AN: And after months of nothing, here's an update! I'm so sorry for leaving this story hanging – life and a lack of inspiration got in the way. Thanks to graham5 for your kind words that in part helped to bring my inspiration back. The other cause of my recent flashes of inspiration is my front row tickets to Dianna's new play in May - I can't wait! If anyone's still reading this story, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Chapter Thirty-eight: Family Ties
Quinn chewed on the end of her pen and frowned thoughtfully at her notepad, trying to ignore the repeated sighs and huffs from her bored fiancée as she scribbled down, then crossed out another few words. She could feel Santana's reproachful gaze fixed upon her and knew that the brunette wanted nothing more than for Quinn to put down her pen and entertain her for a while.
Santana and Beth had kept each other occupied for the first half of their six hour flight to LAX, the initial leg of their journey to Honolulu, but then Quinn had insisted Beth take a nap, knowing that the time difference between New York and Hawaii was likely to cause the little girl to get completely out of synch with her usual routine. An overtired and irascible Beth was not pleasant to deal with, and they'd already had to wake her up at five a.m. to make their flight but thankfully Beth had given in and gone to sleep without too much of a fight. She'd been asleep for almost an hour, which meant Quinn had a window of another thirty minutes tops before Beth was awake and full of energy once more.
"Whatcha doin'?" Santana asked in a sing song voice, poking Quinn playfully in the ribs and causing her to squeal and giggle before giving the brunette an admonishing look.
"You'll wake Beth," she chided without looking up from her notepad. "Why don't you watch a movie for a bit?"
"Because," Santana said indulgently, "I'm on a plane, flying to Hawaii to marry the woman I love, and I'm a little bit excited, okay?"
Quinn glanced up and caught sight of her fiancée's perfect face and couldn't help but chuckle. Santana was glowing, there was no other word she could think of to describe it. Her dark eyes sparkled and shone and her cheeks were flushed adorably. Her full lips parted as she offered Quinn a brilliant smile, and Quinn couldn't resist the urge to taste them, cupping her hand possessively against Santana's jaw to pull the brunette close. Aware of the public setting and the five year old dozing in the window seat, Quinn kept the kiss chaste, lingering with her forehead pressed against Santana's for several seconds after their lips parted, just enjoying the innocent connection.
"I'm excited too," she admitted. "I can't wait. For any of it. Walking down the aisle to you…" She paused and brushed her lips just barely against her fiancée's cheek, "… reciting our wedding vows…" She kissed the tip of Santana's nose, "… our first dance…" Her mouth danced over Santana's jawline, "… our wedding night…" she husked, before reconnecting their lips once more for one last kiss before pulling away reluctantly and settling back in her seat.
Santana wasn't willing to give up so easily though. Her hand stroked lightly up and down Quinn's thigh, stopping just a hair's breadth away from anything indecent. She leaned in to capture Quinn's earlobe between her teeth and give it a gentle tug.
"What do you think about the mile high club?" she whispered against Quinn's ear. The effect was instantaneous. Quinn felt her cheeks burn and she jumped away from Santana – at least, as far as the airplane seat would allow – flushing copiously and glancing around her to make sure no one else had heard.
"Even if the idea of doing it in an airlplane bathroom didn't gross me out completely," she hissed indignantly, "we have a five year old to take care of! I can't believe you even asked me that! Do you have any idea…?" She broke off as Santana burst into a fit of giggles beside her, the brunette's entire body shaking with mirth as tears of laughter filled her eyes.
"You're too easy, Q," she spluttered, taking deep breaths as she tried unsuccessfully to contain her amusement. Quinn glared and refused to dignify Santana with a response, returning to her notebook with an air of cool detachment that wasn't fooling either of them.
Santana continued to chuckle to herself for several moments before her giggles finally subsided.
