I think it's going to be safe to say Quinn's going to have a girl... current standings:

Girl - 8
Boy - 2

And I need to address two reviews I received for the last chapter... since I announced Quinn was keeping the baby...

So, apparently I'm an idiot. I'm an idiot because Quinn decided to keep the child, which is a product of rape. Apparently that child is disgusting and it's disgusting to want to keep it. The child is innocent. It's not the baby's fault that it was planted inside of Quinn by that man. I hate to tell that anonymous reviewer, people keep the products of rape all the time. Quinn's NOT going to have a miscarriage, and she's NOT going to get an abortion or give the baby away. The only thing I'm sorry for is that you find something like that disgusting.

Personally, if I were ever raped and found out I was pregnant, I would get an abortion, BUT everybody's different! I'm writing it like this FOR A REASON! If you don't like it, don't read it.

To address another review. I apologize that not everything is completely factual, last time I checked, this was a story. A story based on fictional characters, hence making it a fictional story. I seem to recall this being a fanFICTION website. So what if Quinn's taking medicine when she's pregnant. There are some pregnancy friendly medicines out there, not everything would hurt the child.

And to repeat what I said. Don't like it, don't read it :) K? Thanks :D

I do appreciate constructive criticism, but not when it's in the form of tearing the chapter/story apart. I do realize not everything's factual, and I will apologize for that. But it's just a story. I'm in no way a professional writer. I work in a retail store full time.

Anyway... thanks to Jennception for looking this over for me.

The First 24
Chapter 17

January 21 – 11:30AM

"Rachel, we need you on set 2 to run through some choreography for the big dance scene." A stagehand announced to her while she was getting her hair and make-up touched up.

The brunette sighed and tossed her phone into her purse before standing. She'd been texting with Santana during her break because Quinn wouldn't answer her. Truth was, she was frightened. She had been all day. But Santana had assured her that the alone time was perfectly normal.

When Rachel walked on to set 2 she noticed, who she assumed was the choreographer, warming up with his back to her and the other actors. "Everybody…" Jason, the director, called out to get everybody's attention, including the choreographer's. "I'd like to introduce you to your instructor-"

But Rachel jumped in before Jason could continue. "-Michael Chang." The smile grew on her face when Mike immediately recognized her and returned her million dollar smile with one of his own.

Jason was unamused at being interrupted. "I'm assuming you know one another?"

"We graduated high school together." Mike quickly walked across the room and wrapped Rachel in a tight hug. "The Rachel Berry. Never thought I'd see you again."

Jason threw his hands up in defeat. "Fine, just delay the movie some more. Ten minutes everybody!" He yelled before walking off the set mumbling about lack of professionalism.

"It's Berry-Fabray now actually." She smiled brightly as she pulled out of his hug to look up at him.

"So you and Quinn?"

Rachel's smile just grew even wider. "Yup, me and Quinn. Married 17 years now."

"How is she doing?" He led them off to one of the refreshment tables but frowned when Rachel stopped mid-step. "Rachel?"

"We've been dealing with a lot lately. But, enough about me. What about you? Are you married, children? Come on I want details."

He laughed softly as he opened up a bottle of water. "You're still as talkative as ever. Tina and I got married right out of high school. We have a 15 year old daughter, Alisa, and a 10 year old son Damien."

"Quinn and I tried to have kids a few years back…" Rachel trailed off. It broke her heart to even think about it. They'd wanted children so badly. "We really need to get together to properly catch up. I'm sure Quinn will love it."

"So will Tina. Let me get your number." He pulled his phone out of his sweatpants' pocket and unlocked the screen. When he did she rattled off all ten digits. "718?" He questioned the area code.

"We just moved here from New York." He nodded in understanding while typing out a text message so Rachel would have his number as well.

"Alright, Is this little reunion over with now?" Jason shot at Mike and Rachel. When they didn't answer he continued. "Let's get back to work people!"

January 24 – 3:00PM

"Mike's doing choreography for movies and music videos?" Quinn smiled softly. "Bet he enjoyed rubbing that in his father's face."

"Quinn be nice!" Rachel couldn't help but laugh at the blonde. It was nice to see the medicine and therapy were slowly starting to work. Each passing moment seemed just a little bit better than the last.

