Disclaimer- I don't own glee or its characters.
Thank you all once again for the reviews. To those who have reviewed more than once you guys rock, to those who are first time reviewers, I'm glad you like the story so far. In addition, your patience has been epic, as always… I'm not the best updater, but your patients are well appreciated. I will try to update better in the future, I know how it feels to be waiting for an update since there are so many good pics on this site.
As always all mistakes are my own
Late Morning Lullaby
Quinn had no problem waking up for work the next morning, she couldn't wait to take her shower, she couldn't wait to put on her white suit, and she couldn't wait to rush downstairs to see the lovely brunette who would be busy cooking breakfast for her. So when her alarm went off at five Quinn found herself for once getting out of bed without hitting the snooze button, or waiting for her morning wakeup call. She didn't even enjoy her shower as much as she usually did. Before she knew it, she was fully dressed and was ready to head downstairs, she had cut her morning routine by fifteen minutes, and that was fifteen extra minutes she would get to spend with Rachel.
"There is a first time for everything." She shrugs as she grabs her phone before leaving her bedroom. As she makes her way down the hallway, she can't help but sneak a look into Beth's room. "Oh dear god." Quinn gasps when she sees Beth tangled in her blankets., not to mention the numerous amounts of pillows and stuffed animals thrown around the room.
"Maaamaaa" the sleepy girl whines from the confines of her blankets. "I can't get out… the ooooctttooopusssss has a hold of me." The blonde girl cries out as she struggles against the blankets. Quinn can't help but smile at the helpless and still probably asleep child. She quietly walks in to help the poor sleeping child out.
"Oh baby, what happened?" Quinn coos as she attempts to detangle the girl from her blankets. Beth's eyes were still closed. "Are you still asleep?" she asks as she untangles one of Beth's legs from the sheets. "Christ… you have way too many blankets."
"Careful mama the octopus will get you." Beth groans as she is finally freed from the clutches of her blankets.
"There… no more octopuses." Quinn recovers the sleeping girl and moves to leave.
"Waaaiit, don't leave me." Beth blindly grabs for her mom.
"Beth sweetie… it's still early and you are still asleep."
"I'm not." Beth tries to open her eyes only to have them close once again. "If you leave me the octopuses will get me again." Beth starts to roll over causing her blankets to twist around her.
'Oh dear god… she's too cute.' There would be no use in trying to reason with the still sleeping child. 'She gets that from me.' "Do you want to come downstairs with me?" Beth nods into her pillow. "Okay." there would be no harm in having the girl sleep on the couch until she was fully awake. Quinn quickly scoops the sleeping child into her arms, blankets and all, and carries her downstairs. As she reached the last stair she could hear Rachel in the kitchen, and from the sound of it, she was busy cooking breakfast. Quinn could barely make out the soft light voice coming from the kitchen, it sounded like a better version of I Won't Give Up. Quinn lays the sleeping girl down on the living room couch, making sure the blonde child was completely covered before slowing walking towards the kitchen. She stopped once she saw Rachel, who was currently humming lightly to herself while pulling something out of the oven. She was dressed in her usual attire, jeans, and a sweater, only today she had her hair pinned back loosely. 'I could watch this all day.' Quinn thinks as her eyes follow Rachel's movements around the kitchen.
Rachel turns as soon as she feels someone watching her. Sure enough, there was Quinn, leaning in the doorway. She couldn't help but smile as soon as she saw her.
"Good morning Rachel" Quinn breathes as she saunters further into the kitchen. It takes a moment for Rachel to collect herself before she returns to what she was doing.
"Good morning to you too." Rachel smiles, and sets the food from the oven down on the counter. She then grabs the nearby coffee cup and places it in front of Quinn, who was now sitting in her usual place with her newspaper. "Here you go, one scalding hot cup of coffee."
"Thank you… breakfast smells amazing as usual, what are we having?" Quinn asks as she takes a sip of her coffee.
"Well… I made a plum and blueberry galette." Rachel shrugs as she pulls out another pastry from the oven.
"A what?" Quinn tries to see what exactly the girl had in her hands. Thankfully, Rachel set them down in front of her.
"It's like a baked fruit tart with almond cream. It tastes amazing, trust me." Rachel says as she starts to cut the breakfast pastry. She then lays a piece in front of Quinn, who eyes it suspiciously. "I'm sure you'll like it Quinn. If I had mentioned to my fathers I was making this, they would have been here and eaten the entire thing by now."
Quinn looks at it one more time. 'It does look good, and Rachel has always made me amazing food.' She cuts a small piece and places it in her mouth. "HOTT!" she moves the food around her mouth, trying to cool it, but only burns more of her tongue in the process.
"Careful Quinn, you just saw me take it out of the oven." Finally, she chews and swallows.
"Holy crap that's amazing, and really hot… but damn that's… it's better than a doughnut." Quinn exclaims as she cuts another piece. This time she blows on it before she puts it in her mouth. 'It's still like molten lava' she thinks as she moves it around her mouth. 'But it's so good.'
"Well, I'm glad you approve." Rachel gleams as she grabs her own coffee and takes a sip. She watches as Quinn devours half of her piece. "I've been tinkering with the recipe for a couple of years, but now I think I can finally say it is perfected. Normally I wouldn't be so quick to say it's perfect… since you can always improve on something but-"
"Mmmnnm Rach, you have got to try this." Quinn moans as she interrupts Rachel. Rachel comes face to face with Quinn's fork as she leans over the table offering her a bite. Rachel can't help but hesitate a moment as she eyes the utensil that was just being used by the blonde, before leaning forward to capture it between her lips. She couldn't help but linger longer than she had too before pulling away. "Good right?" Quinn says as she leans back into her seat.
"Mmhmm, it's good." Rachel licks her lips as Quinn takes another bite.
