Chapter Three: 7 Weeks
After Puck had dropped them back to school, walking them to their cars and kissing each of the girls on the cheek in a very un-Puck gesture, Quinn and Santana had driven their own cars to Santana's house.
Santana pulled in a few minutes before Quinn and sat in her car as she waited for the blonde to arrive. When Quinn arrived, Santana got out of her car, locking it before she walked the few steps to Quinn's car where she still sat, gripping her steering wheel tightly.
Worried, Santana opened the driver's door and bent down to talk to Quinn, covering the girl's hands with her own and easing them of their death-grip.
"Q, you don't have to talk to my Mom if you don't want to," Santana reminded her best friend, her chest tightening as Quinn turned to her with tears sparkling in her green eyes.
"I want to," Quinn choked out. "And I decided on the drive here that I want to tell my parents tonight, I know they are going to disown me and I want to get that over with."
"You really don't have to do that right now," Santana argued. "You have a few months before they are going to suspect anything."
Santana was terrified about Quinn telling her parents she was pregnant, for Santana often had been at Quinn's house when Russell stumbled in, drunk and angry, once lashing out and slapping Quinn in the face right in front of Santana. And Santana knew that Quinn's Mom Judy was an alcoholic too, ignoring the needs of her daughter in a bid to keep the peace with Russell. She too had been there the night Russell assaulted Quinn in front of Santana, but the older woman had only scolded her daughter for upsetting her father, instead of offering comfort to or protecting Quinn.
"I need to tell them, San," Quinn tried to explain. "I've spent the past few days trying to kid myself into thinking that there was no way I was pregnant, but now I know for sure I am going to drive myself crazy with thinking my Dad will somehow know and have a go at me for it. At least if I tell them and they kick me out I can try to work out where I'm going to live and what I'm going to do about my situation, without the worry about my parents."
Santana nodded her understanding, pulling Quinn out of the car to wrap her arms around the quivering blonde in a tight hug.
"You're stronger than you believe, Q," Santana murmured in Quinn's ear, feeling the blonde's arms tighten as she hugged Santana back. The pair stood contently until Quinn started to shiver and Santana broke their embrace, reaching for Quinn's hand and pulling her towards the front door.
"Mami? Papi?" Santana's voice called out as she shut the door behind herself and Quinn.
The sounds of a TV could be easily heard and Santana led Quinn in the direction of the living room where she guessed her parents were.
Both Maribel and Carlos Lopez looked up as their daughter entered the room, smiling at the sight of her best friend as well.
"Hello, girls," Carlos greeted the pair, noticing Quinn wasn't her usual self, but he was glad to see a bit of colour back in Santana's face, after she told them the night before that she was pregnant.
"Hi Papi," Santana dropped Quinn's hand to take the few steps towards her Father, brushing a kiss against his cheek in greeting.
"How are you feeling?" Carlos asked, remembering Maribel sharing with him last night that their daughter had been suffering quite a lot with morning sickness.
"I'm okay," Santana shrugged with a smile before turning to face her Mother. "Mami, can Quinn and I talk to you in the kitchen?"
Maribel nodded, turning to give her husband a quizzical look as she followed the two girls out of the living room. Carlos pondered what other news Santana could possibly have besides being pregnant at sixteen but he shook the thoughts out of his head and picked up his newspaper, he wasn't sure he really wanted to know what could top that.
In the kitchen Maribel stood anxiously against the counter, watching Santana carefully as she tried to make eye contact with Quinn who in turn looked like she was going to throw up or cry.
"Mami," Santana started, much the same as she had the night before, and the sentence that followed was almost identical as well. "Quinn is pregnant too."
It took Maribel a second to process the words, and in those few seconds Quinn let out a choked sob, her legs failing her and she would have dropped to the floor had it not been for Santana's strong arms that caught her around the waist and held her tightly.
"Oh Quinn, sweetheart," Maribel rushed forward to wrap her arms around Quinn's neck, the blonde girl had always been just like another daughter to her, and she felt her maternal instinct kick in much as it had 24 hours earlier with the same news from Santana.
"The Father is Puck, Mami," Santana informed Maribel, who frowned at her daughter.
"I thought he was the Father to your baby," Maribel questioned and Santana nodded.
"We both slept with Puck in the same week," Santana explained and Maribel nodded her understanding.
"I take it you haven't told your parents, sweetie?" Maribel asked Quinn who shook her head quickly.
"I want to," Quinn's voice was barely above a whisper. "I need to tell them so I can get it over and done with."
"Quinn why don't you go up to my room and I'll be there in a minute," Santana suggested, wanting a moment to talk to her Mom about Quinn telling her parents, without the blonde girl in the room.
Quinn nodded, and Santana gradually released the hold she had of Quinn's waist, making sure she was stable on her feet before she let go completely. She watched with worry as her best friend left the room slowly.
"Mami, I'm worried about Quinn telling her parents," Santana said quietly as soon as Quinn was out the room.
Maribel nodded, Santana had shared pieces of Quinn's home life with her before, when she had feared for her friend's safety and Maribel had often suggested that Quinn stay with them for a night or two if Russell was on a rampage.
"Your Papi can take the two of you?" Maribel suggested and Santana decided that was the best idea, then he could be there if they needed him. Santana hugged her Mom, she was never so glad that she had supportive parents than she was in her current situation.
As Santana was just about to leave the room to go upstairs to Quinn, Maribel spoke again.
"Santana?"
Santana turned back around, seeing the worry in Maribel's eyes.
"Whatever happens, make sure you bring Quinn back here tonight, okay? Even if things seem okay with her parents."
