So, I've been in a writing mood lately. Two chapters in two days, not bad. I'm quite proud of myself.

I just want to thank you all for your response to the last chapter. I wasn't expecting to get 10 reviews for a story that I haven't updated in about 6 months.

I can't guarantee when the next update will be. I was off work yesterday and today. But please know this story is NOT dead. I'm still hoping for some ideas that I could incorporate. I don't want to drag this story on forever, but I also don't want it to seem rushed to get to the end. There's about a month's gap between the last chapter and this one. I was wanting to get the time flowing a little bit quicker so it doesn't seem very repetitive. I was able to come up with some simple outline that has me up into chapter 32, which is about a month from this date. So I need to get through to when Quinn has the baby, plus a chapter after that. I'm thinking this will be about 35-40 chapters long in all.

Anyway, I'm done rambling again, enjoy the next chapter :D

The First 24
Chapter 29

May 23 – 10:00AM

Quinn let out a deep sigh as she allowed Rachel to help her up onto the examination table. She'd already changed into her gown and even got herself ready with the thin blanket over her lap and the lifted up to expose her swollen stomach. It was getting very hard to hide it. It was taking a toll on her body and her back already. She also knew that she was nearing her last trimester, which is when the baby gained all of its weight. Which she feared would only hurt her.

"How are we doing today Quinn?" The doctor interrupted her thoughts as she entered the room.

"I'm good." Quinn shifted some on the bed. Her head turned to look at her wife and she frowned. Rachel was giving her that look. "Okay, no, I'm not good." She hated when Rachel gave her the look. It was a look that told her 'if you don't say something, I will.' Quinn was too stubborn to admit she was in pain, but the extra weight on her front, was pulling horribly on her back.

"What's wrong?" The doctor sat down on the little stool beside the table.

"She can't sleep at night. She tells me she can't get comfortable because of her back." Rachel jumped in, causing Quinn to sigh. She hated it. It was to the point now that she wasn't sure if it was her pregnancy, or her lack of sleep that made her so irritable.

"Rachel, I'm fine." Quinn shot in, trying to get her wife to stop.

"What's wrong with your back Quinn?" Dr. Blair stood back up from the stool to begin her examination of the blonde. She felt around on Quinn's stomach, smiling as she felt the baby move.

Quinn's eyes closed as she focused on her breathing. When the doctor got close to her hips, there was a shooting pain across the middle of her back. "I was in a car accident about six years ago. The pain came and went over the years, but the past two weeks it's been horrible…"

Dr. Blair frowned some at her patient. "And you're having trouble sleeping because of it?"

"I just toss and turn… Most of the time I can't even sleep unless I'm sitting up on the sofa, or the recliner…" She felt some of her breath knocked out of her when the baby kicked particularly hard against the doctor's hand. "The baby's been moving around like crazy the past week too…"

"More than likely, that's because you haven't been sleeping enough to keep the baby happy." The doctor smiled softly at the glare she received. "You have to remember, everything you do, effects the baby. You don't sleep, neither does the baby."

Rachel sat back on her own chair, simply watching her love and the doctor. She hated being so lost. There was nothing she could do to help Quinn to sleep. She'd literally tried every home remedy that she knew, plus some that she had researched. All of which being healthy and natural to make sure they wouldn't hurt the baby in any way. Over the past week when she'd been home, she'd given her wife a massage every single night. It worked to get her to sleep, but Quinn never stayed asleep longer than two or three hours before she would shift. The moment she shifted in her sleep, she woke up groaning. It broke Rachel's heart.

"I get restless at work too… I can't sit in my chair more than a half hour before I have to stand up and walk around. Even then, it doesn't help. I'm constantly changing between the two… people at the office are starting to wonder about me too."

"They don't know you're pregnant?" Quinn only shook her head. "Maybe you should tell them. Then they would understand why you're always up and down at your desk." She pushed Quinn's gown further up and wheeled the machine closer to the table. The action drew Rachel right to Quinn's side. Even in all of the starlet's frustrations with her wife, she wanted to be right there with her to see their baby.