"So… what do you have planned today?" Quinn asks after she swallows her food.
"Well, it's Beth's first day of karate so I'll probably be helping her pick out an outfit for that. We might go to the park if it's nice out too. What about you, anything important planned at work?"
"Just the usual, meetings upon meetings. I should be home relatively early, I want to make it to Beth's first class if possible. That reminds me, I left the paperwork upstairs in my office. Oh, and I somehow have to get Santana to agree to watch Beth on Friday." 'That should be easy.' She thinks sarcastically.
"Why don't we get your mom to watch her that night?" Rachel asks. "Surely Judy wouldn't mind watching her for a few hours."
"I… u-um." Quinn stutters. "I just that I'm, I've… I'm not sure if I should… if we should. It would probably be best if she didn't know we were going out… you know, on a date." Quinn says in a hushed tone as if someone could hear her. Rachel sips her coffee before she looks back at Quinn with some confusion.
"Oh… she doesn't know that you're…" she waves her fork around.
"Um no, I've never really told her." 'Though sometimes I wonder.'
"But what about Santana, you two dated in college, right?" Rachel pulls Quinn from her thoughts.
"Yes… but I played it off as a phase, then you know I got pregnant. I mean… are you? Have you dated a woman before." Quinn stumbles over her words like a teenager in high school.
Rachel looks down at her hands, she picks at her cuticles. "I… I wouldn't call it dating I guess…" she mumbles "It was a little more… complicated than dating."
Rachel wasn't telling her the whole story that much she knew, and as much as she wanted to find out more, she knew that she shouldn't push, since what was happening between the two of them was so new. "I understand Rachel, it seems like it might be hard to talk about… I mean we've known each other for what six, seven months now, and even though I… we've kissed… I'm not expecting you to be so open with me yet, but if you ever want to talk about things, I'm here. "
"I know…" Rachel sniffs back her tears. She really hated crying over this specific subject, but no matter how hard she tried to push past her demons and get over what happened, it somehow slithered its way back into her life. She just wanted to move on with her life.
Quinn reaches across the table, she places her hand on top of Rachel's squeezing it lightly. "I don't want you to be sad so early in the morning." Quinn whispers. "It's far too early for someone so beautiful to be upset." She gives Rachel a small smile, who in return laughs lightly.
"Was that a line?"
"Maybe? ... at least I got you to smile. Can I ask you a question?" Rachel nods. "Does this person have some connection as to why you dropped out of college?" Quinn says in a low voice.
It takes Rachel a moment to collect herself before she nods. "Yes… it does, but I'm not quite ready to talk about it yet… I am happy for what happened to me in some ways, because without them I would have never met Beth and you."
They sat in silence through the rest of breakfast, enjoying each other's company and in some ways each other's comfort. Quinn was actually disappointed when she noticed she had to leave soon. "I should probably get going soon." She finishes off her coffee before making her way towards the front door. Rachel follows behind her, the two of them snuck past the living room couch, and past the sleeping wild child who was fighting of giant sea creatures from the deep. Quinn turns towards Rachel, who hands her a travel mug. "Is it bad that I really want to kiss you right now?" Quinn whispers.
Rachel blushes. "No… I've wanted to do the same thing to you all morning." Quinn starts to lean in to capture Rachel's lips only to be stopped just before they met. "Quinn… I know you are not trying to kiss me before you take me out on a proper date, are you?" Rachel says in a hushed tone.
Quinn wants nothing more than to capture those lips with hers, Rachel's hot breath on her lips was driving her crazy. "But… we've already kissed." She tries to argue, hoping Rachel will give in to temptation.
"I know… and it was a very… very incredible kiss…" she pulls further away from Quinn. "But… If you think, you can kiss me without taking me out on a date first Fabray, you are sadly mistaken." Rachel jokes.
"That's not fair… just one kiss?" Quinn pouts. Rachel can't help but melt a little bit by the older woman's antics. 'Now I know where Beth gets her pout from.'
"Fine… but only if you close your eyes." she gives Quinn a small smile. Quinn quickly looks behind Rachel at the couch where her daughter was sleeping, just to make sure she was still asleep before closing her eyes. It felt like an eternity, then she felt the lightest touch of Rachel's lips against hers. It was over far quicker than Quinn liked. When she opened her eyes, Rachel had already backed a few feet away from her.
"I'll see you later tonight at the Dojo." Rachel says as she retreats back into the house leaving Quinn standing in the doorway.
Monday mornings at the office were the worst ever. Quinn had barely made it through the door before being bombarded with questions from her employees. She held her breath as she passed through the hordes of 'good mornings', and 'how was your weekends?' as she made her way to her office. "Thank god." She closes the door behind her and turns on her lights.
"Quinn!"
"Jesus! Santana what the hell!" the Latina was sitting on the couch already. "You scared the shit… how did you even get in here before me… my door was locked." Quinn makes her way over to her desk and drops her briefcase.
"I made a double of your keys months ago…" she shrugs nonchalantly.
'Well, that's not surprising.' "what can I do for you this early on a Monday morning." Quinn asks as she settles down behind her desk.
"We have got a serious problem Q. Like… seriously serious."
"Really two seriouses' in a row, this must be serious." Quinn jokes.
"Don't mock me Fabray… I'm not afraid to cut that beautiful pale skin of yours." Santana threatens.
"Yeah, so I've been told... so what seems to be so serious that it couldn't wait until after my faculty meeting?"
"I need you to fire your assistant." Santana says flatly.
"Excuse me? Why am I firing my assistant? And please don't say it's because she's following you, or something." Quinn raises her eyebrow.
"Quinn seriously… this chick is crazy and the term is stalking, I'm a victim here… she left me 17 voice messages Quinn… in two days, and most of them are of her breathing into the answering machine for like five minutes. The girl has got to go."
