I've finally found some motivation to get through the last scene in this chapter... Plus Olacindy has been on my ass about this a lot lately ;)

I can't make any guarantees on when the next chapter will be out. I'm working two jobs and it's getting into the Christmas season. So yea... Just keep an eye out for updates.

The First 24
Chapter 27

April 11 – 7:30AM

Quinn paused for a moment – looking at herself in the mirror. The past two weeks have flown by. Both her and Rachel were back to work. She released a heavy breath before leaning closer to the mirror to finish her make-up. There were no longer bags under her eyes. She'd started to put some weight back on. She'd been able to eat and keep most of her food down – sans her morning sickness. Even that had started to subside some. No longer did she feel the urge to vomit while she was in the office, which was a great thing for her. Since she was getting tired of trying to pass off that she had been battling the flu.

Quinn didn't doubt that people have figured some things out. It was an office full of lawyers, their jobs were figuring the truth out. Since her abduction case had become national news, Quinn knew that some of them had pieced it together. But what mattered most – nobody brought it up.

A soft smile graced her lips when she stood back upright. Smiling… she'd been smiling a lot more lately. Having Brittany and Santana a few miles away and Rachel supporting her in every step she took definitely helped her to push the bad thoughts aside. She smoothed out the front of her jacket before reaching for her perfume bottle.

"Morning honey." Rachel carefully pushed open the door to the bathroom and entered.

That was something else that Quinn had gotten used to. There was no longer a need to lock the door behind her. She was comfortable enough around Rachel again to let her be near her. "How'd you sleep?" Quinn's eyes watched her wife in the mirror as the brunette stripped and reached behind the curtain to turn the shower on.

A sly smirk came to the brunette's lips as she pressed her naked form against Quinn's side. "Amazing. But I can't even begin to imagine why."

Quinn blushed as she remembered the night before. They'd tried again to make love. But she still couldn't tolerate being touched. Instead though, she focused entirely on Rachel. She didn't hit the panic stage the night before, like she had the first time they attempted it. But it was a step in the right direction for her. "Gee, I wonder." Quinn stole a kiss before watching her wife disappear behind the shower curtain. "I'll get breakfast ready for you."

"Alright, I love you."

"Love you too." Quinn left the bathroom door cracked some as she knew Rachel liked it. The brunette loved her hot showers and she learned early on in their relationship, that Quinn hated dealing with a steam covered mirror. So she'd just gotten herself into the habit of leaving the door cracked.

The blonde hummed to herself as she cooked up some eggs for herself and cut up some fruit for Rachel. It was just a quick breakfast for them both. Something that would be easy. On mornings where they both had to leave early, they'd fallen back into their habit of the first one to leave the house was the one who cooked breakfast.

She allowed her mind to wander as she pulled her eggs out of the pan. While she placed two pieces of bread in the toaster, she began to think. How would things be different had she been home over Christmas? If Jim had not kidnapped her? Had she not been beaten within an inch of her life? Had… she not gotten pregnant?

Then she thought back to her first pregnancy. Beth. The daughter she sometimes wished she had kept. How would things have been different then? Quinn wondered if she ever would have gotten out of Lima. Or if she and Rachel would have gotten together. Subconsciously, her hand rested on her stomach. Her fingers could feel the taught skin of her lower abdomen. Inside of her, was a life. Growing bigger and bigger with each passing moment. An innocent life that was brought forth from a horrid event that would always plague her thoughts and dreams.

"Your toast is going to burn honey." Rachel reached around her wife, pulling her from her thoughts, as she manually ejected the toast. "Are you alright?" She pulled the toast out and placed it on the small plate Quinn had already placed her eggs on.

"Just thinking." Her fingers tightened some on her stomach as she felt a little flutter deep inside. "My mind keeps wandering to Beth." She'd gotten better at expressing her thoughts and feelings to her wife over the last couple of weeks.

Rachel smiled warmly – hearing her wife talk about Beth. "Maybe you should call her, or text her. You haven't talked to her in a few days." She held out half of a strawberry for Quinn to eat before picking another piece out for herself to eat.

"Would we have gotten together if I didn't get pregnant?" It was a question that Quinn had asked numerous times before. Yet, there was something about how she spoke those few words that made Rachel's heart ache some.

Rachel carefully made up Quinn's egg sandwich before turning her full focus to the blonde. "I don't know honey. Technically, it had nothing to do with your pregnancy. It had to do with me forgetting a book in my gym locker and walking in on you in a rather compromising position."