"So, what are you doing?" she asked again, tilting Quinn's paper so that she could read some of the messy scrawl. She grinned as Quinn regarded her
"I'm trying to write my vows," Quinn explained, chewing her lower lip thoughtfully, "only someone keeps interrupting me. I feel like I'm traveling with two five year olds."
"I thought you already wrote your vows?" Santana queried, her brow furrowing. Indeed, Quinn had spent several evenings during the last couple of weeks glued to her laptop, trying to find the perfect sentiment for her wedding vows.
"That was for a New York wedding," Quinn explained, blushing slightly as Santana rolled her eyes and shook her head indulgently. "They're completely inappropriate for a Hawaiian wedding."
Santana sighed. "Just say, I love you, you're the hottest woman I've ever met, and I want to spend my entire life waiting on you hand and foot and making you happy," Santana suggested, her expression deadpan so that Quinn wasn't entirely sure that her fiancée was joking.
Quinn responded with a disapproving raise of an eyebrow as Santana began to flip idly through her notes. She snatched the notebook out of the brunette's hands and tried to put on her best HBIC glare.
"Santana, I love you, you're the hottest woman I've ever met," she parroted and Santana beamed at her, "but if you don't find something to occupy yourself that doesn't involve trying to drive me crazy, I'm going to seriously start considering pushing you out of the emergency exit."
Santana pretended to look shocked. "That's cold, Q," she teased, but she made a big show of tugging her back pack out from under her seat and extracting her iPad. Out of the corner of her eye, Quinn saw the opening credits of a movie start to roll and she smirked to herself as she returned to her wedding vows. She'd barely pressed the nib of her pen to the paper, however, when she felt a stirring in the window seat beside her. She looked down to see a pair of bleary hazel eyes gazing crossly up at her.
"Mama, you and Santana woke me up," Beth said crossly, wriggling in her seat as she struggled to disentangle herself from her blankets. "Are we nearly there yet? 'Cos I'm hungry and I have to go to the bathroom. What's Santana watching?"
Quinn groaned inwardly and shoved her pad back into her purse, even as Beth unbuckled her seatbelt and started to climb into her lap to get to Santana and her iPad movie. Resignedly, she pulled out her extra set of earbuds and the splitter she'd purchased so that they'd all be able to watch and hear a movie on the iPad at the same time and handed them to Santana. It wasn't so bad, really, she thought to herself as she cuddled into Santana and Beth settled in between them. She had plenty of time to write her vows, but opportunities to spend time as a family were going to be in short supply once Santana moved to LA for work. She handed Beth a bag of apple slices as her gaze caught Santana's over the little girl's head.
"I love you," she mouthed, Santana's expensive, noise-cancelling headphones negating the need to say the words out loud.
Santana reached for her hand and intertwined their fingers in Beth's lap. Beth placed her warm, sticky hand on top and Santana beamed at her before turning her attention back to the movie.
After a two hour layover and another seven hour flight, their plane finally landed on the tarmac in Honolulu. Although it was still late afternoon in Hawaii, both Quinn and Santana had been awake for almost eighteen hours – Beth had completely crashed out a couple of hours earlier and the little girl had barely even stirred when Quinn unbuckled her seat belt and lifted her out of her seat. Since Quinn was laden down with Beth, Santana was left to struggle with their bags and the girls shared identical exhausted glances as they trudged through the crowded airport. Just as Quinn was thinking longingly of a nice long hot shower followed by cool cotton sheets and several hours uninterrupted sleep, they stepped through the automatic doors leading to the taxi rank and into the warm, fragrant early evening air. A shiver of excitement tingled along Quinn's spine and she instantly forgot her fatigue, her aching arms, and the itching of her dry and irritated eyes. She lifted her face towards the golden glow of the sunshine, closed her eyes, and reveled in the warmth of the gentle breeze against her skin.
Only a low chuckle from Santana was enough to drag her out of her reverie. She opened her eyes to see Santana's sparkling mahogany orbs inches from her own, a childlike grin lighting up her gorgeous features as she planted a soft kiss against Quinn's lips.
