A/N - I think it's about time to get the two lovebirds together, what you do guys think?
Disclaimer - Nope. Don't own Glee.
Chapter 16 – Boys Will Be Boys
Quinn was working late at the art gallery again. Mike had taken a few days off, so she'd had to pick up the slack. They really needed to hire another person to help assist customers and do all the mundane paperwork that took up too much of the owners' time.
She was typing up the last of an email to one of their art dealers when her cell phone began ringing. She picked it up and positioned it between her shoulder and cheek. "Hello?" she answered and continued typing.
"Hey, Preggers. Are you working late tonight or are you out on the town trying to get laid?" Santana teased her best friend.
Quinn rolled her eyes and looked over at the clock. Her eyes widened at seeing the late hour. "Shit," she muttered. It was close to 10pm and that meant Jaxon was already in bed and asleep for the night. Quinn had completely lost track of the time. "I'm sorry, San. How was Jaxon tonight?"
"He was fine. Rachel was here and we all had dinner together, then she and Britt helped him with his nightly routine and got him to bed."
"Rachel was there? Did she ask about me?" Quinn clamped her mouth shut, horrified those words had escaped, even though she was dying to know the answer.
Santana rolled her eyes. "Are we back in high school or something? Do you want me to pass her a note for you?" she asked sarcastically. When Quinn didn't respond after several moments, Santana took a deep breath and said, "Listen, Q,I'll be the first to admit that I haven't been Rachel Berry's number one fan, but seeing her these last couple days with Jaxon, I can tell she's really trying to build a relationship with him. Britt has loved having her around and it's obvious Jaxon adores her."
Quinn smiled. She knew Rachel had been stopping by the house to spend time with Jaxon, and she was glad for that; Jaxon needed his other mother in his life.
Earlier that day, Rachel had left another message on her phone, confirming the time and place they had planned to meet on Saturday night. The singer had also summarized what she and Jaxon had done that day and Quinn couldn't help but smile at their activities. Rachel was definitely the 'fun mom'.
Quinn was looking forward to getting together with the singer. She desperately wanted to fix the thick strain between them. She really wanted to have some sort of relationship with her, even if it was only friendship, but she secretly hoped for more. She knew that whatever type of relationship they'd end up having would be work, and that was fine. She was willing to work hard and lower her pride to be able to have Rachel in her life.
~~~~~QR~~~~~
The next morning Santana barged into the Fabray house and headed straight to the kitchen.
"So, Q, it looks like you and the hobbit made the tabloids," Santana slapped a handful of magazines down on the kitchen table in front of the blonde where she was just finishing breakfast.
Quinn's eyebrow arched as she looked up at her best friend, then down at the pile of magazines. "What?"
"Britt ran out of milk this morning and sent me to the store. And me being the good girlfriend that I am-"
"Whipped," Quinn muttered as she sipped her coffee.
The Latina glared at her. "Anyway…" she growled, "I was down at the store, and while I was impatiently waiting in the checkout line, I happened to see a picture of my best friend getting her HBIC on with America's rock princess. And not just in one, but in at least four different magazines, including but not limited to: People, InTouch, Us Weekly, and this… weird, trashy one." She curled her lip as she gestured to the top magazine.
"Let me see that." Abandoning her coffee, Quinn snatched the magazine. And sure enough, on page two, there was a photo of her yelling at Rachel Berry, with the singer yelling right back. "Oh shit," she flipped through another magazine, a pounding headache developing behind her eyes.
"I hate to admit this," Santana said, picking up one of the magazines and flipping through the pages. "But both you and the dwarf still look sexy as hell even when you're yelling at each other."
"I wonder if Rachel has seen this."
"She's probably used to it." Santana tossed the magazine down and grabbed an orange from the fruit bowl on the table and began peeling it.
Quinn threw the magazine back on the table and rubbed her forehead. "This isn't good, San. What am I going to do? This was one of the reasons why I didn't want Rachel in Jaxon's life."
"This isn't her fault, Q. Besides, none of the press know your name, so you're still safe for a little while longer. And don't even try to tell me that you won't put up with it in order to have Berry back in your life." At the blonde's surprised look, the Latina continued, "I know you love her and I know you two will eventually figure your shit out."
