A/N - You guys are amazing!
Chapter 3 – The Changes in Life
"Congratulations everyone!" Holly exclaimed as the members of New Directions - plus Kurt, Mercedes and Tina - all stood in a private room at the back of the hottest dance club in L.A. The owner had been ecstatic when Holly contacted him to reserve the room for a small party, celebrating the band's Grammy win. Now they all stood around, champagne glasses held high and toasted to their success. "To the hottest band in the world! And to a lot more success in the future!"
Everyone cheered, echoing the publicist's toast.
"Now, enough business shit. Everyone have fun!" the blonde called out, already starting to saddle up to a tall good looking guy, who looked like he'd just stepped out of a modeling catalog.
Rachel downed her champagne then shook her head, smiling at the crazy blonde. Holly had been New Directions' publicist from the very beginning. She was actually the one to come up with the name New Directions. The band had first called themselves Northern Lights, but Holly told them that it was a lame name. So she took it upon herself to find them a better one.
When she'd first announced that they were going to be called New Directions, she explained that it was a catchy and memorable name for a band, especially since it sounded like 'Nude Erections', which everyone would remember. The band thought it was great.
At the band's initial beginning, Tina had to pull major strings plus call in a few favors in order to even get a meeting with the popular publicist. But the band was lucky that Holly saw potential in them early on. And when Holly set her mind on something, she will move heaven and earth to make it the very best it can be. That's what she did with New Directions. She took them from basically a garage band to Grammy Award winners in just a couple of short years. She was brilliant and they were still lucky to have her.
For the next thirty minutes, Rachel sat on one of the over-stuffed sofas and drank a few glasses of champagne, just watching everyone dance and party around the private room. She was in her own little world when someone sat down next to her and nudged her arm.
"What are you thinking about, Rach?" Tina asked, concern lacing her voice for her friend. She had known Rachel practically her whole life and knew how to read the diva almost perfectly. And that was definitely a challenge, since Rachel Berry had about a thousand different emotions, and sometimes a hundred of those emotions flashed through her attitude every day. No matter how much the singer protested, she was still a good example of a 'Diva'. "Something's different about you. You've seemed… off the last several days."
Truth was, Rachel couldn't stop thinking about Quinn and their night together. The way they connected emotionally… and physically. Several times in fact. The blonde was a permanent fixture in her mind nowadays and she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
"You know you can tell me anything, Rachel," Tina's voice softened as she took the singer's hand and gave it a squeeze.
Turning to see the concerned eyes of one of her best friends, she knew she could trust Tina. Tina would never tease her or throw out a sarcastic reply like the boys in the band would. She would listen and be there for Rachel. So she took a deep breath and said, "I met a girl."
Tina waited for her friend to continue. She couldn't see the issue yet, Rachel met tons of girls everyday. But after a few long silent moments and realizing the singer wasn't going to go on, she prodded, "And…? What about this girl?"
A soft smile tugged on Rachel's lips. "Her name is Quinn and she is the most beautiful woman I've ever met. And not only that, Tina, she's really smart too. We talked about universities and history and art. Hell, we even talked about sports! We ate room service and hung out… and I haven't done that, outside of the band, for years. She just… She felt so… comfortable. Someone I could be myself around. And she's so funny, Tina! We laughed and laughed until our sides hurt."
Tina was shocked at the light shining in Rachel's eyes. She'd had never seen that look before. "Wow, Rach, she must be quite the girl to have you looking all moony-eyed over her. Where did you meet her?"
A soft smile lit up the diva's face. "We met last week at the Grammys." Rachel then proceeded to tell Tina all about her night with Quinn. She even told her about the following morning when she was a coward and just ran away. And she explained the thoughts and feelings she was having whenever she thought about Quinn.
And Tina sat and listened, not saying a word the entire time. She could tell this girl was different. Rachel never shared stories, especially personal ones, with just anyone. And if she'd willingly shared them with Quinn, then Quinn was very special. The only reason Tina knew so much about Rachel was because they'd known each other forever.