"Knock, knock…" A soft voice carried through the private hospital room.

When Quinn looked up she felt her breath catch in her throat. Fear. But it wasn't fear of a man being near her, thankfully the anxiety pills helped with that. No, it was fear of being judged by someone who knew you so many years ago. Her eyes came to rest on Mike. They drifted to the side to spot a graying Tina beside him.

"What are you doing here?" Rachel gripped her wife's hand more firmly when she felt it start to shake.

"Jason said… and I quote 'Rachel's wife is in the hospital. That seems to be more important than our schedule, she won't be back 'til next week.' So… we wanted to bring you these." He smiled shyly before offering the small bouquet of roses to Quinn.

Before they got too close, Rachel intercepted them and placed the vase on the windowsill far enough away so they wouldn't bother Quinn's allergies. She then slightly made her way across the room to hug her once dear friend Tina.

"I'm sorry we had to meet up like this…" Quinn subconsciously moved her right arm under the blanket to hide the thick bandages that still covered her healing wounds.

An awkward silence filled the room. None of them knew what to say in their current situation. Thankfully, it didn't last long. "Well, look at this." Santana's voice broke the silence. She took a moment to put one of the bags of food down before getting a better look at Mike and Tina. "Rachel told us she ran into you."

"Wait…" Tina finally spoke up. "Did she just call you Rachel?"

Brittany just bounced excitedly before wrapping her arms around Mike and then Tina. "Believe it or not… people change. And I've had the better part of 20 years to either accept the midget, or kill the midget. And I don't think Q here would have liked me killing her wife."

"But seriously… I never expected you of all people to change." Tina's words drew a soft chuckle from Quinn.

"Yes, let's all pick on Santana." The Latina pouted as she folded her arms over her chest.

"You have gone soft Lopez." Quinn smirked at her dear friend. "I think it was the marriage." She made sure to throw in before Santana could speak.

She just sighed in defeat and glanced lovingly at her wife. "Yea… I think it was." When the room erupted in laughter she grabbed the discarded bag and flopped down on one of the chairs. "Oh you all can go to hell."

"There's the Santana we all know." Mike threw out before easily avoiding the salt packet that Santana had thrown his way.

Quinn leaned back against her pillows and watched the interaction of the people around her. She wasn't very close to Mike or Tina in high school, but somehow, somewhere inside of her they gave her a sense of feeling at peace. Everything would be okay – she would be okay. She had people to help her out of her depression and help her move on with everything that was happening around her.

January 25 – 12:00PM

Rachel's hand hurt. But she couldn't tell Quinn that. She needed to be there. Especially now. They'd finally gotten Quinn to calm down enough to allow the sonogram. It had been four days since the pregnancy had been discovered and everybody was still trying to adjust to the news.

"You ready to see your baby?"

Quinn's body tensed at the nurse's words. "Can you just… not talk?" The blonde turned away from the nurse when she felt her t-shirt be lifted up. It all reminded her of when she was 15 years old having her very first sonogram. It's all the same. Nothing felt real. The entire situation felt like one horrible nightmare. One of those that you just can't seem to wake up from.

She couldn't stop herself from grasping when she felt the cold gel against her lower abdomen. Her eyes locked with Rachel's. Quinn pushed out a smile. She didn't know if she was trying to prove she was alright, or comfort her wife. Truth was, she was freaking out just as much as Rachel was. It would only be a few moments until…

Her thoughts were interrupted by a quick beating heart. The beating heart of the baby echoed through the room. It was soon followed by a broken sob. Quinn's eyes focused on Rachel's… who were focused on the monitor. "The baby appears to be perfectly healthy." The nurse dared to speak.

The words though, caused a flood of emotions through Quinn's body. Slowly she turned to look at the picture on the monitor. "Is that…?" With her bandaged hand she reached out to touch the picture of the baby – of her baby. The baby that Rachel and her tried so long to have. She felt tears well up in her eyes. But for the first time since before him they were actually happy tears. No, she wasn't happy about how the child came about, she was happy that she could finally experience a family with Rachel. The family they'd always wanted.

Rachel carefully placed her head on Quinn's shoulder and watched the small blob move on the monitor. It was their baby. Regardless of the horrible incidents that happened for that child to get there… it was still theirs and nobody would ever change that. "You're so brave Quinn."

