Summary: Sequel to Dirty Little Secret.
Pairing: Rachel/Quinn
Notes: Sorry this has taken me so long guys but this is like the chapter that never ends LOL I can't believe how long it ended up being. Don't expect all chapters to be like this. I'm pretty sure this is a fluke.
Warning: Some sexual content, nudity and swearing
Disclaimer: I own nothings, but the random ramblings of which occur in my brain. Glee and any other copyrighted content used belongs to their respective owners.
"Rae," Leroy's voice boomed from the bottom of the stairs, "hurry up! Quinn's waiting in the car for you".
Rachel stuck her head out of the nursery, "I'll be down in a minute Daddy".
Puck chuckled warmly, "Just go already," his smile reached his eyes as he recalled his own reluctance to leave Beth with anyone when she was first born.
The small diva fidgeted nervously by the crib, her eyes never leaving her daughter.
"Rachel," Puck rested a hand gently on Rachel's shoulder, "we'll be fine I promise you".
"I know..." her hand reached down and gently ran across the dark wisps of hair.
"If it makes you feel any better you can text me all you want so you don't get in trouble with Q for worrying too much".
She felt the corners of her mouth tug for the first time that morning, "Really?" she glanced at the boy nervously.
"Hey," Puck gently turned her around so that she was facing him, "I won't tell if you won't".
Rachel's voice was watery with the threat of tears, "It's a deal".
"C'mere," Puck held out his arms.
Rachel accepted and returned the hug, "Thank you Noah".
"Any time," he hushed into her hair, "besides, I'll always take care of my girls".
"Rachel Barbra Berry!" Leroy's voice shouted.
"Guess I'd better get going," Rachel said reluctantly, before leaning down and delicately kissing her daughters cheek and whispering, "Be good Charlie, mommy loves you".
Puck smiled, he was so proud to be able to call Rachel his friend and no matter what happened in his eyes they were family, "Go woman!" he laughed.
"Call me if you need anything ok?" Rachel said as she began to back out of the room, Puck hot on her heels.
"I promise".
"And remember that there's more milk downstairs in the fridge..."
"Rachel I've got this".
"But what if..." they were at the top of the stairs now.
"No buts!" Puck said sternly, "Go and spend some time with Q, don't do anything I wouldn't do," he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"Noah!"
"I mean it, go and relax. Do whatever it is you guys do and enjoy the break. Trust me, you'll be thankful for it later".
Leroy stood at the bottom of the stairs, he knew how difficult this was for his daughter and he hated that she had to go through it at such a young age. He cleared his throat, "Rae?" he knew that if he didn't make her go through with this now then it would only be harder when the time came for her to do it on a regular basis.
"I'm coming," Rachel gave Puck a hug goodbye and made her way down the stairs.
"Your girl's waiting for you," Leroy offered as he gently guided his daughter towards the door.
"Daddy?" Rachel's voice sounded childlike.
"Yes baby?"
"She'll be ok won't she?"
"Of course she'll be ok sweetheart," Leroy smiled. When he'd first discovered that Rachel was pregnant he had expected that she would want to have the baby adopted but Rachel being Rachel meant that she kept the baby she hadn't asked for and loved Charlie despite who her father was.
Rachel nodded as she gazed out of the open front door, "Guess I should..."
"Have a good time sweetheart, try not to worry so much ok?"
"I'll try".
"That's my girl".
"Don't let Quinn hear you say that," she laughed weakly.
"Hey, you were my girl first," he smiled warmly, "you'll always be my girl".
Rachel stepped towards her father and gave him a hug, which given his size against hers, resulted in her face being buried in his chest and her arms resting around his waist. "I love you Daddy," her voice muffled.
Leroy wrapped his arms around his daughter, "I love you too Rae," he gently pressed his lips to the crown of her head, "now get going".
Rachel extricated herself from the hug, "Tell Dad I said goodbye?"
"I'll tell him as soon as he gets back from the store," Leroy promised.
"Ok," finally Rachel stepped out of the front door, "call me if you need me".
"I promise". Leroy rolled his eyes the second his daughters back was turned and watched her walk down the sidewalk to the idling car belonging to her girlfriend. He stood there watching as she climbed into the passenger seat and waved at the two girls as they pulled away from the house and set off to Quinns.
Puck stood at the bottom of the stairs, his hands stuffed inside his jean pockets, "How long before the first call?" he chuckled.
"Jeez!" Leroy turned around quickly, "You scared me Noah. I didn't hear you come down the stairs".