~~~~~QR~~~~~
Rachel arrived at Quinn's house in the late morning to spend some time with Jaxon. She had band rehearsal later in the day and wondered if Jaxon wanted to go with her. The guys were planning on everyone meeting at her house so it was going to be pretty low key.
As she was getting out of the car, she could hear Jaxon squealing in the backyard. She made her way over to the wooden fence and through the side gate. She had to giggle when she she saw Jaxon running around in just his diaper and Santana chasing him, making growling noises.
"I'm going to get you, little boy!" the Latina called out when she was about to grab him, but Jaxon suddenly changed his course and escaped.
Jaxon was laughing and squealing as he ran around, trying to keep away from the monster chasing him. A movement caught his eye and he looked over to see Rachel standing there, watching them.
"'Chel!" he exclaimed, running over into her arms. He gave her a big hug, which she happily returned.
"What's going on back here?" the singer asked, smiling at her little boy.
He rested his head on her shoulder, then pointed at Santana accusingly. "Tana monster. She try get me. But I run fast."
Rachel chuckled. "You are really fast," she agreed. She raised him up a little higher and blew raspberries on his bare tummy, causing him to squeal. "Why are you naked?"
Jaxon looked at her confused, then gazed down at his diaper. "I not naked. I wear 'iaper," he stated matter of fact.
Rachel rolled her eyes. "But where are your clothes?"
Jaxon pointed to the backdoor. "Inside."
Rachel set him down and he ran toward the sandbox.
Santana came over to the singer, a little out of breath from chasing the little runner. "Hmm… I wonder who he gets his naked tendencies from?" she mocked, her eyes scanning down the other brunette's body, taking in the short shorts and tiny tank-top the singer was wearing.
"Where is Brittany today?" Rachel asked, purposely ignoring the Latina's comment.
Santana headed over and joined the little boy in the sandbox. "One of the dance teachers got sick I guess. She volunteered to cover her classes. Besides, I'm not in the mood to work at my club today. I hired a new manager a few months ago and she's been calling me non-stop with stupid questions, so I just turned off my phone. Plus, not only was she calling, but all the incompetent employees down there were constantly calling me and asking where the toilet paper and other obvious items are. I swear, I'm going to have a conversation with my manager and she'll be lucky if I don't fire her ass. My original manager had been with me since the beginning, she knew everything about the club. And she always hired employees that at least had some common sense! But every manager I've had since her have sucked. And this new one isn't any different. Total suckage."
"Suckage!" Jaxon yelled, holding his plastic shovel up in the air and watching the sand fall from it.
Rachel's eyes widened at her son's choice of word to mimic.
Santana closed her eyes briefly, chastising herself. Then she turned to get Jaxon's attention. "Hey, little man?" He looked up at her. "I said a bad word. I'm sorry. But we shouldn't say that word."
"'Kay," he said, returning his attention back to the toys in the sandbox like it was no big deal.
"So what happened to your original manager?" Rachel asked, going back to the topic. "If she was with you from the beginning, why did she leave?"
"It was just getting too hard for her to be around… Quinn," the Latina murmured the last word, realizing too late that she just potentially opened a new can of worms.
Rachel's eyebrow raised. "Quinn? Why would your manager quit her job so she wouldn't be around Quinn?"
Santana swallowed. It wasn't her place to tell Rachel about Quinn's past, so she answered vaguely. "She was just an old friend of Quinn's. That's all."
Not liking that answer, Rachel pushed, "An old friend? She must have been a lot more than a friend for her to leave that way."
Santana held up her hands in surrender. "That's all I'm going to say. If you want to know more, you have to talk to Q about it."
Rachel narrowed her eyes. "Fine." Was this old manager a past girlfriend of Quinn's? Did they love each other? Did Jaxon like her? Questions kept popping up in the singer's mind.
"Did you see the tabloids today?" Santana asked.
Rachel blew out a long breath. "Unfortunately, yes."
"What do you plan on doing about it?"