"I know that Rach." She nibbled on the corner of her sandwich some while she waited for it to cool down. "But, I meant before that. If I didn't get pregnant, I never would have stayed with you and your dads… I don't think I could have ever found the courage to actually talk to you otherwise."

The brunette poured her and Quinn a glass of orange juice before she sat on one of the barstools to finish eating. She was pleased when Quinn sat beside her. "I remember someone telling me over the years that they believed in fate and destiny. In a way, I do too. You having Beth, brought us closer together," she paused to get a better look at Quinn before continuing, "me forgetting my book caused me to learn that you loved me… the incident gave us a family that we otherwise couldn't have. So, to actually answer your question, yes, I believe we'd be exactly where we are today even if you hadn't gotten pregnant."

"How can you always talk in paragraphs at eight in the morning?" Quinn chuckled when Rachel smacked her arm playfully. She honestly had everything she ever wanted, sans the tragic events of course. The woman of her dreams was sitting right beside her in the kitchen of their perfect home. Her two best friends were only a few miles away. She recently found out her daughter wanted her in her life. And her family was going to be complete in a few months. It was perfect.

"You need to leave before you're late. And I refuse to be the reason you're late." Rachel scolded as she cleaned up the dishes from the counter.

"I'm leaving now." Quinn gave the shorter starlet a quick kiss before going to her office to get her briefcase. "I'll see you tonight?"

"Of course." Rachel straightened out Quinn's jacket before swiping another kiss. "There's no place else I'd rather be then right here with you."

"Well, isn't someone full of kind words this morning." Quinn took her opportunity to tease, something she'd started feeling comfortable in doing again with her wife.

One more kiss was shared before Rachel ushered the blonde toward the front door. "I'm always full of kind words. Now go. I love you, drive carefully."

A smile came to Quinn's face as she watched her wife for a moment longer before turning to her SUV. "I love you too. Good luck on set."

After her positive morning with Rachel, Quinn felt like she was going to have a good day.

April 11 – 5:00PM

Her fingers sprawled along her stomach, before clenching the fabric of her blouse violently. She knew the woman hadn't meant it. The words weren't meant to be harmful. Were they? All she could think about were Jim's words. How much his words tore her down. She was getting better, or so she thought.

"Did your jacket shrink?"

It was all that was asked of her after lunch. It wasn't meant to be hateful. As a silent tear slid down her cheek, she knew that. It was a simple, innocent question. A question that even she would ask someone.

Quickly wiping her eyes as she pulled into the driveway beside Rachel's car, she knew she couldn't let her wife know she'd been crying. Even though it wasn't a logical thought, Rachel always saw right through all of her masks. The biggest difference now compared to a month ago- Rachel didn't hesitate asking questions anymore.

"Be strong Quinn." She spoke to herself while looking at her bracelet. "Jaimie didn't mean anything by it." Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. After composing herself, she grabbed her briefcase and climbed out of her vehicle. Before she even got to the front door to open it, she felt a single tear slide down her cheeks. Apparently she hadn't composed herself enough. She'd just have to tell Rachel what happened. "Rach, I'm home."

"I'm in the bedroom." Rachel called out, having heard her wife call for her. She was putting away some laundry.

"Hey…" Quinn unbuttoned her jacket before stripping it off and throwing it toward the clothes basket. She knew Rachel was watching her, but she chose not to look at her. It was easier. Without another word, she walked into their closet in search of a pair of jeans to change into.

Rachel tilted her head to the side before sitting on the edge of the bed. Watching Quinn was very short with her answers. She may have only said two things since she'd been home but she just knew. She knew Quinn well enough to know every time she had a bad day. "What happened at work?"

She decided not to speak as she unbuttoned her blouse to replace it and her bra with a simple t-shirt. Quinn knew that Rachel was watching her the entire time. It no longer bothered her with Rachel seeing all of her scars and damaged skin. She felt tears start to fill her eyes again when she realized the jeans she'd chosen, weren't fitting. She'd already taken her skirt off and it was thrown into the basket with the rest of her clothing. The denim was snug on her thighs, as it always had been, but her hips and stomach were another story. She could get them up, but barely, and she could forget getting them buttoned. "They don't fit…" Quinn whispered – defeated. It was hitting her.

She was pregnant.

Granted, she knew she was pregnant, but didn't want to really believe it, even with the sonograms and the morning sickness. Now, the weight gain was added to it. "Quinn?" Rachel carefully stepped closer to her wife. She pressed her hand against Quinn's lower abdomen, feeling the hard bump that was forming.