"Sorry Mr. B," Puck shrugged apologetically.
"And to answer your question, I imagine Rae will call in half hour".
"Bet ya she calls as soon as she gets to Q's".
Leroy grinned, "What's the stakes?"
"If I'm right..." Puck rubbed at his chin thoughtfully, "you're on diaper duty".
"And if I'm right?"
"I'll do the mountain of dishes you guys seem to have collected".
Leroy blushed, embarrassed that his kitchen was still a mess from breakfast. "Deal," and with that he shook hands with Puck and the bet begun.
"I was beginning to think you'd changed your mind," Quinn greeted as Rachel clambered in the passenger side.
"I still might," Rachel muttered under her breath as she shut her door and busied herself with fastening her seatbelt.
"Hey," Quinn lifted her girlfriends face up, "you can do this".
"Can we go before I freak myself out and change my mind?" Rachel asked honestly.
The blonde retracted her hand instantly, "Sure," and put her car into gear.
The pair waved goodbye to Leroy and drove in silence as they left Rachel's street and headed towards their destination.
Rachel sat twiddling with her thumbs, she hated silence of any kind but she hated it even more in a car, "So..." she had to restrain herself from turning the radio on, "what are we going to do?"
"Well, mom's gonna be out most of the day, so we have the house to ourselves," her sentenced lingered in the air a moment while she waited at a four-way stop sign, "I figured we could have the morning to ourselves and we'll do whatever you want. Watch a movie, talk, sleep," Quinn laughed at the last one.
"I do not need sleep," Rachel half-heartedly huffed.
"I'm not saying you do Rae," Quinn quickly back-pedalled, "I'm just saying that we can do whatever we want and not have to worry about diapers and feeding".
"Oh..." Rachel's cheeks tinged slightly, "sorry". She cleared her throat, "So that's the morning plan, but what's this afternoons plan?"
"San and Britt are gonna come over," Quinn explained and preempting Rachel's question about their other girlfriends added, "Mercedes and Tina wanted to but they already had plans".
"That's a shame, it would've been nice to see all the girls".
"You say that now," Quinn laughed.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Everyone misses you".
"Quinn Fabray..." Rachel's voice carried a warning.
"We're here," Quinn said hastily as she pulled into her driveway.
"Don't ignore me," Rachel whined.
"I'm not ignoring you Rae," the blonde said as she killed the engine, "I just figured we could talk inside".
"Ok," Rachel unbuckled her belt, "just tell me now...is it bad?"
"Not at all Rae".
The pair got out of the car and made their way to the front door.
"You promise?" Rachel asked as Quinn was arguing with her key and the door.
As the lock finally decided to cooperate and the key turned smoothly Quinn felt a small sense of triumph, "Gotchya!"
"Quinn?"
"Sorry, this lock has been a bit sticky," she explained.
"Oh..." Rachel hesitated for a moment unsure as to whether she should repeat her question.
Quinn laced her fingers with Rachel's and led her into the house, "It's nothing to worry about Rach, just expect S to bitch about Glee".
"So I am in trouble," Rachel deflated, her day seemed to be going downhill right from the moment she woke up.
"Not at all sweetheart," Quinn led her girlfriend upstairs to her room and to the bed, "everyone wants you back in Glee".
"Then why should I expect Santana to bitch about Glee?" her voice resonated with confusion.
"Erm..." a smile played across the blondes delicate features, "because she's Santana?" she laughed.
"Well I suppose that is a given," Rachel felt herself cheering up slightly now that she knew she was not in trouble, "but is there anything specific about Glee that Santana is likely to bitch about?"
"The new members," Quinn said simply.
"There's new members?"
"Yeah, I told you but Charlie had been a bit of a screamer so I'm not sure you heard me".
"I vaguely remember you mentioning it but I'm a little fuzzy on the details," Rachel admitted.
"That's ok, I'll fill you in on everything later".
"Later?" An eyebrow arched, "What's wrong with now?"
Quinn sidled closer to Rachel, "I've not had a chance to say good morning to you yet," her fingers traced the edge of a cheek.
A smile erupted across the small brunettes tired features, "I like good mornings".
Their faces angled towards each others and neither girl could tell who was closing the gap between them. Hearts race as their breath begins to mingle and their lips barely touch. Static surges through their lips causing them both to jump back in shock.
"Ow..." Quinn laughs, "well, that's not how I envisioned that playing out".
Rachel laughed nervously as she touched her lower lip, "Neither did I".
"You want to try that again?"
"I do," Rachel's voice sounds far off.