"There's really nothing we can do," the singer shrugged her shoulders. "My publicist is currently handling all the press. She told me not to make any comments or statements. So, we'll just have to see."
Santana was about to respond when the two women heard Jaxon shout,
"Look!"
They hadn't even noticed that the toddler was no longer in the sandbox, he was now over by the tree twenty feet away. And… his diaper was gone… and… he was happily peeing on the tree.
Rachel's eyes bulged, then she burst into laughter. The kid was hilarious! Quinn was going to be pissed, but this was such a classic moment. Every boy had to have the experience of peeing on a tree.
Jaxon grinned proudly, while Santana just rolled her eyes and muttered, "Boys are so gross."
~~~~~QR~~~~~
"Hey, Jax?"
Jaxon took a bite of his peanut butter sandwich and turned to look up at the older brunette, giving her his attention while he chewed.
"I have to meet up with some of my friends today and play some music-"
Jaxon immediately perked up, his eyes widening. He quickly swallowed his mouthful and began bouncing in his highchair, "Me go?! Me go?!"
Rachel grinned as she watched her son's excitement. He really was so adorable. "I don't know," she teased him a little.
"Peas?" he begged.
"Well… then we need to ask Santana if it would be okay for you to go with me."
Jaxon turned to the Latina next to him, wide puppy dog eyes and lip poking out. "Tana, me go wif 'Chel, peas?" he asked in his most adorable voice.
Santana had a hard time not bursting out in laughter at the cuteness of the three year old. "Are you sure you want to go with Rachel?" she asked. Jaxon's head nodded up and down quickly. "I didn't think you liked music," she teased.
Jaxon's eyebrows scrunched together. "I luv music!" he demanded, offended that his aunt didn't know that. "Music fun!"
"Okay, Jax, you're right. I know you love music. Of course you can go with Rachel."
The words were barely out of Santana's mouth before Jaxon was trying to push himself out of his highchair. "'Chel! Me go wif you!" he informed her excitedly.
Rachel laughed and helped the small boy out, setting him down on the floor then cleaned up his messy face and hands with a napkin. "Sounds great! But first we need to get you all washed up and change your clothes," she told him, pointing to the large smear of peanut butter on his shirt.
He took off out of the kitchen, returning a few minutes later with a pair of shorts and a t-shirt with a picture of a drum set on the front. He thrust the clothes into Rachel's lap. "I play drums!"
Rachel chuckled. "I'm sure we can arrange for you to play on some drums."
Jaxon jumped up and down in excitement.
After getting all washed up and dressed, the two brunettes headed over to Rachel's house where the band was waiting to start rehearsals for the day.
"'Chel's house?" Jaxon asked curiously as Rachel helped him out of her SUV and carried him up to her large front door.
She smiled. "Yep. This is my house. Do you want to hang out here for a few hours with my friends and I?"
He nodded, a big grin on his face.
When Rachel unlocked the front door and they stepped inside the house, they could both hear several different types of instruments. It honestly didn't sound that good, but Rachel assumed the band was just getting everything tuned.
Jaxon's eyes were wide as he looked around the large open foyer. It was so much bigger than his house, but it still felt good and he felt comfortable being there.
"Do you want some juice and snacks?" Rachel asked, walking them into the kitchen.
"Yes peas," he said, his eyes still darting all around.
Rachel grabbed some juice out of the fridge and poured it into one of the sippy cups she'd bought for when Jaxon was over. She pulled some crackers and snacks out of the pantry, along with a bottled water from the fridge for herself.
Jaxon sipped on his cup as Rachel carried him downstairs where the music was getting louder.
"I have a music studio down here so I can practice and record my songs," she told her son.
"Stu… Stu-do?" he tried to pronounce the unfamiliar word.
"Yep. My studio. It's where I keep all my instruments."
Rachel opened the door to the studio, the music now much louder without being muffled by the thick walls anymore. All at once everything fell silent. Rachel stood in the doorway holding Jaxon, his head leaning against hers while he continued to sip from his cup.
And staring wide eyed at the two brunettes were all the members of New Directions.
"Holy shit, Rach!" Puck exclaimed, his eyes bugging out of his head. "He looks exactly like you!"