"You okay there, beautiful?" she asked, reaching out to tuck an errant strand of honey blonde hair behind Quinn's ear.
"Never better," Quinn murmured as Santana's fingertips lingered against her cheek. At that moment, the impatient honking of taxi cabs informed them that they'd reached the front of the queue and were holding up the traffic. Laughing, they busied themselves with loading luggage, a sleeping five year old, and themselves into the back of the cab.
The ride to the hotel was only short but Quinn couldn't help but be awed by the beautiful scenery along the way. Golden beaches, impossibly high rolling hills, so much plush greenery despite the soaring temperatures, and flashes of color everywhere in the multitude of flora. She found herself surprised when the taxi pulled to a halt outside their hotel - and even more surprised at the two figures who were there to greet them.
"Mom?" she exclaimed as she climbed out of the cab and embraced Judy warmly. "What are you doing here?"
"You didn't tell her?" Judy asked Santana in an admonishing tone, shaking her perfectly coiffed head. Beside her, Paul Karofsky, wearing a luridly patterned Hawaiian shirt, grinned sheepishly.
"Tell me what?" Quinn demanded as Santana merely shrugged, passing a sleeping Beth out to Quinn before clambering out of the car herself. "I thought you were leaving today to go home?" She was sure her mom's honeymoon was drawing to a close because she'd felt a twinge of guilt when she'd checked the dates and realized that her mom would miss the wedding.
"We changed our plans to stay a little longer," Judy explained, beaming at her confused daughter. "When Santana called and asked for our help with arranging things this end, we couldn't say no. Oh Quinnie, you're going to make the most beautiful bride." She clapped her hands together with glee and Quinn groaned inwardly even as she chuckled.
"So, you're going to be here for the wedding?" she asked hopefully, glancing back over her shoulder at Santana who was grinning like the cat who'd got the cream.
"We will," Judy confirmed.
"And my mom and dad will be arriving tomorrow," Santana added as she and Paul unloaded the trunk with the help of the driver. "When I told them our plans, they booked the first available flight."
"But we won't cramp your style," Judy whispered theatrically in Quinn's ear. "You and Santana need some alone time. Which reminds me," she added, her voice returning to normal volume, "give me my granddaughter." She wrestled the sleeping little girl out of Quinn's arms as she spoke. "Beth's staying in our suite. We got an extra room just for her. And she's traveling back to Ohio with us after the wedding, then I'll bring her back to New York a week from Saturday. Consider it our wedding gift to you both."
Quinn felt Santana's hand stroke the small of her back as her fiancée slipped her arm around her waist.
"Thank you, Judy," Santana said sincerely, reaching out to squeeze her future mother-in-law's hand. "And thank you for helping with the wedding plans. I hope it didn't cut into your honeymoon too much?"
"Not at all," Judy said, waving a dismissive hand. "We were happy to do it. And everything's arranged, exactly as you wanted." She shared a conspiratorial grin with Santana and Quinn couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed. Santana, her mom, Paul, even Santana's parents had given so much to give Quinn her dream wedding. Rachel and Kurt had played their part as well. Quinn had never felt further from the confused and hurt seventeen year old who'd fallen apart and sobbed that she just wanted somebody to love her. All she wanted was to spend the rest of her life ensuring that Santana and Beth knew they were loved as much as she felt loved in that moment. Suddenly, she knew exactly what she wanted to say for her wedding vows and she grinned excitedly to herself.
After a protracted goodbye, and promises to meet up for brunch the next day, Judy and Paul took Beth back to their suite to put her to bed, whilst Quinn and Santana checked into the hotel. Quinn leaned tiredly against the counter as Santana took care of the paperwork and a bellboy loaded their bags onto a trolley. All she wanted was to curl up in Santana's arms and relax.