"But?"
"Can I call home to let them know we got here ok?"
"Charlie's ok you know baby girl," Quinn smiled softly.
"I know..." Rachel looked down at her lap.
"But you'll feel better once you've checked in," Quinn said knowingly.
"Do you mind?"
"Not at all".
Rachel retrieved her cell from her pocket, hit the speed dial for home and put the phone to her ear. "It's ringing..."
"Ok," Quinn answered as she shuffled herself further back onto her bed, kicking off her shoes in the process.
"Hello?" Rachel paused as Quinn's shoes thudded on the floor and gave her girlfriend a withering stare, "Hi Dad...no I was not checking up on you...who lost a bet? Well...they're in trouble when I get back! Uhhuh...big trouble tell them. I'm ok, I was just calling to let you know that we got to Quinn's safely. Ok Dad, tell Daddy he's in big trouble for me. Haha yeah...ok...I love you too...give Charlie a kiss for me ok? Ok, bye".
"Do I even wanna know?" Quinn chuckled.
Rachel tossed her phone on the bedside table and flopped onto the bed with a huge huff.
"What's wrong Rach?"
"They placed bets on me," she sulked.
Quinn ran her fingers through the thick dark locks splayed across her bed, "What were they betting about?" she knew not to ask who was involved in the bet, there had only been two other people capable of speech in the Berry household when they left.
"How long it'd take for me to call and check up on Charlie".
"Hey if it makes you feel any better," Quinn slid down the bed so that she was laying with her face next to Rachel's, "the first time I left Beth with someone to go out I barely made it five minutes before I called to check that she was ok".
"You did?" Rachel turned to face her girlfriend.
"Really," the blonde smiled as she pushed a strand of hair out of Rachel's face, "but you know what'll make you feel even better than that?"
"What?"
Hazel eyes twinkled mischievously, "Puck didn't even make it out of the street before he called to check that Beth was ok. Hell! He barely made it out of the driveway".
A musical giggle filled the air as Rachel pictured new daddy Noah Puckerman frantically worrying about his daughter and calling non-stop to check on her.
"See?" Quinn beamed, she loved the sound of her girlfriends laugh, "told you that would make you feel better".
"I can think of something that would make me feel much, much better," Rachel said quietly, her voice a mixture of seduction and nerves.
"And what's that?"
"Well I do believe you promised me a proper good morning," her hand reached out and fingers idly trace the length of pale skinned neck.
Quinn swallowed without even thinking about it, her skin tingling and shivers racing down her spine, "You're right," she smiled as she wiggled herself closer to Rachel, "I did promise you a proper good morning".
"Try not to shock me this time," Rachel whispered jokingly against the lips inching towards her.
"I think you'll find," her lips grazed her girlfriends as she spoke, "that you shocked me".
Lips finally meet in a tentative kiss.
Between school, Charlie, Beth and day-to-day life neither girl could remember the last time they'd had a moment to themselves, never mind a morning. Needless to say, it'd been a while (before Charlie's birth, not that either of them would say that) since they'd had any chance of intimacy together. At most the girls had spent the last few weeks exchanging brief kisses and sharing a bed, although never for a whole night. They both felt a little rusty and nervous. Had they fallen back in to a relationship of friends?
Rachel rotated her body so that it was flush with Quinn's. Quinn's hand went instantly to Rachel's hip and gently pulled her even closer. Rachel's fingers stopped dancing across the skin of Quinn's neck and entangled themselves in the honey silk tresses. Their lips press together more firmly as they relax into the familiarity of each other and remember the passion they have for each other. A tongue darts out and swipes at a lower lip, issuing a gasp and granting permission. Tongues cautiously meet and they feel the sparks ignite and any questions of whether they'd just become friends disappear as their tongues resume the dance that only they know.
They break apart and their pants fill the room as they greedily suck air into their lungs. Hazel eyes study chocolate, searching, scrutinising.
"Are you ok?" Quinn asks, her voice husky.
"No," Rachel answers simply.
"What's wrong? Too fast?" her words stumble together as she replays the last few minutes in her head.
"You...stopped...kissing..." she swallows the lump in her throat and tries to regain control of her breathing, "me," her lips crash against her counterparts in desperate need.
