A/N - Just some cute fluff before the filming of the music video sex scene!

Chapter 28 - Inspiring

Their flight left New York on time, but unfortunately their layover in Chicago was longer than they had anticipated. It was only supposed to be an hour, but due to maintenance on the airplane, it turned into three hours.

The band was quickly escorted to the airport's VIP area in order to have some

privacy.

Quinn called Shelby to let her know they were going to be later than they had originally planned. The doctor told her not to worry and that she and Jaxon were having a great time.

After an hour of sitting in the VIP room, Rachel became restless. "Come go for a walk with me," she said to Quinn, lacing their fingers together and pulling her up from her seat.

Quinn stared at the door with apprehension, like it was a portal to a dangerous jungle where the unexpected was likely to happen. "Are you sure, Rach? You're bound to get recognized."

Rachel thought for a second, looking around the room. She walked over to Puck who was lounging on a couch, playing on his phone. "Hey, Noah? Give me your hoodie."

The guitarist looked up at the diva, his brow creased. "Why?"

"Because I want to get out of this cage and take a walk. I left my hat on the plane."

Puck huffed like it was such a burden. "Fine. But what about Q? She's beginning to get recognized too?" he asked as he handed his hoodie to Rachel.

Rachel looked over at Blaine and Kurt. "Kurt, I need your fedora and glasses."

Kurt looked like the diva had just asked him for his first born. "But, Rachel-"

Before he could complain, she interrupted, "Oh come on, Kurt! It's not like we're going to keep it. I just want to go out and walk around a little."

"Fine," he growled and handed over his precious accessories.

'What the hell is wrong with these people?' she thought. 'They're acting like their world is going to end.'

Rachel handed the fedora and sunglasses to Quinn, then slid on Puck's hoodie, pulling the hood up over her hair and putting her own sunglasses on.

"I'll come with you guys," Tina said from across the room. "I saw a smoothie place not too far from here."

The three women left the room and waded into the swarm of travelers.

It was good that the airport was so busy, it made it easier for them to blend in. They found the Smoothie Shack and each ordered one of the frozen drinks. Then continued their stroll around for a while.

"I need to hit up the restroom," Rachel told them as they passed by the facilities.

"Me too," Tina said as they turned to enter the ladies room.

Rachel was at the sink washing her hands when out of the corner of her eye, she saw a young blonde, probably around 13 or 14, standing frozen and staring at her. The singer turned toward her and smiled.

The girl just stared at Rachel, unblinking and unmoving for several moments. But then she shook herself out of her stupor and asked, "Are you Rachel Berry?" Awe filling her voice.

Rachel quickly glanced around the restroom and was relieved that the young girl was the only one in there besides her, Quinn and Tina, who were just exiting their own stalls and heading toward the sinks. "Yes, I am."

The young blonde's eyes popped out. "Wow. I-I'm your biggest fan… Wow!"

Quinn dried her hands and watched the interaction, smiling at the girl's amazement.

"Well, thank you," Rachel replied, offering her hand. "It's really good to meet you…"

"Beth," the girl said with a big smile, shaking the singer's hand.

Rachel smiled. "It's good to meet you, Beth."

"It's good to meet you too, Rachel. I, uh… I can't believe I'm actually meeting you! It's unreal," she said, shaking her head. "I just want you to know that you've changed my life, you've helped me through some really tough times."

"Oh, really?" Rachel asked intrigued. "May I ask…"

"Sure… it's okay," Beth said, shifting her bag on her shoulder and glancing nervously at the two other women.

Suddenly realizing why the girl was apprehensive to go on, Rachel exclaimed, "Oh! I'm sorry! Beth, this is my manager, Tina Cohen-Chang," she motioned toward the Asian and the two shook hands, Tina smiling brightly. "And this…" Rachel took Quinn's hand and pulled her to her side, "… is my girlfriend, Quinn Fabray."