A short elevator ride and a tip for the bellboy later, and Santana was closing the door to their room behind them with a satisfying click.
She turned back towards Quinn, an appraising expression in her dark brown eyes as her gaze swept over the room, but Quinn wasn't interested in the décor right then. A sudden flush of desire shot through her at the knowledge that, unexpectedly, she had the whole night alone with the woman she loved. Before Santana could react, Quinn flung herself at her fiancée, kissing her fervently as her hands snaked beneath Santana's tank top, desperate to feel satin soft, naked skin under her fingertips. Santana recovered from her surprise quickly, and Quinn felt strong arms wrap around her waist, guiding her backwards into the room.
"Don't you want to explore?" Santana panted as Quinn trailed wet open-mouthed kisses along her jawline.
"Later," Quinn murmured absently, tugging at Santana's tank top impatiently. The back of her calves hit the soft, plush fabric adorning the bed as Santana lifted her arms obligingly, allowing Quinn to remove the offending garment. Santana chuckled at Quinn's eagerness and reached behind her to unzip her dress.
"Well, we've been traveling for a long time," teased Santana, slipping Quinn's dress from her shoulders so that it puddled at her feet. "I can't believe you don't even want to shower first."
Quinn couldn't resist a quick glance toward the gleaming white tiles of the en suite bathroom. The walk-in shower did look inviting, but so did her half-naked, dishevelled looking fiancée.
Grinning coquettishly at the brunette, Quinn grabbed her by the hand and pulled her towards the bathroom. "Who says we can't do both?" she asked, unhooking her bra with her free hand and tossing it at Santana who caught it deftly. Never one to back down from a challenge, Santana spun them around, dancing around Quinn to lead the way into the shower cubicle. Quinn squealed as her bare back hit cold tile and then yelped as Santana turned on the faucet, cascading ice cold water over them both.
All thoughts of the cold vanished as she raked her eyes hungrily over Santana's figure however. The brunette's bra and panties were soaked and almost see through, her nipples had hardened in reaction to the freezing water which was rapidly warming up around them. Quinn couldn't resist cupping Santana's breasts and running the pads of her thumbs over the hardened nubs. Santana gasped and Quinn groaned inwardly at the flood of wetness between her own thighs. Just minutes earlier she'd been thinking longingly of sleep, and now all she wanted was Santana, naked and screaming her name. Eagerly, she stripped her fiancée of her sopping undergarments, dropping to her knees to peel Santana's panties down her thighs.
Once Santana was naked, Quinn raked hungry eyes over her figure, delighting in the way Santana chewed on her lower lip in anticipation. With gentle hands, Quinn urged Santana to widen her stance slightly, and, still on her knees, she wasted no time in burying her head between the brunette's shapely thighs. There was no game plan to her actions, she simply lost herself stroking her tongue through soft folds as Santana whimpered and trembled above her. With every intimate kiss, every flick of her tongue, she pushed Santana closer and closer to the edge. Her fiancée's fingers tangled almost painfully into her hair but Quinn didn't care – she was too caught up in the sensation of a supple thigh pressed against her cheek, of the taste of Santana on her tongue, of the breathy pleas and moans that tumbled from Santana's lips. She could feel Santana's body tensing as she neared her release, but she continued her relentless licking and sucking until Santana came apart with Quinn's name on her lips.
Quinn waited for Santana's breathing to even out before she daintily got to her feet and manoeuvred herself under the shower spray, brushing tangled strands of blonde hair out of her eyes and allowing the hot water to soothe her aching muscles. She squeezed a liberal amount of soap from the complementary bottle provided by the hotel and proceeded to apply it to her flushed skin as Santana watched, still reveling in the afterglow of her orgasm. As Quinn's hands neared her breasts, Santana reached out and wrapped her fingers around her wrists, effectively stilling her movements.