The nurse smiled some at their reactions. "Would you like a picture?" Quinn looked up at her before nodding. "Alright, I think I can arrange that for you." She hit a few buttons on the keyboard to capture a few stills then pulled away from Quinn's stomach and wiped the remaining gel off of her skin.

"It's real." Quinn spoke before breaking down into tears. She was torn, but she couldn't tell Rachel that. Sure, she was happy that her and her wife could finally have the family they'd always wanted. But the chain of events that brought said family to them was something she wishes had never happened. All she could think about right now was Jim. That it was Jim's baby growing inside of her. It was Jim's fault. But on the flip side, part of her – a small part of her wanted to thank him for doing what all those failed attempts couldn't.

Give them a family.

"Can…" She bit her bottom lip, waiting patiently for Rachel to look at her before she continued. "Can you get Emily for me?"

The brunette frowned some. Quinn wouldn't talk to her about anything, lately it had all been about Emily. She was thankful that her wife was getting help, but hated the fact that it wasn't her giving it to her. "Are you okay?" Quinn nodded slightly before pulling Rachel down for a soft kiss. "I'll be right back."

When Rachel left the room the nurse handed Quinn a small black and white photograph. She smiled softly down at the blonde before leaving the room as well.

Quinn's eyes focused in on the tiny blob on the center of the picture. The blob that was his. The blob that would make their family complete. The more she sat there looking at the picture, the more her vision blurred with tears. It wasn't supposed to be like this for her and Rachel. They were supposed to already have their family years ago when they tried. It wasn't suppose to come from such a traumatic experience.

Rachel let out a heavy sigh as she made her way through the hallways of the hospital. She hated the fact that Quinn wasn't talking to her but was opening up to a total stranger. "Is Emily available by chance?" She quietly asked one of the nurses at the station at the end of the hallway. Before the nurse even looked up at the brunette, Rachel spotted Emily coming around a corner.

"Rachel, what's wrong?" The younger woman asked once she spotted Rachel's distraught expression.

"Quinn… she wants to talk to you." Rachel carefully wiped the tears out of her eyes as Emily got closer to her. When Emily's hand came to rest on her shoulder she felt herself finally lose it. She broke down in tears right in the middle of the hallway – no longer caring if anybody saw her. She was a total wreck and didn't care who knew it.

Everything was finally catching up with her. Her wife almost died because of what happened to her. She almost killed herself because of what happened to her. If she hadn't come home when she did.. Rachel slowly collapsed to her knees, her arms wrapped around Emily's slightly larger frame as her body shook with sobs. "Rachel… what happened?"

"She – she won't e-even ta-talk to me." Rachel was barely able to choke out between ragged gasps for air.

"Talk to you at all?" Emily asked in an attempt to clarify. There was a huge difference between not talking to Rachel at all, or not talking to Rachel about something specific.

After a few moments, the diva was finally able to compose herself enough to actually look at the psychologist. "We just saw the baby…" Rachel took another deep breath to be able to keep herself from breaking down in tears again over just saying those words. "First thing she did was ask to talk to you. That's all the wants to do is talk to you. It's tearing me apart Emily. She won't talk to me about anything on her mind anymore. We used to tell each other everything."

The younger woman led Rachel to a set of chairs along the wall that was right across the hallway from the nurse's station. "Let me tell you something Rachel. I'm sure you know I can't really say too much about my sessions with Quinn unless she okays it, but what I can tell you is that she's scared. I know you're probably tired of hearing this, but you need to give her time. Everything's still fresh in her mind."

"Could you perhaps, let her know how I feel? Since everything happened, she doesn't listen to a lot of the things I say." Rachel looked up at the woman with hopeful eyes.

Emily threw her a small smile. "I sure can. Why don't you go and get a salad for lunch? I'm sure Quinn would like it if you got her something from the cafeteria too." She hinted before standing up and heading toward Quinn's room. When she pushed open the door she spotted her patient curled on her side staring at the small picture from the sonogram. "Quinn, you wanted to see me?" Emily allowed the door to close behind her before approaching the broken woman on the bed.

"It's real isn't it?" Quinn never broke eye contact with the picture as she continued to sob

January 25 – 1:30PM

Cautiously, Rachel pushed open the door to her wife's room. She had no idea exactly what she'd be walking into – especially when she saw Quinn looking at her lap with tear swollen eyes.