"Santana… I can't fire my assistants every time you sleep with them and then don't call them back. I told you to stay away from her… all of them for that matter, I can't firer her because you want me to get rid of her."
"Fine, then fire her for something else… like all those meetings she missed last week because she was having sex with me in the janitors closet."
"San… stop I'm not firing Amanda… no wait, is it Amanda?" 'Shit, what was her name?' Quinn gets lost for a minute.
"Um… I think that was your last assistant." Santana helps.
"Right she had that red ginger hair…" the light bulb goes off in her head.
"See, you don't even know the girl's name… where's the harm. You get rid of a mediocre assistant, and I get some space from the clinger until she realizes I'm not interested anymore. It's a win win really."
"Santana… I'm not going to fire my assistant."
"Please Quinn… I really need your help here. I'll do anything."
The light bulb went off in Quinn's head again. "Anything?"
"Yes… anything you name it and it's done."
Quinn thinks about it for a moment. "Fine… but I'm not going to fire her… I'll just promote her over to finance, or something."
"Yes, Quinn thank you."
"But… as for my conditions…" Quinn opens a desk drawer and pulls a bunch of files from it. "This is a stack of prescreened assistants that you will go through and interview for me, you will notice they are now all male, since I've been through all of my female applicants. I want you to find me a new assistant by the end of the work day."
"What!" Santana gasps.
"And you will also be babysitting for me on Friday." 'Victory thy name is Quinn.'
"What… no Quinn, that's my clubbing night. Quinn come on, you can't mess with a girl's weekend."
"Those are my conditions, if you don't like it, then you might as well get use to Ashley." Quinn says nonchalantly as she eyes her fingernails.
"Fine, whatever, I'll do it." Santana gets up from the couch and grabs the folders from Quinn.
"There's another thing, I'll need you to pick Beth up from her karate classes that day too."
"Quinn I thought that you had a nanny for a reason… why can't your girl do it for you since it's her job. Unless… Quinn, don't tell me you have a date with that lovely lady on legs." Quinn blushes. "Oh my god you do! When did all of this happen?"
'This weekend… we got her all moved in, and we may have kissed at the Sunday night family dinner… and made out more when we got home."
"No freaking way, Quinn this is great. Finally, you'll get some rid of those sexual frustrations you've had for the last five years. Please tell me you've had some of Berry's berries." Santana crossed fingers
"San!"
Work work work. Quinn had been through several meetings by noon, she had also sent her assistant Ashley to finance, per her and Santana's agreement. She felt bad sending the girl to another department, but Ashley would be getting a raise and hopefully Santana would get some space. 'Speaking of Santana, where the hell is she?' Quinn's office door flies open. "What the hell San… knock please."
Santana tosses the files on the desk. "Okay this is as far as I can narrow this pile of crap down, I can't believe you're going to hire a male assistant… anyway these are the three that I think aren't completely incapable of functioning… Blaine Anderson… short dark and well gay, seems to be able to understand how a coffee machine works, Blondie Mic Fish Lips… is probably your long lost brother from another mother, seems to be able to take the unfathomable amount of shit I threw at him during his interview… also does these very cheesy impressions of famous people. Which I personally thought was terrible but I figured Beth might find them hilarious, and keep her entertained while her mother fucks her nanny in her office when she comes to see you." Quinn hits Santana. "Ow… what the fuck."
"That will never happen."
"Oh please you'll love office sex thrust me it's better that school sex and is right up there with car sex. Anyway, last but not least the foreign guy from England or Ireland, I don't really remember, but he would be a great little follower, I think you could get him to do your work for you if you ask… but those are the only people I think will be of any good, and I promise none of them make my lady junk jump so you will not need to replace them anytime soon."
"Well… maybe I'll have a follow up interview, see how it goes. Thank you. And you'll be happy to know that my late assistant is getting settled on the 44th floor. So I held up my part of the deal. Now all you have to do is deliver the second part of the deal on Friday."
"Yeah, I got it… pick up your devil child from her dance thing, and watch her while you get your sweet lady kisses on with her nanny. So where do you plan on taking Rachel for your date?"
"I'm not sure yet… dinner probably… then I was thinking dancing, or something?"
"You can't dance Quinn. I mean I have seen what you call dancing and I hate to break your white girl's dream, but the sprinkler is not a dignified dance move."
"Well, for your information Santana, the same place that teaches Beth also has a late night dance class that I'm sure could teach me to dance." 'Hopefully.'
"I don't know Quinn… dancing for a first date."
"Why do you think it's too much… what would you do on your first date?"
"Well, dinner is a must… someplace fancy. You guys can have some drinks, talk… then I say keep it simple and take a walk through the park."
"The park… but that's so… so highschool."
"It's a classic… romantic stroll through downtown, come on they write books with that shit."
"I don't know San… maybe."
"Look, I'm not saying that you can't go wild and go dancing, I just think that for your first date you should be trying to get to know her better, not trying to show her you can't dance to save your life."
It was something Quinn would have to think about. Should she go over the top, or keep it simple and calm.
'Thank god it's only Monday. I don't need to make up my mind just yet.'
Back at home, Rachel was helping Beth get dressed for her lesson, it was her first day of classes, and Beth really wanted to look the part of a karate student. Unfortunately, she hadn't received her actual uniform yet for class, so Rachel was dressing her up as best as she could.
"Then mommy pulled me from the clutches of the, the octopusessss arms." Beth was telling Rachel all about her dream of the sea monster, and how she was saved by her mom.
"Wow, your mom is one brave lady." Rachel helps pull a t-shirt over the girls head.
"Is she going to be able to make it today?" Beth asks.
"She's going to try to make it honey. She really wants to see you do all of those crazy moves." Beth smiles. "You not nervous are you?"