Teeth clash as the blonde is caught slightly off guard by the sudden ambush but the clashing is short lived as she returns Rachel's desperate need with her own and their tongues return to their passionate dance. Their bodies press tightly against each other, but they can't get close enough. A pale hand dips beneath material and kneads at the tan skin of lower back. Legs tangle with legs, wrapping themselves around each other, holding each other in place, pulling each other closer. Their breaths mingle as teeth tug at swollen lips. Neither girl has a coherent thought in their head, the only thing they can focus on is their need for each other, how they've missed each other, how much they long for each other and the heat building up inside them. Tan fingers disentangle from golden strands and grip onto a shoulder as a thigh meets between her own legs. A gasp has the briefest opportunity to escape from swollen lips before said lips return to their duelling for dominancy.
A phone lets out a muffled bleeping and both girls ignore it. They both know it's Quinn's phone and without verbally consulting each other reach the silent agreement of whoever it is texting can wait. They're far too much enjoying losing themselves in each other.
Rachel's thigh meets between Quinn's leg and both girls are very much aware of the heat they are both emitting.
Quinn's hand presses flush against Rachel's back and draws the girl even closer still causing delicious friction between them and eliciting a soft moan but from who neither of them know.
Rachel's hand loosens and traces the length of the petite blondes body, grazing a breast as she heads towards slender hips. She changes her mind and trails her fingers back up her girlfriends side and lingers nervously on a bicep for a moment before tentatively moving to cup a breast over the shirt.
Quinn shifts, no matter how hard she tries she can't get close enough to her girl and Rachel cupping her through her shirt just makes her wish she could be even closer still.
The sounds of heavy breathing, gasps and gentle moans permeating the air are all shattered as the persisting bleeping the girls had been successfully ignoring erupts into song as the phone rings.
Rachel breaks away, suddenly very aware of her actions and reality comes crashing back around her. "You..." she clears her throat, "you should get that".
"Yeah..." Quinn doesn't know what to do, the only thing she can think of doing is silently cursing the caller in her head. She gently kisses Rachel before extricating herself from the tangle of limbs and shivers as the air collides with her body and she searches for her phone. She finds her cell just in time, as the song nears it's end signalling the final ring before the caller gets sent to voicemail. "Hello," she snips ineffectively due to her voice still sounding husky and gravelly, she clears her throat and tries again, "hang on," her throat feels as dry as sand paper and her hand moves to cover the mouth piece, "Do you want a drink or anything Rae?"
Rachel tries to yawn discretely but instead ends up contorting her features in a such a fashion that they give away that she's trying to yawn inconspiciously without opening her mouth. She doesn't want to admit how tired she is, how she internally heaved a sigh of relief earlier when Quinn mentioned that she could sleep. Strands of mussed jet flail from side to side, "No thank you," she's propped up on her elbows but all of her limbs feel heavy so she rolls onto her side and studies her girlfriend, "I'll wait here if that's ok?"
"Sure baby," Quinn steps towards her girl and presses her dry swollen lips to a slightly sweat sheaned forehead, "I'll try and be quick," she nods at the cell in her hand and mouths Santana before turning to leave the room, quietly shutting the door behind her. She pads down the hall to the stairs before she finally removes her hand from the mouthpiece and puts the phone to her ear only to be greeted to the sound of Santana making heaving noises. "Haha," she says dryly.
"God Q, you guys are like sickly sweet. Can I get you a drink baby?" the Latina mimics, "Barf!"
"Fuck you!"
"I don't think Berry would approve of that..."
"Fine, go fuck yourself, better?" she knows she's only goading her best friend and that really what she was feeling had nothing to do with her inappropriate timing, but she was pissed and who better to take it out on than the one person who always forgave her?
"What the hell crawled up your ass and died?"
You! Me! Everything! She fought with telling the Cheerio the thoughts running through her head but she decided against it. "What do you want S?"
"Charming!" Santana snorted, "No hi S, how are you, just what do you want? It's a good thing I know I didn't call you in the middle of you having sex".
Now downstairs in the kitchen, Quinn pulled open the fridge door and stuck her head in further than necessary, praying that the hum of the fridge would cover the awkward silence she knew was radiating from her at volumes that it couldn't even be called silence anymore.
"Q?"
She took a deep steadying breath, readying herself for the onslaught, "Yeah?"
"Something you wanna talk about?"
"Not really..." she grabbed a can of soda that she'd stashed at the back of the fridge.
"Don't make me beat it out of you Q".
"Like you could take me". Back to goading. Distract her. I'm not doing this right now.
"Quinn Fabray did I interrupt you and Berry having sex?" Santana said sternly.
"No".
"Q..."
"You did not interrupt us having sex".
"Don't lie to me Q," her voice was thick with threat.
"I'm not lying," she paused for a moment before quietly uttering under breath without realising, "I don't think".