"Language, Noah!" Rachel reprimanded.
"Ho s'it!" Jaxon said shyly, his head still pressed to Rachel's as he surveyed the men through his dark eyelashes.
Rachel rolled her eyes. "Great. Just great, Noah. Thanks a lot. Now Quinn is going to kill me."
Blaine walked up to the lead singer with a big smile. "Aw… it's okay, Rach. I'm sure the little guy will forget about it as long as we don't make it a big deal." He turned his attention to the little boy. "Hi, Jaxon! I'm Blaine. Are you hanging out with Rachel today?"
Jaxon nodded shyly. "Hi, B'aine," he muttered, not used to so much attention focused on him all at one time.
Blaine grinned then motioned to the other guys in the room. "That's Sam over by the speaker." Sam smiled and waved at the little boy. "Puck is the one with the mohawk who can't control his mouth."
"Hey!" the accused boy exclaimed, taking offense. But he just gave Jaxon his famous smirk and said, "Hi, dude."
"'Ude," Jaxon said, eying the guitar player.
Puck laughed. "You got a smart one there, Rachel."
"Don't I know it," the singer smiled, hugging the small boy to her.
"And that's Jake," Blaine continued the introductions, pointing toward the young man sitting behind the-
"DRUMS!" Jaxon screamed. His sippy cup fell to the floor as he urged Rachel to put him down. "Drums, 'Chel! Drums!" Once on the ground, he took off toward the instrument. As he got next to it, he stared at it with wide eyes and a huge grin.
"Do you like the drums?" Jake asked the small boy with a smirk identical to his brother's.
Jaxon nodded furiously. Jake picked him up and set him on his lap, giving the small boy an extra set of drumsticks to use. Then they both started banging on the drums like crazy.
Rachel just watched and grinned proudly.
After several minutes of loud noise, Jake said that it was time to stop and get some food. Jaxon was not happy with that idea, and proceeded to exercise his pout and puppy dog eyes.
"Wow. He really is your kid, Rach. This is some sh-… I mean – it's crazy, dude," Puck said coming to stand next to the diva. "Look at that pout. You have the same one when you're denied a solo."
"I do not pout like that," she stated, then looked over at her son. "Besides, even if I did, now I understand why I always get what I want. It's just so adorable."
Puck smiled widely. "I'm an uncle!"
~~~~~QR~~~~~
It was Saturday morning and Quinn had planned to take Jaxon to the Kid Zone where he could climb and slide and just go crazy. Unfortunately she had a few things she needed to get done at the art gallery first, then later that evening, she and Rachel were scheduled to get together and talk.
When Jaxon was a baby, Quinn and Mike had converted an empty room next to Quinn's office into a playroom, that way if Jaxon had to come to work with his mother, he had a place to call his own and keep him entertained.
And that's where Quinn assumed he was until she heard a 'Thump'. She'd been in the storage room getting a few art pieces ready to send out to other galleries when she heard the wail that she knew far too well. She hurried around the corner and saw Jaxon laying on the ground next to a tall ladder. She rushed over to him and frantically asked, "Jax, what happened?!"
The small boy just cried. "Hurt, Mama! Hurt!"
Quinn didn't see any blood, but she had no idea how high he had climbed before falling. She picked him up as gently as she could and rushed him out to her car.
~~~~~QR~~~~~
Rachel had been sitting in her home studio with her guitar, plucking out the chords to a song she was working on when her phone buzzed. For the past few hours, she'd been in the zone and inspiration was flowing for a new song. It was different than the songs she usually wrote, but the knowledge of Jaxon being her son had influenced particular emotions inside her.
The phone buzzed for the third time and Rachel resigned herself to set her guitar aside and answer the call. She glanced at the screen and saw that it was Quinn.
"Hey, Quinn," she said immediately after pressing the Answer button. "Are you-"
"Rachel, please just listen."
The singer's ears perked up by the distress in the blonde's voice. "Is-Is everything okay? Is Jaxon okay?"