The blonde smiled at her wife before taking her hand. She'd made great strides over the past month in accepting the baby. As far as coming out and telling people other than their closest friends, that wasn't something she was fully ready for yet. She knew it would come soon, there's no way she'd be able to hide it much longer with her ever growing belly, and her growing inability to walk properly, without favoring her back. Whenever she favored her back, it only pushed her stomach more into people's view.

"I know we'll have to go public with it soon. Every time we're out together, there always seems to be someone taking out picture. They're going to figure it out eventually. I'd rather release a statement, before that happens." Quinn looked at Rachel, hoping her wife would take the hint. They'd thrown around the idea a couple of times, but had yet to reach some kind of a conclusion about it.

Quinn jumped when she felt the cold gel on her stomach, her head snapped to look at the doctor. "Sorry, you knew it was coming." She then pressed the paddle against her lower abdomen.

Soon the sound of a quick beating heart filled the room. The monitor was quickly taken over by a black and white baby image. "How's the baby looking?" Quinn couldn't tear her eyes away from the image once she looked at it.

"Your baby is looking incredible. Just a little restless, which you already knew that." She moved the paddle a little bit to get a better look at the baby. "Would you like to know what it is?" She pressed a key on the keyboard to snap a picture, she proceeded to do that several times, waiting for a response.

Quinn looked Rachel right in the eye. It was a silent conversation. When a smile came to Rachel's face, Quinn knew the answer to the question. "Yes, we do…"

May 23 – 3:30PM

Quinn wasn't happy. The doctor appointment went well, up until the point where Dr. Blair recommended Quinn do some physical therapy. Quinn hated physical therapy. She felt like it never helped her before, and didn't feel as though it would help her now. Her body was changing to be able to support their child. How could stretches and exercises actually help her out when they didn't help her out after her accident.

"You have to do it Quinn. You never know, it might help you." Rachel glanced at her wife after she put her car into park at the gas pump.

"It didn't help me last time Rach…" The blonde looked back at her wife and sighed. "I'll just hope that it does. I'm going in to get some tea, do you want anything?"

"Some green tea sounds good." Before the blonde could get out of the car, Rachel pulled her close and gave her a gentle kiss. "I'll be here to help you all along the way, I promise."

The statement pulled a smile to Quinn's face. She knew Rachel would be there with her the entire time. She'd been with her ever since the incident, and nothing had changed. Rachel stood by her through everything and helped her as much as she could. "Alright, I'll be right back out." She climbed out of the car and fixed her jacket to make sure her baby bump was covered. She smiled politely at a man who held the door open for her to enter the gas station. She made her away toward the coolers along the back of the store, finding a green tea for Rachel, and a peach tea for herself.

As she made her way back toward the counter, something caught her attention on the news stand. It was a magazine that she knew well for fabricating rumors, but the picture of herself with Rachel on the cover is what drew her in. She looked around briefly to make sure she wasn't being watched before she picked it up.

On the cover was a picture of her and Rachel, her wife was pushing a shopping cart full of groceries for them. There was enough space between them in the picture, that the was a box outline around her stomach, as well as a zoomed in picture. Across the top it read "Berry-Fabray Scandal!" Below that was a little more detail about what it meant. "Is Quinn Berry-Fabray pregnant and hiding it from her wife?"

She felt her stomach curl. The media was already starting to figure it out. Without a second thought, she rolled the magazine in her hands and took it to the counter with her to pay for it. Thankfully, the teenager working the counter didn't give her a second glance as he rang up her drinks and the magazine. After she paid, she hurried back out to the car and got into the passenger seat. Once the door was closed behind her, she unrolled the magazine and flipped to the page which started the story.

"Quinn?" Rachel questioned when she finished pumping her gas and got back into the driver's seat. "What's that? You never read those things."

Quinn didn't say a word to answer her wife, instead, she started reading from the article. "Based on the timeline of pictures shown above, it's clear to be able to say that Quinn Berry-Fabray is, in fact, pregnant. Either that or moving to the west coast and the change of pace has caused the new starlet's wife to develop a fascination with eating. There's been a steady gain of weight, not to mention several times, she's been seen out and about buying new clothing. One time she was caught in the maternity section. There has been no time though where she's been seen out shopping with her wife. Our question then is… Is Quinn pregnant and hiding it from her wife?"