"Aha!"
"What aha?"
"You don't think!"
"I said that out loud didn't I?" flushed skin thudded against the fridge door.
"Yeah you did," the Latina's smirk travelled loud and clear through the speaker.
"Can we not do this now?"
"You know I'm gonna get it out of you eventually right? After all I will be over in a little over a couple of hours".
"Please S...I'll talk to you, I will...just not today ok? I gotta figure it all out in my head".
"Fine, my lips are sealed for now. But we WILL be talking about this Q".
"I know," she sighed, "so what were you actually calling about in the first place?"
"I was just calling to check we were still on for today".
Quinn rolled her eyes, "I hate you so much".
"I hate you too," Santana laughed, "see you in a bit".
"Bye S," she threw her cell on the counter and ran her fingers through her hair in frustration at the entire situation she had somehow gotten herself into. A million questions swarming around in dizzying circles inside her head.
The young mother sighed and uttered to herself, "How do I keep getting myself into these situations?" before drinking deeply from her can of drink. Glancing at the clock she knew that she still had a few hours to kill before Santana and Brittany arrived and she almost positive that Rachel was probably conked out on her bed by now. Draining the last remnants of her can and tossing it in the trash she grabbed her cell and headed back upstairs to her room.
Standing in the doorway she couldn't help but smile a little at the sight of her girlfriend apparently dead to the world. Jet hair splayed across the pillow with a few strands hanging loosely at the side of her face as though they'd been arranged deliberately for a photo. Quinn stood still for several moments absorbing the peace and contentment of her girlfriend, and felt a slight pang of guilt for taking comfort in knowing that Rachel was so exhausted that at least for an hour or so she would be free of nightmares and vivid replays of painful memories. Rachel lay on her side, an arm under her head the other resting close to her chest just below her chin, her legs bent slightly at the knee. Rachel's face was a picture a calm, there were no frowns tugging at her slightly dry from kissing lips or wrinkles of despair etched into her forehead or the knitting of eyebrows in pain. If it weren't for the fact that Rachel was fully dressed in clothes and not pyjamas she would currently be the perfect model for a bed sale. Then again if Rach came with the bed I'd definitely buy it, even if it was made of nails. As quietly as she could Quinn moved around her room gathering clean socks and underwear before stopping at her closet and taking out a throw. Delicately she arranged the throw to cover as much of her sleeping girlfriend as possible and fought with the urge to tuck the stray strands of hair behind a tan ear. Satisfied that Rachel would not be waking up anytime soon Quinn grabbed her things and left the room, quietly pulling the door shut and headed to the bathroom.
With the bathroom door shut Quinn started the shower and began to undress. It was here in the bathroom that her head began to buzz again, now that she was out of the peace and tranquility she had found in the face of her girlfriend her brain began to replay the mornings events in any order but chronological. Her phone call with Santana, her pleading not to have the conversation on whether she and Rachel were about to have sex today. Waking up at Rachel's half expecting to be alone in bed as she was on many mornings when she spent the night there since Charlie's birth only to discover that Rachel was sat beside her propped up by pillows with Charlie resting on her chest, a delicate hand gripping a tiny fist of shirt. Waiting patiently in her car outside of the Berry's, silently pleading that Rachel hadn't changed her mind about leaving Charlie for the day. Chatting with Hiram and Leroy at breakfast while Rachel insisted on checking that she had supplied enough milk for the day for Charlie. Talking as parents with Puck as she headed out to her car. Rachel's worried look when she thought she was in trouble. The musical tinkling of Rachel's giggle as Quinn relayed to her the stories of the first time she and Puck had left Beth. Again the phone call with Santana replayed and the words "Quinn Fabray did I interrupt you and Berry having sex?" seemed to echo in surround sound in her mind which of course brought her to her time with Rachel. She was very much aware of her time with Rachel, her body had plenty of ways to remind her and the most obvious was the now cold damp she felt against the apex of her thighs as she removed the remainder of her clothing and stepped into the shower.