"Um… no." Beth doesn't quite convince Rachel.
"It's okay to be a little nervous. I remember my first dance lesson, I was so excited, but I remember being a little shy meeting the rest of my classmates. However, in the end, I ended making a few friends, and it made dancing a little bit more fun." Rachel finishes dressing Beth. "Well… that should do it until you get your uniform."
"How do I look?" Beth asks as she spins.
"Well… you look like a mini street fighter."
"What?"
"Maybe the bandanna is too much." Rachel mutters.
Beth clung tightly to Rachel's hand as they entered the dancing Dojo. They had gotten there ahead of time so Rachel could turn in Beth's paper work.
"Hey there Beth." Brittany the teacher greets her as they walk into the studio. "I'm glad to see you'll be joining us today." Brittany says in a cheery voice. "The other kids will be so excited to meet you." Beth hides slightly behind Rachel. She wasn't scared of Brittany, she just didn't know very many adults, just her mom, Rachel, grandma, and Rachel's dads… oh and the soup lady.
'But Brittany seems fun, and she liked to smile just as much as me.' Beth thinks as she watches Brittany make her way towards them.
"Hey… Bethy why don't you say hello to Ms. Pierce." Rachel whispers to her.
"Hello Ms. Pierce." Beth whispers.
"Goodness she is so polite for five. But you can call me Brittany from now on. We are going to have so much fun today. It's good to see you again Rachel. I see you brought me the paperwork, I can take that from you, and I'll make sure Beth gets both of her uniforms before you leave today."
"That sounds great."
"So are you ready for your first lesson, Beth." Beth nods. "It's going to be starting soon, why don't I lead you to your class so you can meet some of the other kids." Brittany holds out her hand and waits for Beth to take it.
"What about Rachel… can't she come with me?"
"Oh, I'm sorry sweetie, I can't. But I'll be standing right at the window watching you, okay? Now go have fun, and make some new friends."
Beth lets Brittany lead her into the room with the blue mats. Inside a bunch of children, were busy running around, jumping on the mats, and doing somersaults. Beth was starting to get nervous, she really hasn't met anyone else her age. The kids didn't seem to notice her as she was led into the center of the mat.
"Okay class everyone settle down! Get into your lines!" Brittany yells to catch the attention of the crazy kids. But as soon as she told them to get into their lines, the four students sit down in their respected places. "Thank you class, now before your sensei comes in, I wanted to introduce you all to a new student that will be joining you guys today. This is Beth." The kids eye her up and down. "Beth this is Bradley Anderson." Brittany points to a grumpy looking five year old sitting in the first spot. "This is Bradley's second lesson in karate." Brittany explains.
"Aw man, more girls." He grumbles and folds his arms.
"And sitting next to Bradley is Tommy Cohen Chang-Chang and his twin sister Michelle jr., but they just call her jr. for short. "She points out both of the Asian kids. Beth notices that Tommy seemed shy like her, while jr. waved when she was introduced.
"My daddy wanted to name me after him, but I'm a girl, so my mom named me Michelle jr., even though my dad still calls me mike. " The little Asian girl says loudly.
"And finally this is Adelyn Jones one of our best dancers." Brittany points to the last girl sitting next to Michelle. "Beth will be joining us in both karate and dance so I want you guys to make her feel welcomed. You can take a spot next to Adelyn, Beth."
Beth sits down next to Adelyn, she was still feeling shy.
"Pst Beth…" Adelyn leans closer to Beth. "I like your bandana headband." Beth smiles.
"Thanks." Just then there Sensei walks into the Dojo.
"Okay class, let's get started. I see we have a new student, Beth… let's try and get her caught up by showing her what we learned last time." The teacher says.
Rachel watches the group of uncoordinated kids practicing what looked like a punch. Beth seemed to be enjoying the class, and she even seemed to be making friends.
"They're adorable aren't they?" an Asian woman walks up beside her.
"They are." Rachel agrees.
"Yours must be the little blonde. Mine is the two twins, Michelle, and Tommy." She points out the two Asian kids in the class. Rachel nods. "I'm Tina by the way, Tina Cohen-Chang… Chang." The woman says as she extents her hand.
"Rachel Berry." She shakes Tina's hand.
"It looks like they're getting along, don't they." Inside the Dojo Beth and Michelle, were paired up as they practiced punching a padded bag.
"They do… Beth doesn't know very many kids her age, it'll be good if she makes a few friends before she starts school, she so shy."
"That's the same with my Tommy, takes after me when I was that age. That's why we enrolled him here, so he could make some friends, but he's still pretty quiet. Hopefully he'll take after his dad and come out of his shell, through this or dance. So what do you do when you're not ushering around your daughter to karate class." Tina asks.
"Oh… um Beth isn't my daughter. I use to go to school at Julliard." Tina doesn't seem to grasp what Rachel said.
"No way that's where Brittany and my husband Mike graduated from. What year did you graduate?"
"I actually never finished. I dropped out this last semester, now I look after that little one."
"Aw, that's too bad, I know it's hard getting into a school like that… wait, did you say your last name was Berry?" Rachel nods. "You're not the Rachel Berry that understudied for that off Broadway play of west side story, are you?"
Rachel nods again. "I understudied for Maria, I didn't get very much stage time though, just a couple matinées when the lead came down with the flu." Rachel explains.
"Oh my god, I can't believe it's you. I saw that show, you were amazing, I was actually surprised because I had seen one of the earlier shows with the lead, whatever her name was and then I saw you, and you were amazing, I can't believe that it's you."
"Yeah, it was fun working for the show."
"I thought for sure you would be starring on Broadway by now, your voice is spectacular. Why did you quit?"
"It's complicated… I guess after I dropped out of school, I kind of gave up on Broadway all together."