"You just left her a note?!" Tina exploded when Rachel had finished.
Rachel flinched at the outburst. "I know! It was stupid but I didn't know what to do! I was scared!"
The manager shook her head and watched the diva for a few minutes, taking in everything Rachel had told her. "You've got it bad, girl," she said.
Rachel just shook her head and took another sip of her drink. "It doesn't matter what I feel. Nothing can happen anyway. Quinn wouldn't be happy in my world. We're too different. And right now I can't give her what she deserves, like a full time relationship. She's a relationship type girl and I can't give her that. Hell, I usually don't even see the same girl twice! Quinn deserves better than that."
"I understand what you're saying, Rach, but you do have a lot to offer her. I know it's ultimately your decision, but I haven't seen your eyes light up like that… ever. I just want you to be happy, Rachel, and what if Quinn is the one to do that? She sounds to me like a great girl who really could make you happy."
Rachel sighed and put her head in her hands. "I know. She's really special, T. And she's actually pretty perfect for me, but… I'm just not the perfect one for her."
~~~~~QR~~~~~
Two months later …
As the days went on, Quinn felt increasingly tired; she was having trouble sleeping, sometimes she felt feverish and her appetite had been dwindling. Her initial thought had been her high stress levels, since the art gallery that she and her friend, Mike Chang, owned was picking up in business and getting busier every day. They'd been swamped with signing contracts with several new artists and a few exclusive galleries all over the country and the last several weeks had been very stressful for both of them.
Quinn flushed the toilet and rested her forehead on the cold, porcelain brim of the bowl. This was the second time in the last three days that she'd repeatedly thrown up. The first time was after Santana had brought over some food from a questionable new diner down the street. While the two best friends were watching a movie and eating, Quinn had sworn that something tasted off about her burrito.
After a few minutes, she dared to try and stand up, but once she got to her feet, her stomach began to churn again. Quinn placed her hand on her stomach, mumbling, "Not again."
Once she relieved her stomach's contents yet again, she was finally able to brush her teeth and finish getting ready for work. It was supposed to be another long day since they had two large truck deliveries scheduled to arrive that afternoon, but she would just have to endure it and push through this sickness.
It was late that night when Quinn was finally able to leave the gallery, but when the time came, she flew out the door and was on her way to the store. Halfway through the day it hit her that she'd missed her last two periods. Needless to say she was freaking out.
The moment she stepped foot inside her front door at home, a paper bag in her hand, she walked straight to the bathroom and shut the door. Five minutes later… her entire world changed.
~~~~~QR~~~~~
She needed to talk to Santana. She needed to talk to Santana immediately.
Quinn paced back and forth in her living room, raking her fingers through her hair. What the hell was she going to do?!
When she woke up that morning, she found herself lying on the bathroom floor, throwing up in the toilet – again. She couldn't believe what was happening! It was impossible! Girls cannot get other girls pregnant, it was a medical fact.
However, a girl did manage to get her pregnant. Granted said girl had a penis, but… she was still a girl!
Quinn needed to talk to Santana. Whenever crazy, wild or irrational things happened in her life – she always went to Santana. The Latina had seen a lot of insane shit in her lifetime and could always explain the unexplainable to Quinn, or they could at least freak out about it together.
She grabbed her phone out of her pocket and dialed her best friend's number. It rang and rang, and finally went to voicemail.
Frustrated, Quinn gripped the phone tighter as she left a message, "Santana, where the hell are you?! Pick up your damn phone, we have an emergency!"
Ending the call, she covered her forehead with her hand and continued to pace the room. Maybe Santana was down at her club? She usually didn't work on Wednesdays, but maybe there was a crisis she had to take care of – she was the boss after all. But Quinn didn't have a clue as to what kind of crisis a strip club could have. Maybe they had run out of pole grease or something.