Stepping into the shower she unsure as to whether flesh goose pimpled from the sudden change of cool air to hot water or whether it was her body reacting to the memory playing in her head. She allowed the water to wash over her, relished the way the water hit her face and cascaded down her chest. She placed a hand against the cold tile of the wall and let her head forward allowing the powerful stream of water to beat against the back of her neck and across her shoulders. Ghostly kisses tingle her slightly parted lips ts the image of Rachel's face surging towards her and taking her mouth captive. A graze across skin causes her nipples to harden and her to swallow the lump in her throat as even in replay she finds herself wanting Rachel to cup her breast more firmly, for her slender piano player fingers to spread against her chest while the palm of her hand cups a naked breast. The dying embers reignite from the missing thigh that was pressed against her and moving as each girl tried to pull the other closer causing friction. Nervously she allows her free hand to explore, and cautiously allows a finger to dip between her folds. She pulls back much quicker than she intended and nearly loses her balance. Her mind is racing. Is this what it's supposed to be like? She rubs the pad of her thumb against the finger that had almost caused her injury in the shower and notes how silky the substance feels. Was this how I was supposed to react to making out with Finn, sex with Puck or is something wrong with me? She knew that she loved Rachel with all her heart, if truth be told she knew she was in love with Rachel but she hadn't really given her sexuality much thought. She hadn't thought about whether she was gay or whether she was bi, it had never really bothered her. She loved Rachel and Rachel loved her, it was as simple as that. Except now it wasn't looking so simple. Were we going to have sex? Is Rach ready for that? She was well aware that a lot of people at McKinley thought of her as a slut since Beth but she had never really gave a rats ass about them, they didn't know anything about it. Prior to Beth she was perfect; captain of the Cheerios, straight A student, devout Christian and a virgin. Santana had always taken great fun in calling the blonde a prude and as much as she hated to admit to it her best friend was right. When all was said and done up until a moment of naivety, insecurity and bad judgement she was every bit the prude the Latina teased her for being. Am I ready for that? She hadn't even taken the time to explore her own body let alone anyone else's. Making out with Finn never led to anywhere as all it took was a few seconds of making out and he was crying out for the mailman. As for Puck...well it was a bit fuzzy, she'd been drinking, she'd said yes, she knew without a doubt that she had said yes but as far as things went she had no idea if there'd been anything more than making out before sex or if it was just that. She remembered that she hadn't enjoyed it as well as the slight pain and discomfort she had felt during and after. She knew that afterwards she regretted it but she wouldn't change it if it meant not having Beth in her life. But as far as her sexual exploits went that was it. Nothing had really yet happened sexually in her young life, well with the exception of Puck but that was a one time thing that would never ever be repeated again. Santana's right...I'm a prude...bitch! She was in no way clueless as to what sex was, she even knew of a few sex positions just from what she'd heard in the school corridors or from what few films she had seen (she'd much rather read) but whether it be through general gossip or media she had never once come across lesbian sex. This was very troubling for Quinn, a lot of the time she was sure of herself and her actions, granted there were exceptions (re: sex with Puck) and even if she didn't know what was going on she was usually calm, collected and in control of herself and what she was doing but she knew as well as Rachel knew that what had transpired between them earlier, neither was in control and neither knew what they were doing if they were completely honest with themselves. This only begged the nagging thought at the back of mind right to the forefront. What is lesbian sex? I mean...is it fingers or tongue maybe? Oh God, do we have to use a strap-on? Her mind reeled at the never ending supply of questions that seem to be churning inside her mind. Fuck! What am I doing? Her chest began to rise and fall rapidly as she desperately tried to suck in air which resulted in the poor girl inhaling water and spluttering. "Shit..." she muttered, "get a grip Quinn". Knowing that if she didn't distract herself soon her thoughts would get the better of her and she would be in a full blown panic she hurried herself about finishing her shower.
Fifteen minutes later Quinn found herself sat once again at the kitchen table where she had told her mother about her relationship with Rachel and just like it had then the clock on the walk ticked away at an irritatingly loud volume. This time however the constant tick of the clock would fade to nothing as the blonde lost herself in a world of her own as she let herself get absorbed into the pages of the book she was reading.
Lennie leaded eagerly toward him. "Let's go, George. Le's get outta here. It's mean here."
"We gotta stay," George said shortly. "Shut up now. the guys'll be comin' in."
From the washroom nearby came the sound of running water and rattling basins. George studied the cards. "Maybe we oughtta wash up," he said. "But we ain't done nothing to get dirty."
The world may have well ceased to exist, all her worries for the moment were calm. Nothing penetrated her little bubble as her eyes scanned word after word with meticulous interest and her pale fingers lovingly turned the well worn pages.
Whit said, "Go on. Read the name at the bottom."
Slim read, "'Yours for success, William Tenner.'" He glanced up at Whit again. "What you want me to read that for?"
Whit closed the magazine impressively. "Don't you remember Bill Tenner? Worked her about three months ago?"