"This woman said something about my jacket shrinking…" She kicked off the jeans and dug through for a pair of sweat pants instead. She ran her fingers through her choppy hair before Rachel caught her. The brunette's hand came to rest on the taller woman's hip. "I'm fine Rach…"

"You don't look fine." Her fingers danced under the cotton of Quinn's t-shirt some, caressing the skin of her wife's stomach. "Why don't I run you a bath so you can relax? I'll even cook dinner."

"If by cook dinner, you mean order Chinese, that sounds amazing." She forced out a smile before looking down at Rachel's hand. "I'm getting fat." She brushed away the smaller hand before pulling her shirt down to cover the little baby bump she was forming.

"I still think you're beautiful Quinn. You're pregnant, you forming a bump was bound to happen."

Quinn's eyebrow shot up at Rachel's wording. "That's really a polite way to say I'm fat."

"Quinn! I never said you were fat!" Rachel pouted at the accusation.

"How about you join me in the bath, then we can order dinner. Make up for calling me fat." A slow smile crept to Quinn's lips. She knew Rachel wasn't calling her fat, but it was so easy to get her wife riled up over the littlest of things.

Rachel caught on to her wife's antics and a smile overtook her own face. "I'll join you in a bath Quinn. Come on." She took the blonde's hand and led them both into their bedroom, then into the bathroom to start running the water.

April 11 – 10:00PM

Rachel knew she needed some sleep. She was supposed to meet everybody at the studio at 6AM. But she couldn't sleep. She found herself just staring into Quinn's eyes. She hated any time spent away from her wife. But 3-4 weeks worth would be horrible.

"I'll miss you." Quinn spoke, breaking the silence. "It felt like I barely got back to you and you're leaving."

They already knew the night before Rachel left, there wouldn't be much sleeping. Both simply wanting to savor the last moments before being parted. Rachel smiled sadly at her wife before capturing her lips in a tender kiss. "I'll call you every night before I go to bed, and every morning when I wake up." Quinn nodded, allowing her hand to rest on the brunette's cheek. "What are you thinking?"

She was thinking a lot. But wording was something she still struggled with. Quinn learned from an early age that actions spoke louder than words. Instead of speaking her thoughts, she decided to show Rachel what she was thinking. Her eyes closed as she shifted her entire body closer to that of the smaller woman's. A sigh left her lips at the very familiar warmth that enveloped her body. She opened her eyes to look deep into Rachel's. No words were spoken. Her fingertips grazed down the starlet's neck. Quinn watched as Rachel's eyes closed and her head tilted to the side, giving better access to her neck.

"Quinn…" Rachel's breathy whisper sent a chill down the blonde's spine. Excitement coursed throughout her veins, she knew what those touches meant. There was no rushing Quinn tonight. Gentle touches from Quinn were what Rachel savored the most. Sleep now forgotten – Rachel melted into her wife's touch.

Quinn leaned in further and began pressing her lips to her wife's neck. She savored the taste of Rachel's skin. A simple taste that she could never get enough of. Her tongue shot out momentarily to trace a short line near Rachel's collar bone. "Let me love you tonight." She whispered, her eyes meeting Rachel's as she did so.

Without a word spoken, the starlet nodded. She had an idea of what was going to happen. Knowing she was leaving tomorrow, was probably helping Quinn overcome her last obstacle… intimacy. Rachel let out a breathy moan as Quinn's fingertips slid under her tank top to trace patterns on the skin of her stomach. Her own fingers got lost in her wife's blonde hair.

Quinn's heart was racing. Her mind couldn't focus on anything more than the thought that this was it. She was going to give herself to her wife. She felt that she was ready. Rachel would never hurt her. It's taken her weeks for it to actually sink into her mind. For all the years they'd been together – hell, even known each other, Rachel had never hurt her. Why would she start now? So, she never looked away from Rachel's eyes. She need a contact that wasn't purely physical. A contact that couldn't be more intimate – eye contact. Starring into Rachel's eyes made her blush. There really was no reasonable explanation for it. She'd looked into Rachel's eyes hundreds of times. Yet, this was different. It was completely different.

"I love you." The blonde whispered mere moments before capturing Rachel's lips in a passionate kiss.