She looked up the club's number in her cell phone and punched the button, bringing the phone up to her ear.
It rang and rang… then –
"Satan's Angels. What do you need?" came the short, irritated voice of the Latina.
Quinn rolled her eyes at her friend's greeting. "Good thing I'm in a hurry to get a hold of you, S; otherwise I would berate you on your phone etiquette."
"Shut up, Q. What do you want? I'm busy."
"I need to talk to you, Santana. It's an emergency."
There was a long pause and Quinn could hear clinking glasses in the background and a lot of noise.
"What kind of emergency? Like the 'you are dying' kind?"
Quinn took a deep breath. "No… Yes… Maybe."
"That makes a whole lot of sense, Q," Santana said sarcastically.
"Shut up! I need to talk to you!" Quinn exclaimed, her patience gone.
"Fine fine!" Santana exclaimed, obviously becoming more irritated. "Come down in about an hour."
"I'll see you then."
~~~~~QR~~~~~
"So… what are you freaking out about, Q?" Santana asked as she sat on the blood red sofa in her office and motioned for the blonde to sit across from her in the matching loveseat. The dance/strip club had finally slowed down enough for Santana to take a short break. She took a pull from her beer, passing a freshly opened bottle over to her best friend. "Should I get Peyton up here too?"
Quinn's heart sank at the mention of her girlfriend. What the hell was she going to do?! She had a girlfriend for hell's sake! This was going to destroy Peyton, and their relationship. She eyed the bottle skeptically, making no move to take it from Santana's outstretched hand.
Santana, noticing her hesitance, said, "It's just a beer, Q. It's not like I spiked it so I can get you into bed. I've already had you, and you were incredible, but… being friends works better for us," she said with a smirk and winked at the blonde.
"It's not that," Quinn told her. "I just can't drink it."
"And why is that?" she asked, her eyebrow raised.
"That's what I needed to talk to you about, S." She took a deep breath, slowly breathing out. "I'm pregnant."
Unfortunately Santana had just taken a drink of beer, now she was spewing it all over the floor. "What the hell, Q?!" she yelled, wiping the alcohol from her chin. "Are you serious right now?! You're fucking with me, right?"
Quinn looked down at her hands in her lap, shaking her head. "Nope. I took a pregnancy test – actually I took three tests and they all came out positive."
"Holy hell, Q!" Santana turned and looked over her shoulder toward the closed door like she was afraid someone was going to overhear them. "Peyton is going to flip her shit! I can't believe you cheated on her!"
Peyton had been Santana's manager for the club since the very beginning. The Latina had met the black haired beauty when they were in college and had bonded over business classes. She was the one who introduced Quinn to Peyton, knowing they were perfect for each other.
"I know!" Quinn exclaimed. Her head was starting to pound. Had she even eaten anything at all that day? Who knows.
"Who's is it?" Santana asked, her heart going out to her best friend despite the impending drama this situation was surely to cause in the near future.
Quinn took a deep breath. "It's Rachel's."
Santana just stared at her, her eyebrow raised in confusion. "Rachel? What do you mean 'Rachel'? Rachel who?"
"Remember a couple months ago when you forced me to go to the Grammy's with you?"
Santana nodded, thinking back to that night. It had been a very profitable night for her of socializing and getting new contacts and investors and clients for her club. She'd lost sight of Quinn halfway through the after-party, but she did remember seeing her talking to Rachel Ber-. "Shit," she murmured, her eyes bugging out of her head. "You had sex with Rachel Berry? Like, as in New Directions Rachel Berry?"
Quinn nodded. "Yes, that Rachel Berry."
Santana was speechless. She just gaped at her best friend. "Why… How… Shit, Q! Does Peyton even know that you've been with someone else?"
Quinn looked down at her twiddling fingers in her lap, shame clearly written all over her face. She shook her head. "No."