"That's a pity… I would have loved to see you on stage again. Maybe someday you'll go back to the theater… I mean you're still young."
"Yeah, maybe."
"Did I make it in time?" Quinn bursts through the door to the studio. She had driven well over the speed limit in hopes to see her daughter in her first karate class. Rachel waves her over.
"You didn't miss it, there is still a couple minutes left." She says to Quinn. "Beth is a natural." Inside the kids are wrapping up their lesson.
"Of course she is, she takes after her mom. Look at her, she looks like the karate kid."
"So this is Beth's biological mother?" Tina asks. "You two make a great family."
"Excuse me?"
"Oh, Quinn this is Tina, she's the mother of Tommy and Michelle." Rachel points them out.
"I can't believe you're married to Rachel Berry… did you two meet in college?"
Quinn blushes. "We're… not married." Quinn clears her throat.
"I'm sorry Tina… but I'm actually Beth's nanny."
"Oh, I'm sorry I just assumed that… you guys just seemed so… well anyway… it looks like the class is over, I guess I'll see you on Wednesday, maybe we can talk more about Broadway." Tina walks away.
"Is it weird that so many people think we're together?" Quinn asks after Tina leaves.
"I guess that's what most people assume when they see us together. Is that a bad thing?"
"No… but I haven't even got to take you out yet. So what was this about Broadway?"
"Well, Tina recognized me in an off Broadway play, that's where she remembered me from." Rachel explains.
"You were in a play? Which one?"
"West side story. I was only an understudy, but I did get some stage time, Tina and her husband had just been lucky enough to see me, I dropped out of college after that. It was my first and last major production I did."
"Rachel…" Quinn really wants to talk more about it, but she is then embraced by Beth.
"MAMMA! Rachel! Did you see, did you see how good I was."
"We did, you were fantastic for your first day." Rachel says. Quinn pulls Beth into her arms.
"I can't wait until Wednesday. Adelyn says that she is going to show me all of her dance moves, and Michelle says Tommy is really good at dancing. I'm so excited… are you going to be able to see me on Wednesday to mama?"
"I'm going to try sweetie… but even if I can't be home early enough, you can always show me what you learned at home."
"Quinn, I'm so glad you could make it." Brittany walks up behind them. "Your daughter, I hear did very well today, and even made some new friends, right Beth." Beth shakes her head yes.
"I like Michelle because she said her favorite color is orange and so is mine, and Adelyn said she was going to show me all her dance moves on Wednesday. Tommy is really nice too… but he's really quiet, and Bradley is the best in our karate class. I can't wait until Wednesday!"
"So you've said." Quinn squeezes her daughter.
"Mom… stop… that tickles." Beth says in between breaths.
Quinn puts her daughter back down on the floor. "Oh Ms. Pierce… since you're here I just wanted to inform you that on Friday, a friend of mine will be picking up Beth from karate."
"Oh really?"
"Her name is Santana, she's going to be watching Beth Friday night for us."
"What, you're making the soup lady watch me? Why… where are you going! Why can't I go with you? Why isn't Rachel picking me up? Rachel where are you going to be? You're not getting rid of Rachel, are you mom?"
"What no sweetie, of course not… I'm we're just. Aunty Santy is going to watch you for a little while, that's all… we can talk about it later honey. I just wanted to give you a heads up." she says to Brittany.
"Oh, that's alright, thanks for letting me know. So what does this person look like just so I know Beth isn't being abducted."
"Oh she… you'll know her when you see her… she'll be the one grumbling about having to be here. Beth knows her too."
"She always brings strange women to my birthday parties." Beth says in a serious tone, Brittany can't help but laugh.
"Right, well we should be going. Say goodbye to Ms. Pierce." Beth wave's goodbye as Quinn leads her out the door.
The next couple of days were hell on both Rachel and Quinn; Quinn was busy with work, her new assistant Sam was finally trained. The guy was nice, yet seemed out of place in the office. Quinn was just happy she wouldn't have to get a new assistant any time soon. Santana on the other hand seemed to be as sexual frustrated as she was. Now that the fling with Quinn's old assistant was over, the Latina actually had to focus on work to keep her mind off of other things. Wednesday Beth had her first dance class at the studio, unfortunately, Quinn wasn't able to make on time to see her dance. Luckily, both Rachel and Beth were able to recreate the dance lesson that night at home. Who knew Beth actually inherited some form of coordination. Quinn didn't think she was that coordinated when she was five, it took her years to become coordinated enough to even try out for Cheerleading, she was lucky she even made captain her junior year, if it wasn't for her coach she would have been the bottom of the pyramid forever. Finally, Friday came along. Quinn still wasn't one hundred percent sure what she was going to do for her first date with Rachel. All she had was reservations for a vegetarian restaurant in the city, but after that, she was coming up empty handed. Santana tried to bounce ideas off of her throughout the week, but in the end, it just made it harder to decide what to do. Honestly, she hadn't been on a date since before Beth, and this was the first time she actually had to plan the date out herself.
"You'll be fine Quinn, trust me." Santana reassures her as she gets ready for her date at her office. The plan was to pick Rachel up from the studio and drops Santana off so she could drive Beth home after her karate class was over.
"I'm just a little nervous… it's been a while since I've gone out with anyone. I just want everything to go smoothly." Quinn pulls at her clothing.
"Like I said Quinn everything is going to be perfect… I mean, sure if things go badly you may need to get a new nanny but there is like a 75 percent chance everything will go fine. Just be yourself… it's not like it's a blind date or anything, you two have known each other for months now."
"Yeah yeah, so you keep reminding me. Well are you ready to go?"
"I can't believe you're making me babysit on a Friday." Santana grumbles.
Rachel was just as nervous as Quinn. Her morning had been hectic as she stresses over what to wear. Beth had been no help considering she didn't know why Rachel was dressing up. She settled for a black mid-thigh high dress, with a simple pair of heels.
