A/N: Wonderful reviews, really wonderful, thank you so much. Very inspiring. More baby fluff in this chapter and as usual, feedback is always loved. On a side note, Santana's monologue from Chapter 4 kind of gave me the idea to write a Oneshot about her backstory, it's called Toffee Colored Eyes and Secrets of the Universe, it is slightly related to this story, so I figured I should mention it.
New Directions, as well as Emma and Will, all anxiously sat in the Berry's living room, waiting on Rachel, who had called a team meeting to discuss her latest brilliant idea. "If she turns the projector on may we leave?" Kurt asked, just as Rachel walked into the room.
"Forgive me for taking so long. I just wanted to insure all my research was accurate and in place, also no need to worry, Kurt, as much as I would love to present the powerpoint presentation I created in regards to this subject, I am afraid there is no time. " Rachel opened the folder she had been holding and revealed a stack of pamphlets, getting a collective groan from her teammates. Choosing to ignore them, she began to the pass the pamphlets out. "As you all know, Beth and Quin will be coming home tomorrow, to a home which is lacking the necessary baby supplies."
"Wow. I think this is the first team meeting you have called that has not, in some way, revolved around your pursuit of stardom." Mercedes acknowledged.
Rachel smiled before continuing. "My daddies have decided to finance this project, so there are no worries there, it would be appreciated if you could all pull out and glance over your pamphlets while I explain. Now, Finn, Mike, and Matt you are in charge of purchasing, as well as putting together the nursery furniture. In your pamphlet you will see what wood color to get as well as the necessary dimensions, please do not stray away from the pamphlet, follow it exactly. Santana, Brittany, and Tina you are in charge of painting if you would please turn to page three-"
"What the hell Berry, why is this pamphlet so thick?" Santana groaned as she roughly flipped through the pamphlet. "Dip brush in paint, run brush over wall, repeat. Not hard, certainly not six pages worth of information."
"It confuses me." Brittany mumbled quietly, looking at her pamphlet upside down.
"There are a specific number of strokes necessary to achieve an optimal result. Tina you are in charge of insuring Santana does not stray away from the pamphlet." Rachel ignored Tina's fear stricken face, as she thought about having to tell Santana what to do. "And that Brittany does not ingest any paint, I'm sure we all recall the art class incident earlier this semester." Rachel added as everyone, but Brittany, who was still looking at her pamphlet upside down, nodded in recollection. "Okay, moving on Mr. Schu, Artie, I've put you two in charge of getting all the basic baby essentials."
Mr. Schuester furrowed his brow as he looked at the list Rachel provided. "Rachel, this list is twelve pages long."
"And the print is so tiny." Artie added squinting his eyes underneath his thick glasses.
"Well, only the best for Beth Caroline Fabray Puckerman. Plus the only supplies available to her at the moment are a pair of booties, a hat, a onesie, and a stuffed bunny." Rachel then turned her attention to Mercedes and Kurt, who were smiling as they glanced through their pamphlets. "Finally, some excitement going on. Kurt, Mercedes you are in charge of clothing and general décor of the nursery, that includes linens, lamps, pictures, and so forth. I have provided suggestions, but please stick to a soft, feminine theme. Finally, Ms. Pillsbury you are in charge of sterilizing all of the items coming through the door. I do not want a single germ to come near little Beth." Ms. Pillsbury clapped in delight at the thought of sterilizing and sanitizing all day.
Back at the hospital, Quinn did not fail to notice she had no visitors yet today. She sighed, this is what she had feared, the glee kids were only being nice to her because they felt sorry for her situation, not because they were her true friends, and would abandon her as soon as she had the baby. She craned her neck when she heard Beth stirring in the bassinet next to the hospital bed. Quinn leaned over and gently scooped Beth up and cradled her in her arms. "Hi little girl." Quinn cooed. "I hope keeping you is the best choice for you, I hope it is not selfish of me. You are so small and helpless I'm terrified I won't be enough for you. Your daddy told me I would love you enough for the both of us. I wish he was here, he would have been wrapped around your finger in a second. I cannot promise you I will be a perfect mom and never make mistakes, but I can promise to always try my best to be the mom you deserve and to always love you, no matter what." Quinn softly kiss the top of Beth's head.