Beth's eyes widened as she reached out to shake Quinn's offered hand. "Your girlfriend? Wow, that's so cool!" she said, a big smile on her face.

Quinn genuinely smiled back at the young blonde. "It's really nice to meet you, Beth."

"You too, Quinn," she replied then turned back to Rachel. "I'm glad to know that they're your friends. Now I'm not so nervous explaining my… situation."

Rachel tilted her head and gave her undivided attention to the teenager.

"You see…" Beth began, still slightly nervous. "… I'm just like you - I'm intersex."

The singer's jaw dropped. "Really?"

Beth nodded. "Y-Yeah. And it's been really hard for me, especially these past couple years with the whole puberty and stuff happening. But I'm lucky, I have several really good friends who I've known forever and they're really supportive."

"That's a huge blessing," Rachel told her, reaching out with her free hand and holding Beth's. "That's really important."

The girl held onto Rachel's hand, and let out a deep breath, finally feeling a lot more comfortable in front of her idol.

"Yeah, I'm very lucky. But, Rachel, you've also been such a big help to me too. Knowing there is someone just like me out there, and they are successful and have confidence in their body… it's helped me so much." Her breath caught in her throat and tears began to flow. "I um…"

Rachel let go of Quinn's hand and pulled the young girl into her arms, holding her close while she cried. The brunette remembered what it was like being 13 - having slumber parties with other girls and being terrified that they would see her morning wood when they woke up. She never slept well those nights, making sure she was up and had taken care of her business before anyone else woke up. The awkward times random hard-ons would happen. She loved her body, but being a 'normal' teenager was tough enough… adding on the fact that she was different was sometimes torture. Her peers' whispers and stares hadn't help either.

Beth wiped her eyes, gratefully accepting a kleenex from Tina to blow her nose. "Thank you."

Just then the restroom door opened and they all turned to see a middle-aged blonde woman enter, a worried look on her face. She stopped in mid-step when she saw the three women hovering around the girl.

The young blonde smiled at the woman, wiping away some stray tears. "Hi, Mom."

The woman quickly hurried over to her daughter. "Oh, sweetie, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she reassured her mother. "Mom, this is Rachel Berry, Quinn and Tina." She pointed out each woman.

The older blonde smiled, shock evident in her eyes as she looked at Rachel. "Well… Wow… It's a pleasure to meet you all. I'm Kelly," she said, shaking everyone's hands.

"No, it's our pleasure," Rachel told her, shaking her hand, then putting her arm back around Beth. "We were having a very good conversation with your daughter."

Beth nodded. "I was telling Rachel how I'm intersex, like her."

The older blonde nodded, now understanding why her daughter had been emotional. "Yes. She's looked up to you a great deal, Rachel. She has your posters and interviews all over her walls."

"Mom!" Beth exclaimed, a heavy blush covering her cheeks.

Rachel chuckled. "Don't be embarrassed, Beth. I feel honored."

Quinn stood to the other side of Beth and placed her hand on her arm. "It's okay, Beth. If Rachel would let me, I'd cover our walls with her picture too," she smiled.

That got the young blonde to laugh.

"Oh! You're her girlfriend?" Kelly asked as she looked at Quinn in surprise.

Quinn grinned. "Yes, I am."

"May… May I ask a very personal question?" she asked hesitantly. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to," she added hastily.

"Sure, go ahead," Quinn answered.

Kelly bit her bottom lip, not sure if it was her place to ask, but it had been on her mind a lot this past week. So she just went for it. "Are you okay to not have any children?" she asked Quinn.

Confused, Quinn just stared at her blankly. That question was so far from what she had thought the woman would ask. "Uh… what do you mean? I don't understand."

But Beth cut in before her mother had a chance to answer. "I went to see my doctor last week, and he told me that I will never be able to have children," she said as tears pooled in her eyes again.

Ahh, now Rachel understood. She smiled reassuringly at Beth, turning the young girl to face her. "I'm going to share something very special with you, Beth. Besides my close friends and family, no one else in this entire world know what I'm about to tell you."