"You look pretty Rachel… where are you and mama going?"
"Just out to dinner."
"Can I go?"
"Oh, um not this time."
"But why…"
"Why don't we get you ready for class… you get to see your friends again today isn't that exciting." Rachel changes the subject.
Rachel felt like she was sticking out at the studio, she seemed far too dressed up compared to the other mom's.
"Wow Rachel you'll look fabulous today." Brittany says when she sees her. "Are you going out or something?"
"I have a date… with Quinn." Brittany lights up. Even though Rachel didn't know Brittany very well, over the last week the two of them seem to be becoming friends. It was kind of hard not to since Brittany was one of the sweetest people Rachel had ever met. They had a lot in common it turns out.
"I knew there was something going on between you two." Brittany gleams. "Is this why you're having her aunt pick her up today?"
"Yeah, Santana kind of got volun-told to. We have reservations at seven, I'm not sure where though. She wouldn't tell me"
"That's the best part of dates… the unknown. I'm sure she has a wonderful night planned out for you, Quinn seems like the type that goes above and beyond on dates."
"This is actually her first date since she had Beth… mine too, since I've dropped out of school."
"Wow… this is going to be interesting." Brittany seems a little too excited.
"I'm so nervous." Just as Rachel was about to say something else Santana walks into the studio. She looks grumpy as she walks into the lounge.
"Hey nanny, your blonde is waittt…" Santana stutters as she sees the woman standing next to Rachel. "Holy shit."
"Santana." Rachel greets her. Santana on the other hand can't take her eyes off of Brittany.
"Hey…" she pulls her eyes away from Brittany to acknowledge Rachel. "Quinnie's outside waiting for you." she murmurs as she looks back at Brittany.
"You must be the aunt."
"San-Santana." She stutters.
"It's nice to meet you… I'm Brittany… Beth's dance teacher." Brittany holds out her hand to greet Santana.
"Here Santana."
"Huh?" Santana wasn't aware Rachel was talking to her.
"I said, here are the keys to my Volkswagen… make sure you buckle Beth in the back car seat…"Santana stops her.
"Yeah, the blonde had been preaching everything to me the whole way here… the things that I do for that girl."
"You must be a very nice friend." Brittany says. Santana can't help but smile and nod.
"Okay… well, I'll see you later then."
"Yeah… bye."
Rachel shrugs and heads towards the door. Leaving Santana behind with Brittany. 'This could be interesting.'
"So Santana…"
Outside, Rachel is greeted by Quinn.
"Hey… there you are, I was about ready to come inside to get you.'"
"Did you think I was standing you up?" Rachel asks with a smirk.
"God, I hope not, you look lovely by the way."
"Thank you… you look fantastic too. You knew you had something besides your Yale sweatshirt in your closet." Rachel jokes.
"I save that for formal dinners. Are you ready?" she opens the passenger door for Rachel.
"Yes."
They found themselves in one of the busiest vegetarian restaurants in New York City.
"I can't believe you got us in here, I always wanted to try this place when I was in college, but you need to book a month in advance… and have more money than a college student has."
"Well, lucky for you I know someone who works here… and he was able to get us a nice table." Sure enough, they were escorted to the quietest part of the restaurant, away from the main body of tables, which was nice considering it was such a rare phenomenon to have privacy in the city.
"Is there anything I can start you two out with." The waitress asks after they've been seated.
"Two glasses of your Château Guiraud wine, please."
"Excellent choice… I'll be back with your drinks and give you two some time to look over the menus, we have excellent smoked hummus tonight as our special."
"Thank you Bridgette." Quinn reads the girls name tag.
"I still can't believe you got us into Candel 79."Rachel whispers across the table after the waitress left. "I think I'm going to get the butternut squash ravioli" Rachel says as she reads the menu.
"That sounds delicious" Quinn says as she reads the menu, sure, she wasn't a vegetarian, but some of the food did sound amazing on the menu.
"Here you two go." The waitress sets down the glasses of wine on their table. "Do you two need a minute to decide or are you ready to order."
"I think we are ready. I will have the zucchini enchiladas and she will have the butternut squash ravioli." Quinn orders for Rachel.
"I'll get your order in right away."
Rachel takes a sip of her wine and cringes slightly.
"You okay?"
"Yeah… it's a little strong." Quinn takes a sip of hers and smiles.
"I forget you don't drink often."
"Yeah, I've pretty much accepted that I'm a light weight when it comes to alcohol. The first time I ever even tried alcohol was in high school at a glee party, I pretty much got plastered off of two wine coolers." Rachel says.
Quinn tries not to laugh, but fails. "Really?"
"Yeah… turns out I'm also a clingy drunk, according to the lead male vocalist of our group, ever since then I've tried not to over indulge."
"Tell me more about this glee club. I guess I really don't understand what you do."
"It's basically show choir, we sing and dance. I was co-captain and lead vocalist all four years of high school."
"I wish I could have seen you sing… on stage I mean. I know you can sing like no other, but I guess I would want to see you up on stage with all those lights on you, to see you really shine. Do you ever miss it?"
"Some days… It's all that runs through my head, just that overall need to perform. But then there are days that, I don't know, it's almost like I can't even see myself on stage." Rachel shrugs. "I don't know… what about you, what made you want to become an editor?"
"I actually didn't want to be an editor… I wanted to write."
"Really?"
"Yeah… but then I got pregnant with Beth and I settled for finding something that would provide for her, and here I am five years later."
"Would you ever try to write a book someday?"
"Yeah, maybe… would you ever consider going back to Broadway." Rachel shrugs.
"I don't know… maybe. I should start with finishing school first."