Their kiss broke long enough to Rachel's top to be pulled over her head. It soon hit the floor with a silent sound that neither of them heard. Quinn's lips, instead of recapturing those of her wife's, found the brunette's left nipple. The soft flick of her tongue over the sensitive peak drew a deep moan out of Rachel. But Quinn wanted more. She knew Rachel was being cautious about her own actions. Especially with how she'd reacted in the past. But this was going to be their first time apart for more than a couple of days since the incident. Once Rachel left the following morning, it would be at least three weeks until they saw one another again.

"Please touch me…" Quinn lifted her head to look into her wife's eyes once again. She needed that sense of comfort – that security that only Rachel could give her.

The starlet had learned not to question what her wife asked of her. Her fingers trailed down the blonde's shirt covered back to grab it's hem. Without hesitation, she pulled it up and over the blonde's head. It then soon joined her tank top somewhere on the floor. Rachel's eyes never left the hazel ones that bore down into her. Eyes that were searching for comfort – for direction. Direction that only Rachel could give to her. As Rachel's fingers made contact with Quinn's breast, she felt her tremble. She pulled the blonde closer to her and whispered softly into her ear. She whispered anything and everything to Quinn that could calm her nerves.

Subconscious, Quinn rocked her hips down onto Rachel's. Each gentle touch on her breasts and nipples brought memories back. But the memories were nothing compared to the reality of what was happening. Quinn finally let a moan escape her lips. She couldn't hold it in any longer. What Rachel was doing to her was long overdue. She needed it. She needed this night.

They soon found a very familiar rhythm – rocking against one another. Lips danced together. Moans and breaths were shared between their connected lips. Fingertips ghosted over one another's upper bodies. Rachel wanted more though. She needed more. But it wasn't up to her. She had no control over the situation. No, she was simply along for the ride. The woman above her was in complete control. Her head flew back into the pillows when Quinn's knee slid between her legs to press against her. She dared to return the favor. Her leg bent up – her knee pressing against the apex of Quinn's thighs.

"Shh. Honey, relax…" Rachel quickly pulled Quinn's upper body against her own. "It's just you and I tonight. Nobody else." She continued to press her leg up between the blonde's. "I'll never hurt you."

Losing herself in the moment, Quinn's hand disappeared into the front of Rachel's shorts. She remained focused on the soothing words that surrounded her. She used the power and comfort of Rachel's words to push away all memory of the incident. That was, until she felt her own shorts be moved aside and a single, slender finger make contact with her core. Her entire body tensed. It was unavoidable. She made no attempt to stop though. Quinn knew she had to push through. Not only for Rachel, but mostly for herself.

"Focus on me." Rachel continued talking to Quinn. She did everything in her power to keep her wife focused on her and not wander to the past. "Stay with me baby." Her hips rocked against Quinn's hand as her own hand kept the same, slow pace. "Don't cry…" Rachel's free hand came up to brush away the blonde's tears before she captured her lips in a hard, loving kiss.

"Go faster…" Quinn was barely able to whisper. She'd missed making love to her wife. Her eyes clenched shut – tears streaming out of them as Rachel listened to her. She kept up the pace, determined to bring the brunette to her climax at the same time.

Rachel didn't dare slide her fingers inside of her wife. Quinn didn't need that much of a push to go over the edge. Plus, she knew it would probably send her into memory overload. "Baby… I'm gonna…" It was all Rachel could get out before her body tensed with orgasm. Her lips became attached to Quinn's as her fingers frantically worked at Quinn's clit to send her over the edge as well.

The attorney's body clenched up for a brief moment shortly after before she started shaking uncontrollably. The orgasm overtook every sense her body felt. Emotion flooded through her as she collapsed onto her wife's smaller frame. She buried her face into Rachel's neck and cried. What she felt was overwhelming. It was a feeling of finally being free of her past. Free of the incident. As she cried against Rachel's neck, she felt the smaller woman move some around her before the feeling of the warm blanket covering her bare back.

"I love you." Rachel whispered, her fingers running through Quinn's short hair. "I love you so much Quinn."

The blonde whispered back to her, "I love you too… thank you." She shifted some so that most of her weight was laying on the bed and not on her wife. But she remained wrapped in the brunette's arms. She just overcame her last obstacle. She finally gave herself to Rachel and it was the most amazing experience she'd felt in months.

Rachel knew what Quinn was thanking her for, but decided not to say anything. Instead, she just held her wife as she cried. The entire time, she was trying to hold in her own tears. She was going to miss Quinn. The time apart was going to be terrible for them both. But at least Brittany and Santana were there in California with them. She knew Quinn wouldn't be alone while she was stuck hours away on set. It was just going to be a very long month apart.

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