That perked the young girl up and her eyes widened, anxiously waiting for what the famous singer was about to tell her.

Rachel pulled her wallet out of her pocket and opened it, a Berry watt grin covering her face. She held it out so Beth could see the picture of a small brunette boy. "This is Jaxon. He is mine and Quinn's biological son."

"What?!" Kelly breathed out, looking over at the picture of the smiling toddler. "He's biologically yours? How is that possible?"

"When I was Beth's age, my doctor told me the same thing - that I wouldn't be able to have any children of my own. And since then, a lot of other doctors have told me the same thing. But to my surprise…" she reached out and interlocked her fingers with Quinn's. "… they were wrong. I was able to get a woman pregnant and now we have our amazingly cute son."

Happiness was evident in both Kelly and Beth's eyes.

"However…" Rachel continued, not wanting to get their hopes up too high. "… I'm not saying it's guaranteed that you will be able to do the same. All I'm saying is - don't let what the doctors tell you be the only concrete answer. You never know what your future holds for you."

There was still an undeniable light in Beth's eyes, and Rachel was glad for that. The teenager needed to be optimistic about her future.

"Wow… thank you, Rachel," she murmured.

"My pleasure," the singer said, putting her wallet away. "Now… how would you like to meet the rest of New Directions? Do you have time?"

Beth's expression looked like she had just won the lottery and was now a millionaire. "That would be amazing!"

Rachel grinned. "Okay, let's go!"

Beth had a surreal time meeting the rest of the band. All the guys wanted to know about her - her likes and dislikes, hobbies, etc. Tina pulled out some merchandise to give to Beth and the entire band signed it all - hats, posters, shirts, pictures, even boxer shorts.

After a while, Kelly announced that it was time for them to go catch their flight.

"It was so good to meet you," Rachel told the young blonde, wrapping her up in a tight hug. "I know that you will have an amazing life. Just stay optimistic and go after what you want, okay?"

Beth nodded. "Thank you, Rachel," she murmured in the singer's ear. "And thank you for listening and caring."

Rachel pulled back and looked into bright, hopeful blue eyes. "You're welcome. And don't hesitate to call or text or email me, okay?"

Beth patted her pocket where her phone was. "I won't. Thanks for the contact info. Oh! And also, thanks for recording your voice on my voicemail."

Rachel laughed. "Anytime."

Beth received another hug from everyone and then she and her mom were gone.

"That was incredible," Quinn whispered, sidling up to her girlfriend.

Rachel nodded. "Yeah. She was definitely an incredible girl. I'm grateful I was able to talk with her and get to know her."

Helping and inspiring people, like Beth, was one of the biggest reasons Rachel had wanted to become famous. She loved being able to uplift and influence her fans. But somewhere along the way, she forgot that a little.