"I got you something."

The simple words drew Quinn's attention away from her lap. When hazel eyes connected with a wrapped cheeseburger, she couldn't stop herself from smiling softly. "Thanks Rach."

Silence fell between the pair as the blonde ate her food. The entire time though, Rachel's eyes never left her. "Brittany and Santana are going to stay until you're released." She dared to speak once Quinn finished eating.

"That's nice of them…" Her voice was soft. Her entire session with Emily kept replaying in her head. It was now or never. Emily had reinforced it in her mind that she didn't have to be afraid of Rachel. Rachel would always be there for her. Hence why she hasn't left her side since she entered the hospital. The love that Rachel had for her was unconditional. If her trying to take her own life and by extension, the baby's life didn't push the brunette away… nothing would.

Quinn looked back down at her lap before speaking. "I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for Quinn?" Rachel already knew. Or at least she knew what she wanted Quinn to be sorry for. But she needed to know what Quinn was actually sorry for.

At first, she had no idea how to start. Quinn already knew she'd inevitably break down in tears at some point. She was just hoping she could say what she needed to before that happened. "For all of this." And there it was already. That lump in her throat was already making itself known to her. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't push it back down.

"Baby, just talk to me." Rachel gently took the blonde's hand in her own – thankful that it wasn't jerked away.

"Why are you here?" Maybe starting out with a question would help ease Quinn into what she really wanted to say.

Rachel's head tilted to the side. She took a few quiet moments to examine the expressionless face of her wife. "I'm here because I love you."

"I know… but why?" Quinn's gaze locked with Rachel's as she finished her question.

"Do you remember our wedding?" She didn't give her much time to do anything other than nod before continuing. "In my vows to you I said… 'you are the most amazing, beautiful, and wonderful woman I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. I'm beyond honored that you've chosen me to be your wife and I will love, cherish, and protect you until the day when the final ounce of air leaves my lungs.' Do you remember that Quinn?"

Quinn's breath caught in her throat. Of course she remembered their vows to one another. She remembered every little detail from that day. "I remember."

"I couldn't protect you against what happened. But Quinn… nothing will make me ever want to leave you." Rachel carefully sat on the bed beside her wife.

Without much warning, the blonde lost control of her tears. She felt herself be wrapped up in the diva's arms. It was finally hitting her that Rachel would never hurt her. Ever. "It's all too much Rach." Quinn started out softly. She took a moment to compose herself before continuing. "I'm so confused as to what's actually happening. Like… I'm happy because we can finally be a family, yet I'm pissed because that family will have his genes in it." Rachel simply remained silent while listening. "Emily told me they might be releasing me tomorrow… she set me up with an appointment in her office on Friday."

"Good." Rachel gently cupped Quinn's cheek with her left hand.

The blonde closed her eyes before allowing her forehead to rest against the other woman's. "It's strange to know that… when I did this… I wanted to die, but part of me hoped that somehow the baby would live." She opened her eyes to see the brunette's confused expression. "I know it's not logical, but I didn't want to take the life of the innocent child. He or she has done nothing wrong. It's not the baby's fault it's growing inside of me."

Rachel smiled softly. She did understand what Quinn was trying to say. She knew that the human mind could conjure up some rather illogical things. "So, you're keeping it?" She knew what Quinn had said earlier, but she just needed that confirmation again.

"Yea. He gave us the family we've always wanted." She let out a heavy sigh. "Do you think… once Santana and Brittany leave, I could come to the studio with you for a few days? Just until I do my California BAR Exam and find a job? I really don't think it would be a good idea for me to be alone for a little while."

Rachel smiled. It wasn't a happy smile. It also wasn't a sad one either. The smile she sported on her face was one of understanding. Understanding and pride. She was proud that Quinn realized she couldn't trust herself enough to stay alone. "I'm sure Jason won't mind."

Quinn nodded slightly before allowing her head to fall to Rachel's shoulder and closing her eyes. She kept telling herself that everything would be okay.

Continuing to take votes, if you forgot to vote last chapter, do it this time. If you voted last chapter and you want to make sure your choice wins, vote again :D

See you all next week!