There was a soft sob on the other end of the phone, then, "I-I don't know… I mean… I-I'm sure he will be okay, but… h-he… we were down at the gallery and he was supposed to stay in his playroom, but he wandered into the storage room and… Rachel, I thought he would stay in the playroom…"
Quinn's voice was getting higher in pitch and Rachel could tell that she was falling to pieces.
"What happened, Quinn? Where is Jaxon?" Rachel asked, trying hard to keep her voice steady when she just wanted to freak out and demand the blonde to just spit it out.
"H-he must have climbed one of the ladders… but he fell… he was crying so hard, Rach…" Emotions set in and Quinn was sobbing. "I t-took him to the hospital-"
"Which hospital, Quinn?"
"The Children's Hospital in LA. Please, Rachel, I need you," she choked out.
Rachel was already pulling on her jacket and grabbing her keys off the hook next to the front door. "I'm on my way, Quinn. Everything will be okay. I promise. I'll be right there."
~~~~~QR~~~~~
Rachel barged through the door to emergency room and straight up to the nurses' station. "Jaxon Fabray!" she demanded to the young nurse sitting behind the desk. "Where is he?!"
The nurse stared wide eyed at the woman, whether from shock at the unexpected freak out or at the recognition that Rachel Berry was standing in front of her, Rachel wasn't sure which.
But right now she didn't care.
"Jaxon Fabray," she stated again.
"Rach?"
The soft voice behind her made the singer swing around. Quinn was standing several yards away, looking devastated. The skin around her eyes was all puffy from crying and her clothes were rumpled. Rachel could clearly see the sadness, guilt and fear swirling in her dull hazel eyes, but she also saw gratitude that Rachel was there with her, and also a tinge of love.
In a split second, Rachel closed the distance between them and wrapped Quinn in her strong arms. All the heavy tension and guarded behavior that had consumed their relationship for the past few weeks was instantly gone. Every childish rant and hurt feelings disappeared as Rachel held Quinn in her arms, stroking her blonde hair and whispering words of comfort and reassurance in her ear. Rachel knew she needed to be the strong one right now.
Quinn gripped onto the back of Rachel's shirt, crying into her neck. She couldn't let Rachel go. She needed Rachel, and it was about damn time she resigned to the truth that she loved Rachel and wanted the singer in her life. Her guilt and frustration towards the brunette disappeared.
She knew deep down that if everything in her life was taken away from her, as long as she had Rachel and Jaxon, she would be perfectly happy. They were all she needed.
Rachel stood in the middle of the emergency waiting room, holding the mother of her son, holding her securely in her arms. And even though she was scared shitless that Jaxon was seriously hurt, she knew that they would all get through this. Together. As long as they were all together, they could get through anything.
"I'm so sorry, Rachel," Quinn whimpered into the brunette's neck. "I didn't know he was in there. I thought he was in the playroom. He was crying for you. He held onto me and… he was in so much pain."
Rachel swallowed the lump in her throat. She wanted to break down. She wanted to cry her eyes out, but Quinn needed her to be steady. She kissed the side of blonde hair, but before she could reassure Quinn that everything was going to be okay, they heard a deep male voice behind them.
"Ms. Fabray?"
Both women turned around and saw a middle aged man with dark brown hair. He was wearing a white doctor's coat and holding a clipboard.
"Y-Yes. That's me," Quinn managed to croak out, her voice raw from crying.
The man smiled gently and continued, "Ms. Fabray, we did several x-rays and checked over your son for signs of injuries from the fall. We didn't find any bleeding, which is good." The two mothers let out relieved breaths. "However, he did break his left arm, but we put it in a cast and it should heal in about a month."
Quinn clutched Rachel's hand. "S-So he's okay?"
The doctor chuckled softly. "Yes. I promise you he is fine. You have a very strong young man on your hands. Come on. I'll take you back to see him."
Rachel kept Quinn's fingers laced with her own as they followed the doctor back through the emergency room. They passed by several empty beds and saw a nurse taking the temperature of an older gentleman in one of the chairs. They stopped in front of a shut curtain and heard the laugh of a little boy coming from behind it.
Just hearing her son laugh made Quinn's heart heavy with joy. If Jaxon was laughing, that meant he was okay.