It was fans like Beth that made her into 'Rachel Berry, lead singer of New Directions'; it wasn't the slutty women throwing themselves at her or those who were beyond obsessed with her and the band. It was for people like Beth and Kelly that made what Rachel did worthwhile and inspiring.

~~~~~QR~~~~~

Rachel and Quinn drove to Shelby's house directly from the airport. It took the couple a lot longer to get out of the airport than they had planned with all the paparazzi and fans somehow finding out their flight schedule.

It had been nice to have had a few days of adult-only time, but both women were missing Jaxon and couldn't wait to see him.

With her fingers entwined with Quinn's, Rachel opened her mother's front door, calling out, "We're back!"

Nothing. Just silence.

Rachel looked at Quinn and the blonde just shrugged her shoulders.

"Hello!" the brunette called out again as they walked further into the house.

"In the playroom!" they heard Shelby call out.

They quickly made their way down the hallway, now hearing their son's giggles. Pushing the playroom's door open, they took in the sight of Jaxon playing cars and Shelby sitting on the couch watching him play as she read a book.

"Welcome home," Shelby greeted, setting her book down and giving her daughter and Quinn a big smile.

"It's good to be back," Quinn agreed.

Hearing his mother's voice, Jaxon's attention turned to the open doorway. "Mama!" he exclaimed as he stood up and ran over to the women. "Mom 'Chel!" He threw himself into their arms, hugging them tight.

"Hi, sweetie!" Quinn murmured in his ear as she buried her nose in his dark hair, inhaling her son's scent. She had missed him so much. This was the longest she had ever been away from him in his whole life.

Rachel gave him a kiss, then froze. "What the hell!" she muttered looking over her son's appearance.

"Bad word, Mom 'Chel!" Jaxon told her with a frown.

"Sorry, Jax, but…" Rachel looked over to her mother for an explanation.

Shelby just smiled at her daughter. "He's looks adorable, doesn't he?" she cooed as she stood up and made her way over to the small family and gave Jaxon a kiss on his forehead.

Rachel's mouth just hung open. "What is he wearing?" she asked as she looked over Jaxon's outfit. He was in a pair of cream colored khaki pants, a white button down shirt with a plaid sweater vest over it.

"I think he looks cute, Rach," Quinn told her girlfriend as she appraised Jaxon's new clothes.

"He looks like a rich country club snob," Rachel said.

"Oh come on, Rach," Shelby laughed at the disgusted look on her daughter's face. "We were at the clothes store and the outfit just called out to us."

Rachel kissed her son on the temple. "It's okay, Jaxon. I'll save you from these uptight women."

Jaxon giggled at his funny brunette mom.

"Look at his eyes," the diva continued pouting. "They're practically screaming for help."

"But he looks so handsome, Rach," Quinn said, straightening out her son's shirt collar.

Remembering his new clothes, Jaxon's eyes brightened. "Mom 'Chel! G'ma got me new shirt!" He pointed to his chest. "And pants!" He lifted his leg to show them off.

"But the ladies love the laid-back, rock and roll look," Rachel protested.

"Our son isn't trying to pick up any ladies at the age of three, Rach."

Rachel opened her mouth to respond but then frowned when she finally took notice of Jaxon's hair. "Mom, where's his faux hawk?"

"I took him to get a haircut," Shelby told her. "It's was getting shaggy"

Rachel ran her hand over her son's now super short dark hair. "Grandma really lost you all your 'Awesome' points, huh, buddy?"

Jaxon giggled, sticking his finger in his mouth.

Quinn rolled her eyes. "You're being overdramatic, Rachel. I think he looks great."

"But… his look was awesome! It had that perfect touch of badass."

"Badass!" Jaxon repeated, then turned to Quinn. "Mama, I badass."

Before Quinn could scold her for swearing again, Rachel went on, "Yes you are, Jax. Come on, let's get out of this crazy room." She took her son from Quinn's arms. Jaxon giggled the whole way out of the room as Rachel muttered, "This is the last time I leave Grandma alone with you for any extended period of time."

~~~~~QR~~~~~

It had been a week since the band had gotten back from New York.

And thankfully it had been a good day at the art gallery for Quinn and she was in a great mood when she arrived home.

The moment she walked through the front door, her smile grew as she heard the sounds of acoustic guitars and singing coming from the living room. She followed the music and her heart melted at the scene before her.

Sitting on the couch, Rachel was strumming her guitar and singing. But what made the blonde smile was watching her 3 year old son, sitting on his Mom 'Chel's lap, his right hand on top of hers as they strummed. He had a Berry watt grin covering his face and his brown eyes were sparkling. Ever since Rachel came into his life, Jaxon has idolized her. And he was definitely a Mom 'Chel boy!

Sitting on other couches and chairs around the room, playing various instruments were Puck, Blaine, Sam and Jake. All eyes seemed to be watching Jaxon's excitement. The little boy looked like he was in heaven.

Rachel sang the last words of the song and strummed the last note. Silence filled the room for a split second before Jaxon exclaimed, "Again!"