Their food comes. It looks amazing and smells even better. Rachel is a little envious at how well the food looks, but her jealously is slowly forgotten as she takes her first bite of ravioli. The two of them get lost in conversation, good food, and great wine. It wasn't at all weird to be having dinner with Rachel. In fact, Quinn was feeling strangely comfortable. Maybe it was due to the wine.
"Can you please tell me where you're taking me." Rachel whines as they leave the restaurant.
"Nope, I've been thinking very hard about where to take you all week, now you're just going to have to wait and find out." Ten minutes late Quinn pulls up outside a small bar.
"Quinn… really. Karaoke bar? Isn't that like too 1990's"
"It's the only way I could think of getting you to sing for me again. Plus they even have a mini stage."
"You are so…" Rachel searches for the words.
"Thoughtful?" Quinn supplies.
"I was going to say cheesy." Quinn leads them inside.
"Hey now… if it makes you feel better I'll be the first to sing."
"Well, this is sounding slightly better."
"But then you have to… okay."
"Fine."
Before Quinn requests her first song, she orders herself a drink for her and Rachel, two diet cokes. She had to drive home after this. The crowd clapped for her as she walked up on stage.
"Hey… my names Quinn… I don't sing very often, but here it goes…" the music starts to play "Hey baby won't you look my way, I can be your new addiction. Hey, baby what you gotta say? All you're giving me is fiction. I'm a sorry sucker and this happens all the time I found out that everybody talks everybody talks, everybody talks. It started with a whisper, and that was when I kissed her, and then she made my lips hurt. I could hear the chitchat. Take me to your love shack Mamas always gotta backtrack. When everybody talks back." Quinn's voice may not be the best for this song, but she gave it her all as she finished the final verse. She was actually surprised at how many people clapped for her when she finished. However, her eyes were on Rachel, who was standing in the back smiling. "Thank you." she bows before rushing off stage and letting the next singer on to take a stab at some Brittany spears song. "So how was that." Quinn asks as she sits down next to Rachel at their table.
"It was surprisingly good, a few off notes… but very energetic." Rachel says into Quinn's ear so she could be heard over the current singer's voice.
"Why thank you, so what are you going to sing… Adele… pink?"
"It's a surprise…" Rachel walks up on stage after the Brittany spears singer leaves. "Hello everyone, I'm Rachel Berry and I'll be singing a song I think everyone in here can relate to, so enjoy…" Quinn is shocked when she recognizes the song just by the beginning chords. "We could just go home right now. Or maybe we could stick around for just one more drink, oh yeah. Get another bottle out, lets shoot the shit, sit back down for just one more drink, oh yeah." The crowd raises their glasses. "Here's to us. Here's to love. All the times that we fucked up. Here's to you. Fill the glass Cause the last few days have kicked my ass. So let's give em hell wish everybody well. Here's to us. Here's to us." Rachel's voice gets the crowd on their feet as they sing along to the song. "Stuck it out this far together put our dreams through the shredder let's toast cause things got better, and everything could change like that, and all these years go by so fast, but nothing lasts forever. Here's to us. Here's to love. All the times that we messed up. Here's to you fill the glass, cause the last few nights have kicked my ass If they give you hell tell em to go fuck themselves. Here's to us. Here's to us Here's to all that we kissed, And to all that we missed To the biggest mistakes That we just wouldn't trade To us breaking up Without us breaking down To whatever's come our way. Here's to us Here's to love All the times That we fucked up Here's to you Fill the glass. Cause the last few days Have kicked my ass So let's give em hell Wish everybody well Here's to us Here's to love All the times That we messed up Here's to you Fill the glass Cause the last few nights Have kicked my ass If they give you hell Tell em to go fuck themselves!"
"Go fuck themselves" the bar crowd answers back. Rachel pretty much stole the show, she got a round of applause and a request to sing another song right after. She sang 'don't you want me baby.' Quinn couldn't stop smiling, Rachel looked so happy on stage, by the time she returned to their table she was exhausted.
"I feel very sorry for whoever has to go on after you." Quinn whispers into Rachel's ear. Rachel couldn't help but smile. "You are amazing."
"Thank you." they leave after two more songs. "That was surprisingly fun."
"Who knew you liked karaoke so much." Quinn joked.
"I know, who could have possibly guessed that I Rachel Berry would have fun singing." She says sarcastically.
"I'm glad you had fun, truthfully, I was a little worried you wouldn't want to go up there."
"I was kind of nervous… but when I stepped up on that small stage… and I don't know… it felt good. Better than when I sang in college. I don't know, it's hard to describe."
Quinn reaches for Rachel's hand and gives it a squeeze, before interlacing their fingers and leading her back towards the car. They stopped for frozen yogurt on their way home to sum up their date. But the time they pulled into the driveway, it was already midnight. Quinn shuts off the ignition.
"This is kind of weird." She says as she opens her door and walks around to open Rachel's door.
"What is?"
"Just, normally you wouldn't expect to invite your date inside on the first date." Quinn swats her.
"You're not going to get lucky talking like that." Rachel jokes back. Quinn stops Rachel before she can open the front door. "Quinn?" Rachel gives Quinn a look of confusion. 'Maybe I took that last joke too far.' But before she could say, anything Quinn's lips were on hers. Quinn pulled Rachel into her as she ran her fingers through Rachel's hair. The kiss seems to slow down as their lips move against one another. Rachel moaned when she felt Quinn's tongue enter her mouth. 'Damn.' Finally, they pull away from each other just far enough to catch their breaths. Quinn's eyes were still latched onto Rachel's lips, which were slightly swollen from the kiss. "You're not supposed to kiss on the first date." Rachel whispers
"I've been wanting to do that all week." Quinn whispers back.
"Aren't you going to invite me in?" with that Quinn opens the door. Inside they are met with a silent house. Beth was staying with Santana tonight and would be back first thing in the morning, so the two of them had the house to themselves. "Tonight has been amazing."
