours, steadily drinking more and more until he lashed out at his wife or daughter.
Santana and Puck both noticed how quiet Quinn was being and at the same time as Santana wrapped an arm around Quinn's waist, Puck slipped his hand into Quinn's hand, linking their fingers.
Somehow, something that should have felt awkward, just felt natural to all three teenagers, and as Puck and Santana's eyes locked over Quinn's head, they shared a soft smile, one that held far more feelings than any smile between them ever had.
The three teenagers sat in the park for a little while longer, talking about the reaction from Santana's parents and then the conversation turned to Santana's scan that her Mom had booked her in for Saturday.
"Are you going to go for a scan too, Quinn?" Puck asked Quinn curiously, and she just shrugged, biting back tears as she thought about how supportive Santana's parents had been and how lucky the brunette was.
"Do you want to talk to my Mom?" Santana offered, Quinn had shared a little bit about her family with her best friend, but Santana could tell things at home were a lot worse for the blonde than she let on.
Quinn thought for a minute, she had always had a great relationship with Santana's parents, they treated her like their own daughter, and Santana sometimes joked that her parents liked Quinn more than they liked her.
"I think so," Quinn's quiet voice finally spoke, and Puck was a little shocked. He had experienced many different sides of Quinn over the years, from the bitchy head cheerleader he saw every day at school to the insecure, needy girl he had slept with - and if he was honest with himself he was in love with every side of the girl he had seen - but this vulnerability was something he had never seen from the blonde. Seeing her this way made him want to sweep her up in his arms and protect her from her worries.
"Do you want me to come with you to tell Finn?" Puck questioned, not wanting the blonde girl to feel like she was having to do this alone, not when she hadn't gotten into the situation alone.
"Speak of the Frankenteen and he shall appear," Santana nodded across the park to where Finn and Rachel were walking together, close but not touching.
"Fuck," Quinn swore, and Santana and Puck noticed her body stiffening, her defences coming back up.
"You don't have to tell him," Puck said gently.
Quinn shrugged, her face blank as she locked eyes with Finn and he directed Rachel towards the three teenagers.
"He might as well know, then he can be with Rachel and at least one of us will be happy."
Puck and Santana shared a concerned look as Quinn stood up to meet Finn and Rachel who were standing with some distance between them now, in front of the blonde cheerleader.
"Hey Quinn," Finn shot his girlfriend a small smile, seeing the blank look in her eyes and wondering if she was going to yell and scream at him for being out with Rachel.
"This is cosy," Quinn commented, her voice full of snark.
"Quinn," Finn started, but Quinn quickly interrupted him.
"We need to talk, Finn," and as she said that she spun on her heels, walking a few feet away from the tree, hearing Finn follow her. When they were a short distance away, Quinn stopped and Finn stood awkwardly. It wasn't until he noticed the blonde girl's shoulders shaking with tears that he moved around to stand in front of Quinn, taking her hands in his, but Quinn snatched them away.
"Don't," she snapped. "I don't deserve this, your kindness and your concern. You should be with her, at least she wouldn't be with you just to be popular."
The second half of Quinn's sentence didn't raise anything in Finn, he knew what their relationship was, it was why he had been able to find himself so easily falling for Rachel, even though he was still technically Quinn's boyfriend. But the first part confused him, he couldn't work out why Quinn was saying she didn't deserve his kindness and concern when she was obviously upset about something.
"I don't understand," Finn finally said. "Whatever I did, I'm sorry."
"I'm pregnant," Quinn blurted out, before her brain could stop her mouth. She felt beyond terrible as she watched his face pale, the words sinking in, realising that the baby couldn't be his as they had never gone that far.
"Who?" Finn managed to get out, and Quinn's eyes darted back over to where Puck was sitting, engaging in awkward conversation with Rachel while Santana sat in silence. "Oh."
"You have every right to be angry," Quinn choked out. "Please yell at me or something."
Finn shrugged, he was a little pissed that Quinn had slept with his best friend and not with him, but he knew their relationship was only ever because that was what was expected of them as head cheerleader and football captain, not because any feelings existed between them.
"I'm not angry, Quinn," Finn promised, reaching forward to lay a hand on Quinn's shoulder. "I mean I care about you and all, but I know what this was, and well, you might have noticed I'm kinda into Rachel."
Quinn couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face. She had been so scared of telling Puck, and then Finn, but both of the teenage boys had taken it better than she could have ever hoped, she only wished she could have the same happy ending when she told her parents, though she knew that would never happen.
"I kinda noticed," Quinn's voice was lighter as she teased Finn, enjoying the blush that covered the taller boy's cheeks as he peeked back at Rachel. "I want you to be happy, Finn."
"So you and Puck?" Finn raised an eyebrow and Quinn shook her head.
"It was just a one time thing," Quinn replied with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Well I think he's kinda into you," Finn said sincerely. "I think he always has been."
Quinn allowed herself to look around Finn, her eyes connecting with the concerned eyes of first Puck, and then Santana. "I think this is all more complicated than you can guess right now."
Finn shrugged his shoulders, reaching out to draw Quinn into a friendly hug.
"You're a strong woman, Quinn Fabray. I'm sure you can take whatever life throws at you."
Quinn only wished she could believe his kind words.
Finn and Rachel had stayed around to talk for a short while, and as they left, Quinn noticed Finn slipping his hand into Rachel's, linking their fingers as he shot her a small smile.
The three teenagers watched the other two walk off, and when they were a considerable distance away, Puck and Santana turned to Quinn.
"So he took it okay?" Santana's voice was worried, despite it seeming like things had gone well between Quinn and Finn.
"He knew what our relationship was, and I think he's just glad this means he gets a chance with Rachel. Though I asked him not to say anything to her yet, we all know how big Berry's mouth is."
Puck and Santana laughed as they nodded. Rachel Berry was well known for speaking her mind and often her mouth got away from her, she couldn't be trusted with a secret this big.
"And of course I didn't mention anything about you," Quinn told Santana, smiling at the darker girl. "I just said you were here for support."
"I am here to support you, Q," Santana reminded the blonde girl, reaching out to rest her hand on Quinn's thigh which was exposed thanks to the short cheerleaders skirt that Quinn was wearing.
"I'm here to support you too, San," Quinn smiled, resting her hand on top of Santana's hand, joining their fingers slightly and wondering if the other girl could feel the same sparks that filled Quinn's body every time they touched.
"And I'm here to support both of you," Puck joined in, taking Santana's free hand in one of his own and resting his other hand on the small of Quinn's back. "I know I've never been the kind of guy to own up to his responsibilities, and I know my own Dad was a screw-up but I promise to be here for both of you, for both my children, no matter what."
The three teenagers shared small smiles with each other, all well aware of what the close proximity of the other two to themselves was doing to their bodies and wondering if either of the others was feeling the same.
As the trio sat in a content silence the air began to turn cold as the sun disappeared from the sky, signalling the beginning of the end of the day.