Santana stood up and paced around the room. Thoughts were surging through her head at a million miles per hour. "Wait! Wait, hold up! How in the hell did Rachel Berry, a girl, knock you up?! Does the dwarf have magical powers or something? Does she practice voodoo in her hobbit shack?"
Quinn leaned her head on the back of the couch and closed her eyes, her exhaustion catching up to her. Why did she think it was a good idea to talk to Santana? "No, San. Rachel is intersex."
Santana stopped pacing and stared at the blonde. "What? What the hell does that even mean?"
"It means she is a girl that was born with a penis," Quinn told her.
Her jaw dropped and the beer bottle crashed to the floor. "Are you shitting me?" she asked, stunned. "A girl with a penis?…And she got you pregnant?"
"Yes, Santana," Quinn said irritably. "Yes, Rachel has a penis, and obviously it works really well."
The Latina was shaking her head, still stunned. "I can't believe… wow." Then she smirked. "Hell, I bet with the gentleness and common sense of a woman and the pounding power of a man… I bet the sex was out of this world!"
Quinn laid her forehead on top of her hand, softly giggling in a 'seriously this is my life?' way. She had a feeling that her life was just about to hit the fan.
~~~~~QR~~~~~
It'd been a couple weeks and Quinn's mornings always started off rough thanks to what she now knew to be morning sickness which - she had twice a day, every day. 'Morning' sickness her ass! On top of that, she could sleep, her mind wouldn't stop from running wild. Eventually she would get up and do hours worth of research on information about people who were intersex.
So Quinn felt like complete and utter crap and just wanted to give in to her exhaustion and sleep for days.
She'd been late getting to the art gallery a few times, but Mike knew her circumstances and was very supportive about it. He would reassure her that it had been a slow day and not to worry about it. She was always grateful for the reprieve, even if it was only for a day.
And now, after a particularly long day, she was glad to finally get back home and relax. She was in the middle of preparing dinner when Santana unexpectedly showed up. The Latina and Brittany lived not too far away, so they always dropped in unannounced.
Quinn sighed. She wasn't in the mood for Santana's crap and drama.
But surprisingly, Santana was calm and actually serious for once. She helped Quinn finish the preparations for spaghetti and garlic bread. Food in hand, they both sat down at the dinner table to eat.
Silence filled the room until Santana asked, "Do you know what you're going to do?"
The forkful of noodles stopped halfway to Quinn's mouth, she looked up at her best friend. She'd been waiting all evening for Santana to bring up the pregnancy and Peyton, and it seemed like the Latina was now ready to talk. Hopefully they could have a serious discussion.
Quinn set her fork down on the plate, wiped her mouth with a napkin, and then folded her arms on the table. "I'm going to keep the baby, if that's what you're asking. Peyton and I talked, and she is very angry-"
"No shit," Santana interrupted.
Quinn was freaking out. She'd asked Peyton over to her house to tell her about the pregnancy, and now as the two women sat on the couch staring at each other, Quinn's nerves began to get the best of her.
Peyton held her girlfriend's hand, patiently waiting for the blonde to talk. Quinn had been really jumpy around her the last couple months and she was worried. She'd tried to talk to her about what was wrong, but Quinn would constantly avoid the conversation by changing the subject or even just walking away. But now the club manager hoped her girlfriend was finally ready to confide in her.
Quinn took a deep breath, looking tearfully into soft blue eyes. She knew she was just about to hurt someone who meant a lot to her. "Peyton, I have to tell you something."
Peyton squeezed Quinn's hand, giving her an encouraging smile.
"I uh… I'm so sorry," Quinn managed to get out before tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Hey…" Peyton soothed, scooting closer to her girlfriend and wrapping her arms around her waist. She smiled warmly into tear-filled hazel eyes and gently tucked a stray lock of blonde hair behind Quinn's ear. "It's okay, sweetheart, you can tell me anything."
Quinn frantically wiped at her tears. "Peyton, I'm… I'm pregnant."
