9/23/12 CH 13
A/N: OMG guys we hit 100 reviews! I'm not going to cry….ok mostly I am not going to cry! Have to be honest when I saw that 100th review I had some tears in my eyes. ! I have the BEST readers! Thank you guys so much for being with me, through the ups and the downs!
A/N: Check out my poll to help me decide which character to bring in next!
Enjoy & Thanks for Reading
Taylor
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Beth looked over at her mother Shelby with a pout. Ice Cream was indeed a GREAT idea for breakfast. She frowned as she watched Santana eat half a carton in disgust as she ate her fruit loops.
But smiled when Shelby turned away to talk to Quinn and Santana gave her two quick spoonfuls with her finger to her lips to keep her quite. Quinn had great friends. Beth smiled and winked over at Santana who received a scowl from her own wife and a tsk tsk with a waving finger.
"Santana, don't think for one second because I am being distracted my your partner in crime over here that I missed you slipping my daughter ice cream." Shelby said never turning around, causing the room to erupted in laughter when Santana blushed head to toe.
"Sorry, I am blaming it on the hormones." Santana muttered. "I've mellowed into a softie, even Berry terrifies me at this point."
"Poor Sannie you'll be ok." Brittany snuggled the woman at her side. "Beth that pout of your is going to do my wife in, please save it for Quinn and your mom." Brittany laughed.
Beth nodded, glancing over at Quinn. "I'm sorry Santana. Quinn what are we doing today?"
Quinn smiled over at her little me winking. "Whatever keeps us out of trouble hopefully."
Shelby groaned, looking back and fourth between the two identical blondes. "I am going to regret this I know it. But if you don't mind Quinn I was hoping to meet up with some old friends today, and was wondering if you wanted sometime with out me hovering?"
"Really?" the identical blondes questioned excitement in their voice.
"Yes, really. Try to reign it in though will you. Not too much sugar, and no jail time if you can manage." she chuckled when Beth was doing the happy wiggle in her seat scooping up the rest of her cereal.
"Thanks Shelby, I really appreciate this." Quinn said quietly looking sincerely into the woman's eyes.
"Its not a big deal. I wish I had the same opportunity when Rachel was little. I don't want you to feel the way that I did." Shelby let out a deep breath. "I don't want her to not know you, or worse hate you."
"She doesn't hate you." Quinn said softly.
"I'm pretty sure she does, she took off across the country to avoid me." Shelby said quietly.
"She had to go on tour, and it has more to do with me then you. Plus she was worried about how you would react about the whole Beth thing."
Shelby let out a defeated breathe. " I have no problem with her knowing Beth, I would love nothing more for them to be like sisters." Shelby whispered trying to keep Beth from hearing. "I made a mistake when she reached out to me, 9 years ago. I expected this wonderful connection when I saw her, that click that you get when you hold your child in your arms for the first time. It was there, but I didn't know what I was feeling at the time. I was scared, and I was foolish. I expected her to be a baby, a child who needed me. Rachel doesn't need anyone, I am not sure if she ever did. Certainly not me."
Quinn watched the emotion shoot all over the place on Shelby's face. "She always needs someone, Shelby everyone needs someone. Rachel was just in a position for so long that she could only rely on herself. That was my fault, and the rest of the people at high school that pushed her into the position. We alienated her, all she had was her dads and Brittany. So when she reached out for you, and you turned her away; yes it cut her deeply. But you didn't do anything that the rest of her didn't do. She built her walls up to survive, we didn't give her much choice. She never gives up, she is so talented, and has the most amazing heart that is always open to forgiveness and second chances."
He room was quiet for a few moments everyone listening to the words that Quinn spoke. Shelby stared into the hazel eyes in front of her. "You care very much about Rachel."
Quinn was shocked by the statement; she hadn't realized that she felt so strongly about the little diva. "She gets under your skin., and makes it impossible not to see how amazing she is." she said softly. "I wish I could remember this last weekend, she is acting so weird, it leaves me to wonder what happened."
Santana looked over at Brittany who was wiggling in her seat smiling at the turn of events. She winked at her wife and kissed her on the cheek. "I bet." Santana said with a sarcastic tone, seeming to have been at last rescued from the hormones by the ice cream, at last.