Santana nodded, feeling tears flood her eyes which she quickly tried to blink back as she practically ran up the stairs, knowing her Mom would talk to her Dad about the three of them going to Quinn's house.
As Santana approached her bedroom she could see Quinn pacing nervously in front of the bed and as soon as the brunette appeared in her line of sight, Quinn threw herself into Santana's arms, knowing that was one of the only places she felt safe right now.
The two girls stood in their embrace for a few minutes before Santana spoke.
"My Dad is going to come with us to your house," Santana explained, pulling back a little so she could meet Quinn's eyes. "He can stay in the car, just in case you need him."
"You'll be there with me though, right?" Quinn's voice quickly asked and Santana nodded, knowing she would be right where Quinn needed her, no matter what. "How did I get so lucky to have a best friend like you, San?"
"The same was I was so lucky to get you as a best friend too, Kitten," Santana replied honestly as Quinn nuzzled her face into Santana's neck, just like a cat.
"I'm pregnant."
The words were no sooner out of Quinn's mouth and Russell Fabray had leapt across the room, his fists falling harshly on his daughter, raining blow after blow down on her in quick succession.
Santana had her Dad's number up on screen and she hit the call button as she tried to get between Russell and Quinn, unsuccessfully. Santana winced as Russell's fist connected with the side of her face and she swung her own fist back at him, hitting him in the jaw, feeling a pain shoot through her whole hand and up into her wrist. Russell turned slightly to land a few more punches to Santana's face before turning his answer back to Quinn, his hits seemingly coming faster and harder against the blonde.
Judy sat on the couch, unmoving as her husband lay into their youngest daughter, she had long since learnt that she could never stop him, and if she didn't interfere, she might not have to deal with his anger, even if that meant leaving Quinn at his mercy.
At the loud shout from Carlos, Russell's fists stopped their assault, though he was physically shaking as he tried to control his rage.
"You're not my daughter," Russell spat at Quinn who shrunk away from his harsh words.
"Here's what's going to happen," Carlos seethed. "Quinn and Santana are going to go upstairs and pack Quinn's things and then Quinn is coming to stay with us, and I don't want to ever hear that either of you have ever spoken to her again, much less laid a hand on her."
Carlos nodded at Santana who quickly led Quinn out of the room and up to her bedroom so they could pack her things.
When they reached Quinn's bedroom, Santana ignored the burning pain in her hand as she took Quinn's hands in her own, looking over the damage that Russell's fists had caused.
Quinn's nose was bleeding, her eye had already started to swell shut and her lip was busted open. There was cuts to her cheeks and her forehead and bruising was already starting to form.
"I'm going to fucking kill him," Santana whispered through clenched teeth but Quinn shook her head.
"No you're not," Quinn finally looked up into Santana's eyes, seeing how dark with rage they were. "I need you here with me, not locked up in some jail cell."
The girls stood together with their eyes locked for a few seconds more before Quinn remembered what they were doing there in her bedroom and started to grab a few suitcases to pack up her belongings.
Santana helped Quinn, the girls working in silence until they had three suitcases full of Quinn's belongings. As they were zipping up the last suitcase Carlos appeared in the doorway, taking in the two girls in front of him. He could see that Quinn's injuries appeared to be only minor, though he thought it was possible that one or a mixture of Quinn's nose, eye socket and cheekbone were broken. As he turned his attention to Santana he instantly noticed her right arm clutched to her chest, her knuckles bloody and swollen.
"Are you girls ready?" Carlos asked, and Santana turned to Quinn, seeing the blonde look around her room one last time before nodding and going to pick up a suitcase.
"I got these," Carlos told Quinn, taking it from her hand and nodding at the door. "You two go down to the car and I'll bring the bags."
As the three of them walked past Russell Fabray who was standing at the front door, he took a threatening step towards Quinn, but seeing Carlos surge forward, he stepped back, slamming the door shut as soon as they were on the front porch.
"Come on," Carlos spoke as he followed Santana and Quinn down the front steps. "Let's get you two home before your Mami goes crazy with worry."
"Speaking of worried," Santana said as she opened the rear passenger door for Quinn. "I better call Puck, I told him we were coming over here and he will be going crazy wondering what has happened."
Quinn scooted across the backseat, letting Santana join her as they fastened their seatbelts so Carlos could drive.
Santana dialled Puck's number, smiling as he answered before the second ring.
"Are you okay? Is Quinn okay?" His frantic voice was easily heard through the phone by both Quinn and Carlos.
"He was mad," Santana explained. "He hit Quinn."
"That mother fucker," Puck yelled. "I'm going to fucking kill him."
"No you're not," Quinn reached over and took the phone from Santana. "I'll tell you the same thing I told Santana when she said that exact sentence ten minutes ago. I need you here with me, not locked up in some jail cell."
Quinn handed Santana back her phone and let the brunette try to calm Puck down as she closed her eyes and tried to ignore the pain that radiated from every inch of her face.
"Yeah he hit me too, just a few times, but I got a good swing in as well," Santana tried to brush off her injuries, but Puck was too worried about both the girls to be calmed down.
"Tell him I'm picking up your Mami and then taking you two to the hospital, he can meet us there," Carlos spoke up from the front. Though he wanted to hate the young man for knocking up his daughter, he could tell from the worry in the teenager's voice that he cared deeply for both Quinn and Santana, and he could easily sense the feelings were reciprocated by both of the teenage girls.
"I wonder how this is all going to pan out," Carlos thought, wondering which of the three teens was going to end up with their heart broken from the love triangle.