The doctor pulled back the curtain and revealed Jaxon sitting on the bed, his eyes bright and happy as he listened to the nurse telling him a funny joke.
At the sound of the curtain opening, Jaxon turned and saw his mother. "Mama!" he exclaimed, joy evident in his voice. "Look, Mama!" He held up his left arm, showing her his new cast. "It 'ellow!"
Quinn couldn't help but giggle at her son's excitement. She quickly pulled him into a hug and kissed his cheek. "Are you okay, my boy?"
Jaxon pulled back and nodded enthusiastically. "Uh huh!" His gazed then fell on Rachel who was standing in the curtain's opening. His eyes lit up. "'Chel! 'Chel look!" He waved his cast in the air for her to see.
Rachel smirked and walked over to the little boy, ruffling his wavy brunette hair and kissing his forehead. "I see. It looks like you got yourself a cast, little man."
"Uh-huh! It 'ellow!"
"You like yellow?"
He nodded. "It my fav'rite color. They have all colors," he said, pointing to the small counter and several different colors of wraps. "But they boring. 'Ellow best," he stated seriously, like it was an obvious fact that everyone should know.
"Yellow IS the best color," Rachel agreed.
Forty minutes later Rachel was pulling her SUV into Quinn's driveway. She got out of the car and helped as Quinn carried a sleeping Jaxon to his bedroom. Quinn gently laid their son in his bed, covered him with his favorite blanket and kissed his cheek, whispering how much she loved him.
She stepped back and Rachel took her place, kissing the top of his head and murmuring her love.
They quietly backed out of his bedroom, closing the door behind them. When they got to the living room, Quinn sagged down onto the couch. She was exhausted, mentally and physically. Rachel sat down next to her and she laid her head on the singer's shoulder, entwining their fingers together.
Rachel gently rubbed her thumb across the back of Quinn's hand, just enjoying being there with her. After several minutes of silence, the singer murmured, "I forgive you, Quinn."
Quinn's head snapped up and she stared at Rachel, not knowing if she heard right. "What?" she whispered, hope growing in her chest.
"I forgive you. And I'm sorry for being an asshole and making our situation so much harder than it needed to be. I was hurt and I lashed out… and I am so sorry, Quinn." Rachel ran her fingers through her hair, trying to put into words what she was feeling. "Yes, it sucks that you didn't tell me about Jaxon. Yes, you had valid reasons. And yes, I deserved to know. But, Quinn, we're together now and it's stupid to keep this anger and tension between us. Jaxon deserves better — and we deserve better. I just want to move on and get passed this. So, I hope that you can forgive me."
Quinn was amazed. She gazed into Rachel's deep brown eyes and could see the sorrow and humility in them and it broke her heart. She took the brunette's face in her hands and looked into those eyes. "Of course I forgive you, Rachel. We are both at fault… I just… Can we please just… start over? Seeing Jaxon hurt and then not knowing what was happening while I waited forever in that miserable waiting room, really showed me what was important. And the only thoughts in my mind the whole time, were of you and Jaxon. You two are only what matters to me in this entire world. I couldn't live without either of you."
It was getting late. The two women talked for quite a while and emotions were high and energy was all but depleted. Quinn insisted that Rachel spend the night since they were both so exhausted and the blonde didn't want Rachel to drive all the way back to her own house. Quinn gave Rachel some pajama pants and a tank top to sleep in, and after changing into similar clothes, both women climbed into Quinn large bed and fell asleep.
Rachel woke up early. She turned and smiled when she saw the most beautiful woman sleeping beside her. She watched Quinn sleep soundly for awhile before the blonde stirred and her eyes slowly opened.
Quinn grinned when she opened her eyes to see Rachel staring at her. "What are you doing?" she asked shyly.
Rachel shrugged her shoulders. "Just watching a gorgeous goddess sleep."
Quinn rolled her eyes at the singer's cheesiness. "Well, I'm just going to say Good Morning."
Rachel smiled. "Good morning."