"And she's back." Quinn laughed nodding at Brittany. "I owe you 10 bucks."
"Hey!" Santana muttered watching the her wife and her best friends laugh at her annoyance. "No teaming up on me."
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"Honeybee, we have to get your ass in gear you have 15 interviews before noon today."
Rachel looked up from her bed it was barley 6 am. She was going to annihilate someone. She growled and hid her head under the pillow, hoping that by ignoring Mary she would go away.
"Oh I don't have time for this, you either get out of that bed willingly or I am going to toss you out." Mary said humor in her tone.
"You wouldn't dare!" Rachel muttered. The next thing she knew she and all the sheets and blankets where hitting the floor. "I can't believe you." she said outraged jumping to her feet.
"You're too busy to have a divatude. Get your ass in the shower and hop to it." Mary said as her phone rang. "It wasn't my idea to rush to LA and then rush back home in under 48 hours. I am just doing your bidding."
Rachel fumed glaring at the older woman, then deflated at her words. "Ok, you have a point. Please remind me that I am an ass hole when I am in a better mode." she muttered and stomped off into the bathroom slamming the door.
"Diva!" Mary yelled after laughing, connecting the call. "She's up! It wasn't easy and we will be talking about hazard pay later."
"Don't I know it!" Yarin laughed over the line. "We have a lovely day planned here. The ladies are going to take in a few shows and some shopping. I will be dealing with the new contract signings, and what ever shit is stirred up here. You just keep her in check and on schedule. I am not dealing with a pouting diva in training if Rachel isn't back on time."
"Yeah well the fully trained one isn't so great either." Mary laughed. "I'll keep her towing the line." Mary smiled when she began to hear Rachel warming up in the shower running through her scales. "Looks like she is waking up."
"luck you." Yarin laughed.
"OK kiddo, talk to you later. We have a few things here that need to be pinned down before I run them by Rachel. Talk later." they said goodbye and hung up.
Rachel took a quick shower, letting the steam into her lungs from the over hot water. She warmed her voice up by going over her scales. She turned off the water toweled off. She quickly dressed in a silk lined KB black thigh length dress and matching suit jacket. The peaking silk lapel was a light lilac color, her signature color now according to Kurt and Blaine, so she matched them with 4 inch lilac heels. Not bothering with hair or makeup as the team would be by shortly to work her into the "Berry Diva" She met a chipper Emily at the table and smiled as her. "Looks like you slept well."
"Indeed Babs, I see you're still grumpy with the whole time zone difference."
"Never been a fan of that." Rachel admitted snagging her soy yogurt and dropping fruit and granola in the bowl with it. "So what are you going to do today? I should be in interviews most of the morning."
"I figure I can hang out at the beach where I can soak up some rays. Maybe hit my condo and make sure Max moved out like I told him to."
"OK, You take Jackson with you just incase. I'll keep Caly with me. We can meet back up for a lunch date if you'd like that is when I am done with round one of the interviews and will be in the office."
"Sounds like a plan." Emily smiled. "Babs can I ask you a question? You Don't have to answer it if you don't want to. " she sighed. "What are you doing this all for? I can tell you want to be in New York. I know that Xiomara is loosing it, she is blowing up my publicist pumping her for information. Are you trying to get her off your back, or are you protecting this Quinn girl, and why are you protecting her? You haven't acted this weird since we first met when you first came to New York."
Rachel pursed her lips and paled with her breakfast. "This isn't about Xiomara, other then wanting to keep her away from Quinn. Quinn isn't like us Em, she is a normal small town girl, sweet and wholesome. She and I have history, well you know about that, anyway we started this tentative friendship, and then bam she is in the middle of a media circus. I can't let her be attacked, by fans, or the media. So I have to protect her, in any way that I can."
"She didn't seem to happy about the entire thing." Em said watching the fidgety diva across from her. "And you never wanted to protect Xiomara like you do Quinn." she waited for an answer but there was nothing but one tear that slipped from the Berry Diva's mask. "You love her." Emily said so softly that it was hard to hear. "Oh my god you love her Babs!"