"That's barbaric Quinn. You know you shouldn't read those things, they like to come up with all kinds of stories about things they know nothing about."

She just continued reading. "Looking at her weight gain over the last several months, it's clear to us that she either cheated on Rachel shortly before her abduction or right after she found her freedom. Either that, or this woman is pregnant by her captor. If that's the case, why is she still pregnant…" Quinn trailed off, her fingers clutching tightly around the magazine. So much so that her knuckles were turning white. She knew it was going to happen eventually. She remembered from New York just how brutal the media could be when you're in the spotlight. "I'll contact my manager to get it taken care of."

"We need to say something… we need to make a statement. Once other news outlets see this, they're going to feed on it and we'll never have any privacy then." She tossed the magazine onto the floor by her feet and hooked her seatbelt. She wasn't sure if she felt like screaming or crying.

"We'll figure it out Quinn. You can't let it get to you."

"They'll figure it out too Rachel. They'll figure out that I'm pregnant from…" she couldn't even finish her sentence. Her hand was quickly enveloped in Rachel's as she pulled out of the gas station. "They already have suspicions about it… It's only going to get worse."

"Let me talk to my manager and see what she recommends about it Quinn."

The blonde only nodded. Her mind was already wandering about all the possible outcomes that could come now that the media was suspicious about her weight gain and throwing around rumors on their own about her pregnancy.

May 24 – 4:00PM

"Honey, we're home!" Santana announced as she let herself and her wife into the Berry-Fabray household.

"Why do you do that every time you come into our house?" Quinn popped her head around the corner from where she'd been helping Rachel in the kitchen.

Santana shrugged. "Because I can. Got a problem?" She kicked off her shoes near the door beside Brittany's before going into the kitchen. "How's my little baby doing today?"

"I'm just fine thanks for asking." Rachel shot in as she pulled a pan out of the oven, a smirk on her face the entire time.

Quinn cracked up laughing when Santana flipped off her wife before turning to her. "So not what I meant hobbit." She placed her hands on Quinn's swollen stomach, which was a habit she'd gotten into ever since the first time she felt the baby kick. And sure enough, the moment she placed her hands on Quinn, she felt a little kick against her palm. "Seems like the baby is wide awake."

"She always is."

Brittany sat on one of the stools at the island and watched her friends. "You really shouldn't do that so much Quinn. What if the baby's a boy, and hears you calling him a her, and he gets all confused when he's born."

Rachel glanced at Quinn, throwing her a quick smile before she pulled the rice off of the heat. "Tell them." She said softly.

Those three words caused Santana's head to snap around to her best friend. "What do you mean? Tell us what?"

A huge smile overtook Quinn's face before she rested her hands on her own stomach. "She won't be confused at all Brittany. Because we found out today that I'm having a girl." She barely finished her sentence before both of her friends nearly tackled her with a hug.

"Do you have a name for her yet?" Brittany instantly asked before her hand came to rest on Quinn's stomach.

"We haven't actually talked much about that yet." Rachel turned off the stove before actually joining her friends and wife at the island. "There's still time for us to figure that out." Her hand came to rest on the small of Quinn's back. "Why don't you actually sit down honey, you know what the doctor said."

The happy expression fell from Santana's face. "What does she mean, what the doctor said?"

The blonde sighed as she sat down beside Brittany at the island. "I need to start some physical therapy to see if that will help with my back. I also need to take it easy as much as I can… which means sitting down a lot."

Santana frowned. "You better listen to that doctor Quinn. Don't need anything happening to you, or to the baby."

"You better be careful, people might think you're going soft and actually worried about me." Quinn nudged her friend, a smile plastered to her face. She knew that Santana did care, and always showed it in her own way. The Latina just glared at her friend. Quinn knew Santana's ways, and knew how she reacted to things she really did care about. Ever since Santana had truly accepted the fact that Quinn was pregnant and keeping it, she embraced it. She'd even gone as far as to buy the baby some gender neutral clothing and blankets. As well as some toys. Quinn knew that Santana was going to be the best aunt ever, even if she'd never admit to it.