Silently watching each other for a few minutes, Rachel's heart softened and she got a little choked up. "Quinn, I uh… I just want you to know again how sorry I am…" Rachel hadn't realized she had started crying until Quinn reached over and wiped a tear from her cheek. "… that I lost my temper with you. I shouldn't have let our conversation reach that level, I should have just walked away so we could both calm down before we said anything hurtful that we couldn't take back."
Quinn's heart broke at the sight. She was about to protest and take responsibility for her own stubborn actions in their situation, but Rachel stopped her by putting a finger on her lips.
"No, Quinn. Please let me finish. I need to get all this off my chest and have you understand what I'm feeling." When the blonde nodded, she went on, "I always wanted a family of my own. When the doctors told me I could never have any biological children, I didn't know what to do. I was devastated and so angry with the world for a lot of years. I figured if I couldn't have a family, I might as well just… do whatever the hell I wanted. I partied hard and did everything I could to try to lose myself. And the more famous I became, the more I just wanted to get lost in the whirlwind. I tried anything that I thought would fill the huge hole in my heart… Anything… But nothing worked… nothing made me feel whole; it only allowed me to escape my reality for a few hours at a time, but that was it."
Quinn hadn't realized she was crying until she felt Rachel's hand cup her cheek, brushing away the tears. She softly smiled and leaned into Rachel's touch.
"And, Quinn, you have no idea how happy I was when you came into my life," her smile grew as she stared lovingly into Quinn's eyes. "When I first laid eyes on you, I knew you were special. You are the only girl I have ever thought about having a family with. Even if I could never have biological children, I wanted to have a family with you. And then I was such an idiot and left you that morning at the hotel. I was scared, Quinn. I was scared of my heart getting broken. I was scared to drag you into my crazy life. I knew you would hate it and would be better off without me. So I left. But I thought about you practically every day for four years. I knew that I'd lost the one woman who could make me whole, and I continued to beat myself up over it." Quinn's eyes softened as Rachel poured her heart out. "Then I found you again. I found you and I was so happy and I refused to be an idiot again. I wanted you in my life permanently, no matter what. So you have to understand that when you told me Jaxon was my son, I honestly thought you were joking at first, maybe even being a bit cruel. I didn't believe you, but I wanted to. I wanted so desperately to believe you." Rachel's brown eyes had sparkles of gold as a huge grin covered her face. "Then I saw one of the picture of Jaxon you have on your wall in the living room, and I just knew. I knew he was my son. And I felt an overwhelming feeling in my chest as that dark hole in my heart began to disappear. I finally had what I had always wanted." Rachel sat up and leaned against the headboard. Quinn followed. "I want to be with you, Quinn. I want you and I want Jaxon, and I want us to be a family together," she paused and looked down at their entwined hands, suddenly self-conscious, not sure what Quinn was feeling about this whole situation. "That is… if you want that too."
Quinn slowly pulled one of her hands free and gently cupped Rachel's cheek, bringing those breathtaking brown eyes up to meet her own hazel. "Rachel…" tears slid down her face, but her smile warmed the singer's heart. "… I want nothing more than to be a family with you." She knew she sounded cheesy, but at that moment she didn't care.
Rachel leaned forward and connected their lips in a sweet, adoration-filled kiss. She pulled away, leaning her forehead against Quinn's. "I already love Jaxon so much, I would do anything to protect him. And yes, my professional life is crazy, but Quinn, I promise you I will do everything in my power to keep him, and you, as safe as possible." She softly traced her fingertips down Quinn's cheek, gazing into those beautiful hazel green eyes. "I want you and Jaxon to be my family."
Touched beyond belief by Rachel's words, Quinn pulled her forward, their lips meeting for the first time in what felt like forever. Rachel gasped in surprise, but quickly returned the affection. Their mouths moved together in sync and hands were tangled in each others hair.
Rachel pushed Quinn back down onto the bed without disconnecting their lips. One arm braced her body while the other one lifted the bottom hem of Quinn's shirt and gently trailed her fingers up her smooth skin, feeling tight abs.
Quinn moaned at the feeling of Rachel's skin and continued running her hands through long brunette hair.
Rachel didn't want to go any further than making out. She just wanted to be close to Quinn again and reassure herself that this was all real. And that they were actually going to be a family.
~~~~~QR~~~~~