"Who doesn't love Quinn Fabray?" Rachel said annoyed pushing her food away from her. "But love doesn't change anything. I have loved her for years and have always kept it in check . The feelings that I might have, don't change the fact that I have her and Beth to worry about. I can't allow anything to happen to them."
"Rachel you can't make decisions for people in your life. Especially Quinn she is adult. She has the right to make up her own mind, you …" Rachel turned away from her avoiding her eyes. "What happened on this trip?" a sob raking Rachel's body was the only sound in the room. "Did she reject you? Is that why you are holding her at arms length?"
Rachel let out a bitter laugh tears rolling freely down her face, still avoiding her friends face. "I believe that would have been easier."
Emily watched her friend trying to understand what was going on, and what would upset the diva so much. "I am trying to understand what happened."
"You're not the only one. Listen Quinn and I well we have chemistry so very much of it. Last weekend was the first time that she opened her eyes to it and we just had a wonderful time with one another. If we let it I believe that it would blossom into a beautiful relationship. " Rachel broke off in a sob. "But I can't."
"Why?" Emily demanded pounding on the table.
"Because almost losing her, brought on the reality that I can't live without her!" Rachel yelled jumping to her feet. "What if we have a relationship and then she decides that it isn't working for her? Or that the paparazzi is too much, and I'm not worth the effort? What if someone hurt her, and she leaves. " she was hysterical at this point. "She will leave me one way or another, and I will be devastated. I can't survive her cutting me off again," she whispered in a frightened voice.
"You would rather lie to yourself and her, then tell the truth and have the possibility of love for a life time?" Emily demanded angry at her dear friend when Rachel only nodded, she sighed defeated. "Then you're a coward, a pathetic coward." she said she too crying at her broken friend and leaving her to her own insecurities.
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Quinn laughed as Beth ran down the now empty theater singing "I'm the greatest star." they had waited for the theater to clear our and tipped the usher to allow them to stay behind so that Beth could have a little fun.
"It's like watching a Quinn and Rachel love child." Santana laughed, then frown and cast a look at Quinn in worry.
"I know right. If Rachel and I had a biological child she would be just like Beth." Quinn laughed looking with a furrowed frown at Santana and Brittany's worried face. "What?"
"Nothing." Santana denied looking away.
"It isn't nothing." Brittany admitted. Ignoring the look on Santana's face telling her to shut up. "You sounded so happy on the phone when we talked to you."
"When?"
"Since you and Berry started to work together. This weekend, you were even happier, now I don't know why or what happened to make you feel that way. But there was something."
"Rachel." Quinn whispered in awe watching her daughter.
"Yes Rachel, it is the only thing that makes sense to me. Quinnie we have been so worried about you for months, and when your dad died we started making plans to move to New York, we were so worried."
Quinn sucked in a breath in shock. "I wasn't that bad, I'm fine." she denied.
"Q, you've been depressed and miserable. We can tell over the phone." Santana finally admitted. "But we notice the last few weeks there was a noticeable difference, even now your better."
Quinn sat back firmly in her chair looking bewildered. "What happened this weekend?" looking at her friends for assistance.
"Have no clue, Berry was very tight lipped about it. If you want to know what happened she is your girl. She didn't tell us anything." Santana said holding Brittany's hand and kissing it. "So that is our other little surprise, do you happen to know of any good locations for a small family of 4?"
"You're serious?" Quinn demanded shocked.
"Yes, we were going to surprise you." Brittany laughed, wiggling in her seat. "I can find a studio to work in and Santana can open a practice here. She already took the NY state bar, so it's a matter of finding a place." Brittany laughed at Quinn shocked expression.
"I can't believe you didn't tell me!" Quinn shouted hugging them fiercely "You guys, I'm so happy that you want to move. But you can't do that just because of me."
"Quinn while you are the major reason we are moving, that isn't the only reason. We've wanted to move out of Lima, it was too small town for our family. " Santana admitted holding her wife's hand.
"We don't want our babies to suffer the way San did. We didn't want what the Berry's went through for us. So we we're gonna move anyways." Brittany smiled. "You being in New York, which is Santana's favorite place, and so not little town was perfect for us. So were moving here." she said with glee.
"Best news ever." Quinn laughed as they turned to watch Beth belt out the last lines of the song.
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Taylor
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