She could stare at Beth for hours, she smiled as Beth fell back asleep, sighing as the baby's brow furrowed and her lips cast downward. Quinn silently wondered if her grief had somehow been passed on to Beth while she was still growing inside of her. She wondered if the tiny baby missed the sweet, smooth voice of her father, if she was even capable of being aware that a voice who spoke to her everyday and night was gone. Quinn let a few tears fall as she allowed herself to miss Puck, she cried for both her and Beth.
Meanwhile, project BBR (Baby Beth's Room), as Rachel called it, was coming along nicely, the furniture had been purchased, several trunk loads of baby clothes and linens were currently being washed, and Artie and Will were nearly through the seemingly impossible list of baby items, they still were not sure why it was necessary for Beth to have the, very hard to find, 'Baby Spa'. All they were waiting on was the painting to be finished so they could set up. Rachel huffed as she stood in the doorway to the nursery. "Come on girls, lets move, make sure your strokes are even." Watching Santana, Brittany, and Tina put the finishing touches on the soft pink walls.
Santana slammed her brush into the paint pail. "And what exactly are you contributing to this genius little project of yours, RuPaul?" She could only take so much of Rachel's barking before she snapped.
"I am supervisor." Rachel said proudly. "Need I remind you this was my idea, if it were up to you, Beth would be sleeping in a nightstand."
Santana rolled her eyes as she resumed her painting. "Actually, I said dresser. And if it were up to me we would have boughten a couple outfits, diapers, thrown a crib in the corner and called it a day."
"Precisely the reason why I am supervisor. Quinn deserves this, as does Beth." Rachel said as she exited the room, in search of someone else to supervise(boss around).
Quinn was relieved to see Rachel walk in her hospital room the next day, the day she and Beth were being discharged. "I didn't see any of you guys yesterday." She said softly.
Rachel could see the hurt look on Quinn's face and it made her want to spill the beans, confess everything to Quinn. She could tell Quinn felt as though none of them cared enough to stop by or even call to check on her. "We were busy, Glee Rehearsal."
"Oh." Quinn said as she stared at Beth who was laying on the hospital bed. "I have to get her dressed, I've never done it before. I don't know why I am so nervous." Quinn held her her shaking hand for Rachel to see.
Rachel smiled as she noticed the outfit Puck had purchased laying next to the baby. "I can help if you'd like."
Beth screamed as the two nervous girls clumsily put the baby's limbs through the necessary holes. "I am a terrible mother!" Quinn broke down as Beth continued to cry, her post pregnancy hormones getting the best of her.
Rachel's eyes were big, and she felt overwhelmed. She liked to be in control of situations and she certainly was not in control now, Quinn was sobbing, Beth was red-faced and screaming. "Oh Quinn, you are not. Babies scream and cry, its just what they do. I mean imagine the horror, one second you are relaxing in a warm fluid, constantly being rocked to sleep by the motions of your mother and then before you know it your cocoon is squeezing you out into a tight tunnel and the only option you have is to go towards this brightness, but you have to squeeze through a tiny hole. And when you get out its cold and there are so many noises. Then you finally get comfortable, and here this, Mommy woman and her superstar best friend come and shove you into a strange new outfit, put a crazy thing on your head and some others on your feet. It must be terrifying."
Quinn laughed, which was the response Rachel had been hoping for. "Wait." Quinn said as she and Rachel attempted to get Beth into the car seat Rachel had brought with her. "So you have decided we are best friends now, huh?"
Rachel's cheeks flushed red. "Quinn...I certainly didn't mean anything by it, but if we are being honest, although our friendship has been short, I suppose I would consider you my best friend, my only friend really." Rachel turned away from Quinn before quietly continuing. "I've never had a friend before, so I suppose you would have to be the best."