"Would it be weird if I invited you upstairs." Quinn says as she takes off her shoes. Rachel turns around and looks at Quinn questionably. "Oh… no, not like that… it just, like you said tonight has been amazing, and I don't want it to end, and it's weird that we'll both be here but you'll be downstairs. I just thought that maybe you would want to sleep upstairs… with me…"
"Quinn…"
"Unless you feel uncomfortable… it was just a thought." Rachel gives her a light kiss.
"Let me go get my pajamas." Rachel rushes off downstairs to grab her pajamas. By the time Quinn is undressed and in her bed, Rachel knocks on her door.
"Yeah?"
Rachel peeks her head in, she notices Quinn is already in bed. "I just wanted to make sure you weren't naked or something." Rachel was dressed in a silk nighty. She crawls into bed with Quinn. It wasn't until her legs brushed up against Quinn's did she remember that Quinn didn't wear pajama pants to bed. This of course made Rachel hot In more than one way. Quinn rolls over and shuts off the lamp. They lay there in silence for what feels like ten minutes. Rachel swears Quinn can hear her heart beating, it sounds so loud.
"Rachel?" Quinn cuts through the silence.
"Hum." Rachel rolls over to face Quinn, who had been staring at her the whole time.
"Will you please tell me why you left college." Rachel rolls back on her back and stares at the ceiling. At first, Quinn thinks Rachel isn't going to tell her, since she had been staring at the ceiling for a while now.
Rachel clears her throat. "Her name was Cassie… or Cassandra July. I however had to call her Ms. July. She was my teacher." Rachel takes a breath. "When I was a freshman, I had the biggest crush on her… I had taken an introductory course with her, and that's how I developed my crush. I of course never told her… I was just a scrawny freshman… barely out of high school, and she was the epitome of everything I wanted to achieve. When I was a sophomore I took a dance class with her… she somehow found out that I had a crush on her and kind of made my life a living hell. She called me Schwimmer… it didn't really bother me though, she was like that with all of her students. Then one day I stay late to practice the routine she had taught that day, and she came in. At first she seemed surprised, and I thought she was going to yell at me to get out, but she started flirting with me. From there I don't know, things changed. When I was in class she treated me like I was nothing… but when I was alone with her, she would tell me everything I ever wanted to hear from her, that I was going to be a star, that I would be on Broadway, that I was beautiful. " Rachel sniffs back her tears. "And it was those words that got me through everything she put me through. I guess in the end you could say she seduced me to sleep with her… but the next semester I was there whenever she called, to do whatever she needed, but it was okay because I thought she loved me. Then when summer vacation came, I landed a role in the off Broadway production of west side story… I was an understudy, but when I found out I would get to do a show, I invited Cassie to it. I sang every song perfectly, and nailed every dance routine, I pushed myself as hard as I could for her, and she left half away through 'a boy like that'. After the show I texted her asking her why she left… she didn't answer me back, I tried for days but she cut me from her life. When school started back up I thought maybe she would at least talk to me. When I went to her office, I accidentally walked in on her with another student… he was an upperclassman in his last year but, after that, everything just fell apart. She finally cornered me one day and told me that I was terrible as Maria, and if I had any respect for the stage I would give up and go home. That's when I realized I didn't want to sing anymore… at least not in the theater, if that's what I would become. I knew Broadway was competitive, I had accepted that there would always be someone better than me, and in order to make it, I would have to fight to get a part, but I didn't know you had to lose all sense of humanity to do it. I didn't want to become like that, to lose myself, I wanted to be on Broadway because I was the best, not because I fucked the director or stabbed a friend in the back. I didn't want to become Ms. July. So I quit, and left half way through the semester."
"Rachel…"
"No its fine really Quinn, even though Cassie ruined everything I believed in, she did give me you… and Beth."
"But you could have both… you can't let some bitch teacher control you like that. She stole your dream from you… but it's not too late to get it back."
"I know… and truthfully tonight helped me see that… maybe I'm not done with music… I'm just not ready to go back yet." Quinn wipes the tears from Rachel's eyes.
"Thank you for telling me."
"You are the first person I have. I feel lighter for some reason." Rachel whispers. Quinn leans closer and kisses her.
"I'm glad you told me."
Quinn wakes up expecting to find a beautiful woman sleeping next to her. The night before they had talked and kissed until they fell asleep. However, instead of finding a brunette sleeping next her, she finds an empty made bed. Quinn quickly jumps out of bed, pulls on her robe, and walks downstairs to find Rachel making blueberry pancakes. Rachel turns around when she hears Quinn.
"Good morning."
"Good morning." They say to each other.
"I made breakfast… I'm guessing Santana is going to be here soon, so I made a lot." Rachel lays a plate down with five pancakes for Quinn.
"I thought you would still be asleep when I woke up this morning."
"I was up at 630, but I decided to let you sleep… we were up past two talking."
"And kissing."
"And kissing" Rachel repeats. "I thought you would be hungry." Quinn makes her way around the breakfast bar and pulls Rachel towards her.
"I think I'll wait until Beth gets here to eat. In the meantime, I think I can find something to keep me distracted." She kisses Rachel.
"You can't stop doing that, can you?"
"Kissing you… no. I think I'm addicted." Quinn leans down to kiss her again, only to be interrupted by the doorbell. "Ugh, perfect timing Santana. Might as well set the table, I'll go answer the door." Quinn walks to the front door. "You couldn't give me five more minut… Puck?"
End… for now
Here it is… review and let me know what you think. I know it's been far too long, I've been working on my other fics that haven't been updated as well in forever, but I thought I could finish this chapter for you all since it was pretty much done.
I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving… hopefully you guys have a nice holiday and find time to review, even if it's to yell at me for taking so long to update ;)