Chapter 8:

AN: Tell me what you think the gender and/or name should be in the reviews or by PM :)

Rachel's third trimester had been a shock to the system after the relative tranquillity of her second. Her emotions varied a lot and Quinn never knew what she was going to get. One minute, Rachel was talking about baby names and saying she wanted Quinn to be a parent to her child, the next she was stressing out about the tiniest things and worrying if the baby would think she was a slut, Quinn would comfort her and then a moment after that Rachel would be angrily saying that Quinn didn't know that, and then she would break down and lie on Quinn's lap. Quinn was feeling the stress too and she thought that they both deserved a relaxing break, so she had booked a reservation at Breadstix.

Rachel leant over the table and took Quinn's hand, holding it on top of the table, in front of all the other customers.

"Remember when we couldn't even do this?" Rachel asked, and Quinn nodded.

They had kissed last week but decided to start secretly dating. Quinn wanted to take her girlfriend out on a real date though, not one where they just lounged around the house. Their first date. She wanted it to be perfect. She took Rachel to a showing at the cinema of a movie they had been looking forward to and in the dark they held hands under the seat.

After the movie, Quinn drove to Breadstix. They got a table near the back and after they had ordered and the incredibly annoying male waiter had finally quit flirting with her girlfriend, Quinn asked Rachel what she had thought about the film.

"It was great," Rachel had said. "But I liked the action going on at the back of the theatre more than that the front." She winked at Quinn and the blonde girl blushed and kicked her under the table. "Ooh!" Rachel whispered. "So that's how you want to play it?" She wrapped a leg around Quinn's flirtatiously and giggled. Quinn looked down at it worriedly though no-one could see it as the table blocked the view under it.

Quinn smiled across the table at Rachel. "I was stupid then, worrying about what other people would feel about it more than about how it would make us feel." She said and then leant across the table to brush her lips against Rachel's, but Rachel pulled her closer. Surprised, Quinn's hand darted out and she ended up knocking over her iced tea. She let out a sputtering laughter and Rachel chuckled as she whispered "We can continue this later".

"It's the simplest routine in the history of show choir competition dance routines!" Rachel was storming. Since cheerleading had ended for her, Quinn had noticed that she really got in to Glee Club, and by really, Quinn meant took it over and was biting everyone's heads off for doing a right kick instead of a left. They were rehearsing the dance routine for Regionals. "I mean seriously! All it is is step ball change, left kick, right kick, twirl, repeat, lift partner up, roll, angel lift, swing through legs, jump up, repeat, jazz hands!" She mimicked it as she went through the actions.

"Rachel, sweetie, you need to calm down!" Quinn said. She was worried about Rachel moving around this much at six months pregnant. "This can't be good for you, or him."

"I'm fine!" Rachel repeated stubbornly as she led the complicated dance routine while singing and shouting at the slow learners.

Suddenly she clutched at her stomach. Quinn rushed over and a moment later Puck had grabbed a chair and pushed a struggling Rachel down into it.

"I'm fine!" She said again before she gritted her teeth and started to breathe heavily.

"Rachel sit down!" Puck ordered as she continued to struggle. "Breathe." Quinn nodded a quick thanks to him as she scrambled in her bag for her cell phone. When she found it she dialled the midwife. The woman picked up quickly.

"Hi Quinn, how can I help you?"

"AARGH," Rachel screamed suddenly. Puck, Brittany and Santana were in a little circle around her trying to help but everyone else stood back, unsure of what to do.

"Rach," Santana said helpfully. "Where does it hurt?" Rachel waved her hands at her back, side and lower stomach before the pain subsided a little and her breathing returned to normal.

Quinn told the midwife about how Rachel was having bouts of pain in those areas.

"Where are you right now?" The midwife asked.

"William McKinley High School. I'll meet you in the parking lot?" Quinn suggested.

"I'll get there as fast as I can." Promised the midwife and then she hung up.

A white blur started to become clearer until Rachel could tell that she was looking at the ceiling. She could hear some murmuring so she turned her head to the left so that she could see who it was. Quinn was sitting in a hard chair next to her uncomfortable bed and she was talking to a woman who Rachel gradually realised was her midwife.

The two women noticed that Rachel was awake and she saw Quinn's thankful expression as her girlfriend kissed her head and the midwife smiled at them. "You need to relax more Miss Berry," She said chidingly. "All that stress certainly hasn't been helping you and it's caused some false labour contractions. They're worse than the Braxton Hicks' contractions you've been experiencing and they can really hurt as your girlfriend said they have been hurting, but they only usually come within weeks or days of your baby's birth, so we think your baby is going to be early, but you really do need to relax, otherwise you're going to hurt your baby." Rachel nodded, disappointed but determined. "Your body is also quite small so that will make it more dangerous too. I'll have a talk with your principal, and I've already spoken to your fathers, but I think that if you are getting too stressed at school then you're going to have to take early maternity leave."

"Oh I can stop doing so much at school!" Rachel protested. Four months off school? How horrid, she would fail all her exams.

"No I really think it would be good if you had a break Rachel," The midwife said. "We can get you a tutor, and you can still go out with friends, but if you don't want to endanger you baby, this is what will be best for you." Rachel nodded dismally. Quinn attempted to take her hand but Rachel just jerked it away.

"Thanks," Quinn nodded to the midwife and she left to go to talk to Rachel's dads who were waiting outside. "Is this about Regionals?" Quinn asked. Rachel shrugged. "Because there's going to be more regionals'-"

"I don't want you to replace me," Rachel said in a small voice, sounding so insecure that Quinn wanted to hold her like she was a baby herself, but Rachel still wasn't touching her.

"Of course we would never replace you!" Quinn said. "You are the best singer in the whole-"

Rachel frowned. "Not the Glee Club. I don't want YOU to replace me Quinn."

Oh. Quinn got up from the chair and sat on the edge of the bed. "You are nowhere near as smart as I thought you were." Quinn said. Rachel looked down as if expecting Quinn to break up with her or something. Quinn put a finger under Rachel's chin to get her girlfriend to look at her. "Don't you see how crazily in love I am? I hardly ever feel like I deserve it, but I would never be willing to give it up."

Suddenly Rachel jolted forwards and into Quinn. Quinn was used to being careful with the bump and she managed to avoid it as she knotted her hands in Rachel's hair, feeling the perfect pressure against her lips, but the kiss travelling all the way through her body until she was feeling the pleasure right the way down to her toes, aware of every part of Rachel's body and Rachel's mind, their souls intertwining and them both feeling as if they could never run out of breath.

"Hey baby girl-" Rachel's fathers froze in the doorway as Quinn and Rachel scrambled apart. "I'm guessing you're feeling better?" LeRoy observed.