Quinn furrowed her brow, it saddened her more than she expected as Rachel talked about not having friends. She felt partly responsible, if she hadn't bullied Rachel so much, maybe the girl would have had more friends. After Beth was secure in her pale pink car seat, Quinn pulled Rachel into a hug. "Thank you, Rachel. I really couldn't ask for a better friend." Quinn felt Rachel smile into her shoulder as Paul and Brian came in, ready to wheel Quinn out of the hospital and go home.
Quinn hid her disappointment about none of the other Glee members being there for Beth's homecoming. "Okay, welcome home, Mommy!" Rachel shouted when they pulled in the driveway, causing Beth to stir in her car seat.
"Don't call me that!" Quinn quipped as she undid her seatbelt, realizing Rachel couldn't have heard her, seeing as the petite brunette was already at her door, opening it for her. "Why are you so excited? You are like bouncing off the walls."
"Quinn, we are outside. There are no walls to bounce off of." Rachel responded, growing impatient, she could not wait for Quinn to see the surprise that awaited her upstairs. "Now come on, quickly quickly."
Paul grabbed Beth's car seat, while Brian carried in the array of pink balloons, flowers, and teddy bears. Quinn stopped when she noticed a baby swing sitting in the corner of the living room. "Guys...you really didn't have to do that, I can get the money to pay you back." Grateful tears pooled in Quinn's eyes, she could only look at the swing for a moment before Rachel was dragging her upstairs.
Brian glanced at Paul, who was carrying Beth upstairs, before grabbing the tissues, if Quinn begun to cry at the sight of the swing, he couldn't imagine what her reaction would be to the fully stocked nursery upstairs.
"Rachel, what are you doing?" Quinn asked, attempting to free her hand from Rachel's tight grasp, as she led Quinn quickly down the hallway. Quinn glanced back at Paul, who was following closely behind, Beth cradled delicately in his arms.
"Okay." Rachel turned and smiled at Quinn as they stopped outside a door, with a pink star hanging on it, Beth Caroline was painted in shimmery gold paint across the star. "I know it was rude of me to not call you or visit you yesterday, and I always try to have the very best manners, however, I had my reasons. I have a surprise for you, and Beth."
Quinn could feel her post pregnancy hormones getting the best of her once again. "What is this Rachel?"
Rachel slowly opened the door to reveal a room that seemed to be cut right out of one of those furniture ads Quinn always saw in the newspaper. The walls were a pale pink, the furniture was white, and the white and pink linens matching perfectly. A mixture of cries and a laugh escaped her mouth when she saw Puck's guitar, hanging on the wall, as well as many photographs of Puck posing with Quinn's baby bump, blown up and decorating the walls. "You guys.." Quinn was speechless as she looked around the room at her ten friends, Will and Emma, Rachel's parents, and her beautiful baby girl.
"Almost didn't get done, Quinn. All of us nearly quit, Manhands here is a slave driver." Santana said, practically ruining the sweet moment.
Quinn laughed and mouthed a thank you in Rachel's direction. Rachel smiled, walking over to Paul, taking Beth from him, before walking over to stand next to Quinn. Quinn was impressed with Rachel's natural ability with Beth. "You must have a lot of experience with babies." Quinn noted.
Rachel looked down at the sleeping infant in her arms. "Actually, she is the first one I've ever held."
Quinn smiled, attempting to smooth the hair that was sticking up on top of her daughter's head. "Wow, big week for you huh? First friend, first baby." Quinn watched Rachel with Beth for a moment, still not believing that a week ago she would rather light her hair on fire than be in a room with Rachel Berry. But now that everything had changed, after her world had been flipped upside down. She couldn't imagine being anywhere but with Rachel while she tried to celebrate a new life and mourn a lost life, all at the same time.
A/N(again): I also wanted your opinion, as I am trying to plan out the later chapters of this story, what do you want to happen with Faberry? Do you want them to stay friends? Or would you like to see to them progress into an actual couple? And if you want them to be an actual couple, who do you think should fall first and initiate the relationship?Just looking for some opinions/suggestions. Thanks!