Silence hung in the air as the brunette just stared at her girlfriend. "Exc-Excuse me?" she asked, completely dumbfounded. It felt like a steamroller had just ran over her. She couldn't breathe.
Quinn sat like a statue, watching Peyton closely and trying to gage what would happen next, what reaction she would have to the news.
But the living room remained silent, Quinn doubted either of them were even breathing.
A full five minutes passed before Peyton spoke. "Quinn, you needed to explain… And you better do it quickly, because I sure as hell know I couldn't have gotten you pregnant," she said through clenched teeth as she moved to the far side of the couch, letting Quinn's hand fall from hers.
Quinn's heart fell as Peyton put distance between them. She couldn't even look at the brunette, she was so ashamed as she kept her eyes staring down at her empty hands. "I… It was a couple months ago and… We-We were really drunk and it just happened… Peyton, I am so sor-"
"Stop!" Peyton interrupted her harshly. The brunette just stared at her girlfriend, completely overwhelmed by the betrayal. She knew something serious had been bothering Quinn, but she would have never guessed it had been this bad. She loved Quinn… but Quinn cheated on her… and now she's pregnant. Peyton stood up quickly and turned to head toward the front door.
Quinn was jerked out of her thoughts when she saw her girlfriend leaving. "Wait! Peyton!" she called after her.
Peyton stopped, but didn't turn around. "I can't talk to you right now, Quinn. I don't want to say anything that later I will regret." She reached out and opened the door. "I think we need to take a break from each other for awhile; decide what we want. You've hurt me, Quinn. Possibly more than I can handle."
And with that, Peyton was gone.
"Peyton's been extra bitchy at the club all week," Santana informed Quinn.
"We're taking a break to sort some things out in our relationship. She needs some time. And I owe her that at least. I screwed up and broke her trust."
"Do you want to be with Peyton?"
Quinn thought for a moment. She really did love Peyton, she had for a year, but… "I don't know, S. My brain is on overload right now and all I want to do is crawl under my blankets and sleep for a month."
"And what about Rachel? When do you plan on telling her about the baby?"
That was the million dollar question now, wasn't it? Quinn ran her fingers through her hair, then looked back at the Latina. "I don't even know where she is, San. Besides, I don't know if I want her in the baby's life."
Santana's eyes widened in surprise. That was something she never thought she'd ever hear Quinn Fabray say. "What?! Why?"
"Because… Rachel is a rock star who travels all around the world and rarely stays in one place for very long. She told me about all the crazy fans and the beautiful girls that were constantly around her and wanting to get in her pants. I'm sure there's alcohol and all that shit around her all the time too." She paused. "I just… I honestly don't think she will even care. Or… she won't believe me if I did manage to find her and tell her. Either way, I don't want to open up my life to someone who I don't really know and then for them to have the power to destroy my heart; and now it's not only me, I have to worry about my baby too. I refuse to have Rachel pop in and out of the baby's life whenever she happens to be in town. I think that would be a lot harder than not even telling her in the first place."
Santana nodded. "I understand what you're saying, Q. But that baby is Rachel's just as much as it is yours. You need to call her, she deserves to know."
Quinn looked away, mumbling, "I don't have her number."
"What?"
Quinn looked back into the Latina's eyes and said louder, more aggressively, "I said, I don't have her cell number. She left before I woke up and I never got her number or any way to contact her. She only left me a note."
"A note? What did it say?"
"Basically, 'Thanks for a good fuck. Goodbye.'"
"Seriously?" Santana shook her head in disgust, but was surprised as she watched her best friend's facial expression closely. Quinn didn't seem as angry as Santana thought she would be. She knew that look in the blonde's eyes. She knew Quinn felt more for the singer than she was willing to admit. But what about Peyton? The two women had been dating for almost a year and she knew they cared about each other. She reached over and took hold of Quinn's hand, giving it a squeeze. "I just want you to know, that whatever you decide, I'll help you and support your decision. Okay?"
"Thanks, San."
~~~~~QR~~~~~