"Let me?" she husked and Quinn nodded eagerly. With no preamble, Santana's hands moved deftly over her skin, slick and smooth from the soap. With sweeping strokes and gentle caresses, Santana let her hands explore innocently, tracing the curve of a hip, dipping into Quinn's navel, brushing the soft underside of her breast. Despite the heat from the water, Santana's fingertips were soon teasing Quinn's skin into goosebumps and Quinn's breathing was becoming shallow and erratic despite the fact that her fiancée had yet to touch her anywhere particularly erogenous. The anticipation of Santana's intimate touches was enough to leave Quinn flushed and wanting, and as Santana lightly drew the back of her hand over the side of her breast, Quinn couldn't wait any longer.
"Santana," she groaned, whinier than she'd intended. "Please?"
"Please what?" Santana teased, her eyes almost black with desire, the rapid rising and falling of her chest betraying just how difficult it was for her to hold back.
"Please fuck me?" Quinn growled, surprising herself at the ferocity of her tone as she pressed her mouth against Santana's luscious lips and kissed her demandingly. Santana moaned into her mouth but she didn't need any further encouragement. Her fingers slipped between Quinn's thighs, finding her more than ready for her touch. Two fingers slipped inside as the heel of her hand brushed against the bundle of nerves at Quinn's center. Quinn whimpered encouragingly as Santana began to move against her with slow, gentle thrusts that grew harder and deeper with each stroke. It was all Quinn could do to cling onto Santana's shoulders as the brunette coaxed her towards bliss.
"I can't believe," panted Santana as she trailed a path of hot, messy kisses along Quinn's jaw toward her ear, "that in forty-eight hours, I'll be making love to you as your wife."
Quinn cried out in surprise as her orgasm hit unexpectedly, her inner walls clenching rhythmically against Santana's fingers. She'd been close but Santana's words had sent her straight to release. Santana continued to stroke her through the waves of pleasure and just as they started to recede, a second orgasm ripped through her, sending shivers radiating through her and leaving her quivering and clinging to her fiancée.
"Wow," she murmured when the ringing in her ears finally stopped and she was able to catch her breath. "That was… you were…" She shook her head, unable to find the words.
Santana chuckled. "You too, baby," she said as she turned off the water and wrapped Quinn in a soft, fluffy towel. "Now let's get you to bed. We have a busy couple of days coming up and you're going to need your stamina. I can't wear you out on the first night!"
Quinn tried to frown indignantly, but now that her base needs were sated her exhaustion had returned full force. She dried her body quickly and rubbed the towel against her hair, squeezing out as much of the water as she could before resolving to fix whatever state it ended up in when she woke up the next morning. Santana held up the sheets for her to slip gratefully into bed, and she was only barely aware of Santana sliding in behind her before she drifted off to sleep.
By the time Quinn had fixed her wild hair the next morning and the girls had taken a quick tour of the hotel, including the garden where the ceremony would take place, it was time to meet Judy, Paul, and Beth for brunch. Beth was a bundle of energy, fully recovered from the journey, and desperate to make use of the hotel pool to go swimming. To give her mom a break from the hyperactive five year old, Quinn promised to take her swimming that afternoon while Santana went to meet her parents at the airport and took care of some mysterious wedding business that she was adamant Quinn did not need to know about.
"Mama?" Beth asked thoughtfully, as Quinn wrestled her into her bathing suit, "when you and Tana get married, will you have babies together?"
Quinn raised an eyebrow, surprised by the question. She dropped to her knees and began to smear suntan lotion over her daughter's arms.
"Well, not right away," she said as Beth wriggled in reaction to the cold lotion. "Santana's going to be living in California for a while, remember, and I still have another year of college… but maybe one day."
"Oh." Beth sounded disappointed, and Quinn frowned, trying to figure out if the little girl was worried about the prospect of siblings or if she was upset that it wasn't likely to happen anytime soon.