Sli-
The shrill ring of the doorbell disconnected Quinn from her private little world and brought her back to reality as she glanced at the clock, "Fuck," she whispered before hurriedly reading the sentence she had been so rudely disturbed from.
Slim thought... "Little guy?" he asked. "Drove a cultivator?"
"Don't even think about ringing the bell again S!" Quinn said loud enough to be heard as she approached the front door.
Santana stood in front of her best friend with a smirk on her face, her finger hovering dangerously close to the doorbell, "Would I do such a thing Q?"
"I mean it, Rachel's sleeping."
"Well..." Santana deflated as she lowered her hand, "why you gotta spoil all my fun?"
"Erm..." Quinn tapped an index finger against her chin in mock thought, "because I'm a bitch?"
"Damn straight, oops! That's right you're not," Santana shot back.
"Really wanna start opening closets S?" a finely shaped eyebrow challenged.
"Hear that B? Q thinks she's funny."
"I'm a little funny," Quinn smirked with a shrug.
Santana barged her way past Quinn, playfully nudging her as she went inside.
"Hey Q," Brittany beamed as she hugged the shorter blonde.
"Hey Britt. How do you put up with her?"
"I don't," Brittany answered seemingly aware of what she was saying as she winked at the Latina.
Santana rolled her eyes, "Hey Q, no turning B against me. You've got Berry on your side, B's all mine."
"Yeah, yeah".
The three girls made their way to the kitchen.
"Ah and that explains everything," Santana said accusingly and nodded towards the hastily abandoned book.
"Not all of us are illiterate," Quinn sniped back.
Santana laughed, "You're so much fun to wind up Q."
"What am I? Your wind up toy or something?"
"No but you could be if you really wanted to be."
"Ew..." Quinn's features contorted in disgust, "that's just...so wrong...on so many levels."
"So Q, when we gonna eat?"
"Yeah," Brittany chimed in, "I'm so hungry!"
"B when aren't you hungry?" Santana laughed.
"Yeah Britt," Quinn couldn't help but smile, "you are one of life's great mysteries. How can you eat so much and never gain weight?" she laughed, "I swear it to took me a year to get rid of the baby fat after Beth."
"Right if you two are gonna discuss how the fuck B stays looking so good, I'm gonna go wake Berry."
"Santa-" Quinn was cut off.
"Chill your bean...s," Santana wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at the double entendre, "the sooner she's awake the sooner I can bitch at her to get her ass back to Glee."
"That better be all," Quinn muttered.
"I heard that," Santana threw over her shoulder as she made her way out the kitchen and headed up to Quinn's room.
As she opened the door the scene she found was differed slightly from that of the one that Quinn had left a few hours ago. Gone was the calm across Rachel's striking features, replaced with a darkness and fear that knotted and aged her young face. Splayed hair was now a tangled mess. The perfect form of a model was now a contorted mess of limbs in a one sided battle against a ghost. Santana kneeled by head of the bed, her face level with Rachel's so as not to intimidate her by looming above her when she awoke.
"Berry..." she waited a moment and tried again a little louder, "Berry". Still nothing, gently she placed her hand on a quivering shoulder, "Berry, c'mon." Santana's face became filled with concern as she took in the brows knitted tightly together and the rapid movements veiled beneath eyelids. "C'mon Rachel," this time she shook with a little force, "time to get your ass up." The Latina contemplated going to get her best friend but it was the withdrawal of her hand from the smaller girls shoulder that seemed to rouse the sleeping girl.
Panic filled eyes stared wildly at the girl in front of them, lips moved as her voice scratched with fear, "Charlie!"
Her hand went back to the shoulder that it had been resting against moments before, "She's at home, with Puck and your dads."
Her daughter had been her only coherent thought, the remnants of her nightmare were still flashing vividly in her minds eye and she struggled to tell reality from nightmare. Her eyes wouldn't focus on the figure in front of her but it didn't matter, there was someone there. As soon as she had heard that her daughter was safe she threw her arms around the neck in front of her, allowing herself to need someone to keep her safe.
"Rachel," Santana struggled to get to her feet, "you're kinda strangling me here!" The brunette's grip didn't loosen at all and yet somehow the head Cheerio still found a way to get herself as well as the terrified girl clinging to her into a sitting position on the bed. "You're ok Berry, I promise."
Hearing she was ok was all she needed to finally allow herself to break. She sobbed quietly into Santana's shoulder as she tried to catch up to where and when she was, questioning if this was reality and that her daughter was indeed safe or whether it was some elaborate trick playing out in her nightmare.