"Oh screw you Quinn. I couldn't care less about you, just your daughter."

The room burst into laughter. They all knew otherwise – that Santana was just trying to cover up the fact that she'd been discovered. Quinn leaned against the counter and watched the three best people in her life interacting. She couldn't ask for anything better in her life. Her daughter was going to be raised surrounded by amazing, loving, and most of all, protective people. She would learn so much from all of them. Rachel would no doubt have her watching musicals and sing to her every chance she had while she was growing up. Santana would take her aside when she was a little older and teach her how to fight and protect herself fi the time ever arose. Brittany would no doubt teach her how to love everybody and never judge someone until you get to know them. But Quinn paused in her own thoughts… What would she teach her own daughter? She didn't feel as though she had any special traits that she'd be able to pass on.

"Penny for your thoughts love?" Rachel wrapped her arms around Quinn's waist and whispered into her ear, effectively pulling her out of her thoughts.

"What am I going to teach her?" She rested her hands on Rachel's arms and leaned back some against the smaller woman.

"What do you mean?"

She turned her head to get a better look at the brunette. "Santana is going to teach her how to protect herself, Brittany will probably teach her how to love everybody without judgment, and you'll teach her the performing arts. But what about me? What do I have to offer her?"

"Don't even start that Quinn." Santana interrupted their private conversation. "You're the strongest woman I know, other than myself of course. But look at everything you've ever gone through in your life. Look at the woman you've turned into today. I don't know anybody else who could have pulled through everything you have in the last 39 years."

"She's right Quinn. All joking aside, people who go through half of what you have don't make it. You'll be able to teach our daughter how to be strong. Out of everything, that's the best skill anybody could ever learn."

Quinn remained silent. She heard what her wife and friend were telling her, but that doesn't mean she was listening to them. She didn't feel strong. She knew she had been through a lot in her life, but she pushed through it because she had to – because it was expected of her.

She was suddenly doubting the fact that she would be a good mother…

May 24 – 8:00PM

Quinn bid her wife and her friends a good night before grabbing her phone and going back to the bedroom to lay down. Her back was not happy with her at the moment, and she was hoping that if she propped herself up in bed and watched a movie that she would be able to relax and sleep some.

She stripped out of her shirt and pants before crawling into bed. She felt unusually warm that day and decided it would be best to try sleeping in just her bra and panties. After she placed her pillows up against the headboard she pulled back the blanket and crawled in. Quinn groaned when her body sank into the mattress. It felt good to lay back and be reclined. The combination of sitting and standing all day was not helping her at all.

She reached for the television remote once she was fully comfortable. After spending a good ten minutes flipping through channels with no luck, she went into the TV's functions and loaded Netflix. What she always hated, was not knowing what to watch. Quinn spent another 15 minutes scrolling through movies and reading descriptions before finally deciding on a romantic comedy. It really didn't matter anyway, she knew she wouldn't be focusing on it. She grabbed her phone from the bedside table and tapped through her contacts until she saw Beth's name.

Quinn: Hey, are you busy?

She blindly reached for her phone's charger to plug the device in. It was getting late at night, on a Friday, so she definitely wasn't expecting Beth to respond quickly.

Beth: She's actually in the shower left her phone in my room. This is Jess. How's it goin?

Quinn: I'm good. Can you have Beth text me when she gets back…

Beth: Sure can. You okay?

Quinn sighed. She'd only talked to Jess once, but she could already tell that she was a good person.

Quinn: I just need to talk to her about something

She let her phone rest beside her on the bed and wrapped her hands around her bare abdomen. "Shhh, honey, it's okay. We're relaxing now." She spoke softly as she rubbed her stomach, trying to sooth the little girl inside. "I'm gonna tell your big sister about you." Her fingers continued working at the skin, trying to calm down her daughter. She jumped when she felt her phone vibrate against her hip.