"Would you like a brother or sister?" Quinn asked gently, setting the lotion down on the side. She still needed to cover Beth's back but she wanted to be looking into her eyes for this conversation. Slowly, watching Quinn carefully to gauge her reaction, Beth shook her head. "Okay," Quinn said evenly, "can you tell me why you feel that way?"
"If you and Tana have a baby," Beth said in a small voice, "then Tana won't want me anymore."
"Is that what you think?" Quinn asked, her stomach clenching as she realized why Beth looked so forlorn at the prospect of a sibling. "Oh sweetie, of course she will. You know, I have a big sister and my mom loves both Frannie and me just the same." Although she really shouldn't, the childish part of her added silently.
Beth wasn't placated. She shook her head more vehemently, blonde curls bouncing. "But Tana isn't my mommy," she said urgently. "If Tana has her own baby, she might love it more than me."
"That's not possible," Quinn replied softly. "Baby, Santana adores you." She tried to think of a way to explain so Beth would understand. "Beth, families come in all different shapes and sizes. You were a family with your mommy Shelby, before you came to live with me, right?"
Beth nodded, her eyes narrowed slightly as she focussed on Quinn's words.
"And we've talked a lot about how Shelby chose you, remember? How she wanted to love you and take care of you. Well, it's the same for Santana. She chose us. You and me. We're a package deal, kiddo. When Santana makes her wedding vows tomorrow, she's not just promising to love me, she's promising to love you too. And you love her, don't you?"
"Uh huh," Beth said, chewing on her lip as she thought about what Quinn was telling her.
"And, if one day, Santana and I do decide to have a baby, we're going to need a lot of help," Quinn continued, taking her daughter's hands and squeezing them. "And, I bet you'd make an awesome big sister – you could teach a baby all kinds of things, I bet."
"I could teach it to write its name?" Beth suggested shyly.
"You could," Quinn agreed with a grin. "And how to tie its shoe laces. And," she glanced toward the open balcony window and the balmy afternoon air, "maybe you could teach it how to swim?"
"But I don't know how to swim!" Beth cried, a small smile on her lips. She knew Quinn was playing with her.
"Well, then we'd better start teaching you," Quinn said with a chuckle. "What do you say? Do you want to get out there and give it a try?"
"I do," Beth decided, her smile widening into a grin as Quinn breathed a sigh of relief. Since Beth had come back into her life, being a parent had been the most rewarding experience she'd ever known, but it was by far the hardest. The thought of another child terrified the life out of her, but, as she watched Beth dance around the room looking for her water wings she couldn't help but imagine a mini Santana trailing along behind her and the mental image gave her a warm, yet still somewhat panicky feeling.
"All in good time, Fabray," she murmured to herself.
"What?" Beth spun around to gaze at her quizzically. "Did you say something?"
"I said, I think Santana put your water wings in the closet," Quinn told her, opening the door. She handed Beth the small package that Santana had hurried out to buy the night before their trip.
Beth squealed. "Mama look – they're Sofia the First, Tana got me Sofia the First water wings!"
"I know," Quinn told her, grinning at the delighted expression on her daughter's face. She didn't tell Beth that Santana had been to three different stores looking for Beth's favorite character. Beth knew that Santana loved her – Quinn had no doubt that her daughter's uncertainty was nothing more than a reaction to the number of changes she'd been through already in her short life. With or without a marriage certificate to confirm it, the three of them were already a family, and if their family grew in the future, she was sure there was more than enough love to go around. Right now though, all she wanted to do was spend a couple of hours relaxing with Beth before the impending wedding madness took over. As she corralled a squirming Beth and finished covering her with lotion, Quinn couldn't help but stare at the diamond ring on her left hand. In a little over twenty four hours she would be getting married.
"Why are you pulling that face?" Beth asked, cocking her pretty little head to one side and Quinn chuckled.
"Because I'm getting married," Quinn replied simply.
Beth sighed and shook her head. "You're silly, Mama," she giggled. "Now, hurry, up, I wanna go swimming!"