"Shhh..." Santana soothed awkwardly, "Rachel you can't do this to me. You know I hate it when girls cry." She loosely wrapped her arms around her friends back, unsure as to what the protocol for such situations were. Brittany was good at being there for people. She was good for making sure that those who hurt the people she cared about in the first place suffered and would never dare to even think of hurting anyone she cared about ever again. She was totally out of her element here and she knew it.
Reality and logic began to calm Rachel's sobs as she asked herself, If this is some elaborate trick then why would Santana be the one comforting me and not Quinn? Embarrassed by the way she had so desperately clung to the Latina she quickly pulled away and wiped at her eyes with the cuffs of her shirt. "Where's Quinn?" she croaked.
"Downstairs," Santana smiled softly, trying to let Rachel know that it was ok she had broken on her. After all that's what friends do for each other right? "I think her and B are getting some nosh ready for us. They were talking girly shit about weight or whatever, I don't know I didn't stick around to find out where the conversation was headed. I figured I'd wake you up and bitch at you until you promise that you'll come back to Glee when you eventually come back to school".
"Is it really that bad?" Rachel asked quietly as she carefully raised her head enough for eyes to gaze over Santana's face in attempt to detect any sign of her being angry that she'd cried on her.
"You have no fucking idea how bad it is!"
Rachel tried to focus on Glee but all she could think about was her daughter, "This is real right? Quinn's downstairs with Brittany, you're really here and Charlie...she's safe?"
"Yeah, this is real."
"Really?" she asked timidly.
"Yeah..."
"Ow!"
"Really," the Cheerio smirked.
"What'd you do that for?" Rachel rubbed at the now sore spot of her left bicep.
"So you'd know better in future to question my honour."
"And that results in you pinching me?" her voice rose an octave or two higher in annoyance.
"Yeah well you know, that whole pinch me if I'm dreaming crap," she chuckled.
"Yeah well you know," Rachel mocked, "you're kind of a bitch."
"Awww," she put her hands to her chest, "thanks!"
"Don't pinch me or anything, but Charlie really is ok isn't she?"
"Yes Rachel she's perfectly safe and ok. Jesus, what the fuck did you dream about?"
"I...I'd rather not talk about it."
"Ok..." Santana fished around in her jean pocket, pulled out her cell and offered it to Rachel in a last ditch attempt to convince her that Charlie was ok, "Call Puck."
"But..."
"Don't argue with me Berry, we both know you're not gonna feel any better until you've spoken to him and checked on her."
"Santana...I-"
"Don't!" she held up her hand, "Call him and come join us downstairs ok?"
"Than-" the words died on her lips when she caught glimpse of the pointed stare coming from the Latina's intense eyes, "ok."
Five minutes later Rachel joined Quinn, Santana and Brittany in the kitchen.
"Hey you," Quinn smiled softly, "everything ok?"
"Yeah," Rachel nodded, her eyes quickly diverting to Santana as she wondered if the Latina had the blonde mother about her little scene. "So...I heard there was food and yet I don't see any, don't tell me you've eaten it without me?"
"Nope," Brittany smiled, "we're waiting for it to arrive."
"Oh?"
"We're having chinese," Santana interjected knowing that Brittany would probably give a full account of the conversation if she had a chance, "originally it was gonna be pizza but Britt had that last night so I suggested something with a little more flavour and tada - chinese."
Rachel laughed as she took her place beside her girlfriend and loosely intwined their fingers. "So I guess I'm not going to hear about Glee club until after chinese?"
Quinn tried to hide the smile that wanted to spread across her face. Her girl was getting pretty good at playing with them.
"Hell no!" Santana cried. "I came here to bitch and God fuck it I'm gonna bitch. Tell her B..."
"She came here to bitch Rachel," Brittany nodded, "please come back to Glee there's these new kids and they're all weird and not in a New Directions good way there's this one kid who..."
Attention: Hello all! So what did you think? Ridiculously long right?
So here's the thing I'm working towards getting Rachel back into Glee as you can tell and I wondered if anyone had any suggestions of new members, whether they be in any season of Glee that aren't currently featured in my fic or just a random idea that pops into your head.
Also...
Do you really want to see the girls in school during their final year or would you rather I focused on what was going on with them outside of school?
Please review, I'd really like to know what you all think of this.
A HUGE shout out to my girl Davis B.P because she puts up with me when I'm in writers mode and must have read this chapter at least 4 times LOL I love you baby girl, thank you so much for all you do for me and for being my inspiration.