Beth: Jess told me you texted me. What's up?

Quinn: You have a few minutes

Quinn knew she should probably call Beth to explain everything, but she didn't know that she'd be able to find the words. Written or typed word was so much easier for her to be able to express how she was feeling about things.

Beth: Yea. Are you okay?

Quinn: I just needed to talk to you about something

Beth: You can call me if you want

Quinn: This is easier to find the words… I'm pregnant Beth

There was no immediate response. Quinn wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing. She instantly started running through all of the negative scenarios in her head. What would Beth think of her when she explained that the baby was unexpected. "Please calm down baby…" She winced at a particularly hard kick her daughter gave her. The doctor did tell her that the baby felt anything she felt. Which right now, was stress.

She quickly reached for her phone when it vibrated. By the time she unlocked her screen, it had vibrated a second time.

Beth: I kind of figured that. I saw the pictures that this one magazine had in them. You look pretty far along… how far are you? I should say congratulations. But I do have to ask, is it from… that? Simply because you look so far along, like you're 5 or 6 months.

Quinn: It is from the incident… we were hoping to make a statement about it before the media noticed anything different about me but that didn't work out

Beth: What made you decide to keep it

Quinn stared at the text message for several minutes before she finally started to type out her response.

Quinn: Rachel and I tried for years to have a baby nothing worked. Then this thing happened and found out I was pregnant… I don't believe in abortion and I nearly lost it when I gave you away for adoption. I couldn't do it. This was our chance to have a family, as Rachel said it just wasn't meant to be until now

Beth: I completely understand. That's kind of awesome that I'm going to have a little brother or sister

The attorney broke out into a huge smile when she saw that message. It told her so much. Beth did want to be a permanent part of her life. Saying that she was going to have a little sibling told her that.

Quinn: A little sister. Found out this morning it's a girl.

Beth: I wish you could see the smile on my face right now. Jess is excited too. She said she can't wait to meet her when are you due?

Quinn: My doctor's saying Sept 14

Beth: I'm so coming up when you have her. School or not, Jess is saying she'll come up too lol she'll even drive me

Quinn rolled onto her side and curled her knees in toward her stomach. It was comfortable, but she knew it wouldn't last long. She just hoped that she'd be able to fall asleep, at least for a little bit.

Quinn: That's sweet of her. Is she your special someone?

Beth: … yes …

Quinn: lol, no need to get all shy about it. Obviously I'm not going to judge you, I'm married to a woman who was my high school sweetheart

Beth: I know. We're just taking things slow and there's no labels on anything.

Quinn: That's the best thing you can do. One day at a time. You don't know what tomorrow will bring, let alone years from now

She suddenly paused before she sent her message. Her mind drifted back to what Santana and Rachel had told her a few hours prior. She was strong. She was stronger than she gave herself credit for. What she was about to tell Beth, was something she'd lived by for years. It was true. Nobody knew what was going to happen the next day, or the day after, or so on. She knew she just had to live one day at a time and see what life brought to her.

Quinn: Brittany and Santana are here, I'll text you later.

She forced herself to sit up and get out of bed. After putting on some clothes she made her way back into the living room where the group was sitting and watching a movie. Without a word stretched out next to Rachel and placed her head on the brunette's lap. These were the best people in her life right now and she was going to do anything to be near them. Even if it was to spend one day at a time around them.

Rachel just smiled down at her wife and began playing with her hair. Out of the corner of Quinn's eye, she could see Brittany and Santana sharing a similar smile to Rachel's. Nobody said a word, nobody had to. It was moments like this that Quinn cherished the most. She reached up to grab Rachel's hand, after bringing it to her lips and kissing it, she placed it, along with hers, on top of her stomach where their daughter was.

The combined touch caused the baby to kick, but quickly calm down afterwards. Rachel continued stroking her thumb over her wife's taut stomach. "I love you… both of you." She whispered before leaning down and giving Quinn a gentle kiss.

"We love you too Rachel."

There ya go. Chapter 29 :) Let me know what you think? Please? You'll make me sad :P

See you next time :D