Rachel chuckled and gave her son a kiss on the side of his head. "Don't you want to take a break, Jax?" she asked, laying her guitar in it's case next to her chair.

Jaxon stubbornly shook his head, going all out diva as he crossed his arms and pouted. "No! Play again," he demanded.

"Wow, Rach," Blaine chuckled as he watched the little boy's attitude. "I bet it's like looking in a mirror huh?"

"Be quiet!" the singer exclaimed, proving his point by displaying the same expression as her son. The band laughed in hysterics, they would never get tired of teasing the two brunettes.

~~~~~QR~~~~~

Rachel was nervous.

She had texted Santana to ask if they could meet up. The Latina had agreed and told the singer to meet her down at Satan's Angels around 3pm. So now Rachel was walking toward the entrance to the club, nervous about meeting with her girlfriend's best friend.

She entered and looked around the place for Santana. Rachel had never been down to Satan's Angels before and hadn't really thought much about what it would look like. But being there now, she had to admit that the ambiance definitely screamed "Santana and Brittany".

The room was huge with black leather booths and chairs. Small tables were placed strategically around the stage that was against the far wall. A dark wood bar lined one wall, several black leather stools in front of it. Rachel was impressed that the place gave off a very sophisticated look, definitely not like those dirty and nasty strip clubs that were prevalent in Los Angeles.

"Yo, hobbit! Back here!" Rachel heard from the far end of the club.

Rolling her eyes at Santana's nickname for her, she made her way to the Latina's office. The room was tastefully decorated, it had a much more fun, sunny side than the club itself. Rachel figured Brittany had more say in Santana's personal office decorations.

Santana pulled two bottled waters from the mini fridge and tossed one to Rachel before sitting down behind her desk. "So, what's up? Need some pointers on how to sexually please Quinn?" she teased the singer.

Rachel sat down in one of the chairs in front of the desk and opened her water. She rolled her eyes at the comment. "No thanks. I think I have that pretty covered."

"Your loss," Santana winked. After several moments of silence, she asked, "So what do you want?"

Rachel ran a hand through her hair, feeling a bit nervous. "Um, I want to ask Quinn if she and Jaxon would want to live with me - full time. I just wanted to know if there was a chance she'd actually say yes. You're her best friend, so I figured I should ask you about it."

Santana stared hard at the singer for a few seconds before responding. "Are you shitting me right now?"

Taken completely off guard by that comment, Rachel just sputtered.

Santana continued, "Have you not seen the way Q looks at you? You are the center of her world, Rachel. She loves you and I know she wants the three of you to live together - whether it's at her place or yours, or even if you both decide to buy a new house together."

Hope rose in Rachel's eyes. "So, you really think she'll say Yes?"

"I know she will."

Rachel felt giddy - which was a unique feeling for her. "Awesome!"

"Just remember that I own a gun and I know several ways to get away with murder," Santana said, nonchalantly.

"Noted." Her eyes widened and she took another drink of her water. "There is something else I wanted to talk to you about then."

Santana indicated for the other brunette to go on.

"Well, if Quinn agrees to move in with me, I know it will be hard for her and Jaxon because you and Brittany are their family. You guys have lived so close to Jaxon his entire life and I know he would miss you. So… I wanted to put this out there for you to consider, talk to Brittany and let me know."

Santana raised her eyebrow expectantly.

Rachel set the water bottle on the desk. "I have quite a bit of property around my house. I even have a good sized place behind my house, next to the pool. When I bought my house, the realtor advertised it as a guest house or an in-law house. It's quite big and if you and Brittany are interested, I know Jaxon and Quinn… and I… would love for you guys to live there, that way you are still close."

Stunned by the offer, Santana didn't know what to say. But she quickly pulled herself together. "I'll talk to Britt about it. I know she would hate to live far away from Jaxon."

Rachel grinned. "Sounds great."

~~~~~QR~~~~~