Author's Note: A ficlet set after Sometimes I'm Easily Fooled and Before An Angel Growing Peacefully.
Happiness Unbroken
You've found the place to walk the path you've chosen.
You'll never miss the world you left behind.
When life gives life, it's happiness unbroken.
When you give love, it's love you'll find.
~The Eyes Of A Child, Air Supply
They're having a baby girl.
Quinn can't wipe the smile from her face, and frankly, she doesn't want to. One palm has been curled protectively over the swell of her stomach ever since they'd stepped out of the doctor's office. The overwhelming, all-encompassing love that she'd felt at the sight of their baby moving on the monitor to the sound of a strong and steady heartbeat has only grown at the discovery that they're having a daughter.
A little girl.
There's only a tiny flutter of sorrow and regret seeping in around the edges of Quinn's joy at the knowledge that this pregnancy and everything associated with it has been so very much better than her experience with Beth, but the past is in the past and impossible to change. She has no choice but to look forward to the future and the daughter that she'll get to keep and raise.
Rachel is quiet at her side, her hand warm inside of Quinn's as they walk, and Quinn suspects that her wife is still in awe. They've been bantering back and forth for months about whether they would have a boy or a girl, and now that they know—well, it brings everything sharply into focus. There are no more hypotheticals, no more wondering which list of potential names they should concentrate on, no more neutral pronouns and Baby Berry to be used when talking about their child.
She squeezes Rachel's hand, and Rachel turns her head, her slightly dazed expression giving way to an irrepressible grin when their gazes connect. "Pink cigar for your thoughts," Quinn teases.
A giddy laugh slips past Rachel's lips. "Pink? Does that mean you've suddenly changed your stance on gender specific color schemes being a ridiculous construct of patriarchal capitalism?"
"Not exactly," Quinn admits. She never wants either one of them to turn into those mothers who pack their daughter's wardrobe full of pink, frilly dresses. "But I might make an exception here or there. I know it's one of your favorite colors." In fact, Rachel's cheeks are turning a nice, warm shade of it right now, and Quinn thinks it's lovely.
"Well, yes, but…I don't want to impose my own tastes onto our daughter," Rachel confesses, her voice going soft over the last word. "She can choose whatever color she likes best."
Quinn chuckles. "So…no yellow plaid skirts and kitten sweaters for our little girl?"
"Not unless that's what she wants to wear," Rachel finally concedes, albeit a bit reluctantly.
Quinn catches her lower lip between her teeth in an effort to suppress her smile as she pictures their daughter in various outfits, looking exactly like a miniature version of Rachel. "You know, she won't actually be able to make her own decisions for a while," Quinn reminds her wife cheekily. "I think we can get away with imposing some of our own tastes on her for the first few years at least. And your former style is actually really cute…on a toddler," she clarifies with a playful smirk.
Rachel gasps indignantly, reaching over with her free hand to lightly poke Quinn's shoulder. "I'll remember you said that the next time you want to bring our high school wardrobes out to play in the bedroom."
Quinn sighs, rubbing at her belly. "I doubt I'll be fitting back into any of my old clothes after this." She'd had to work her ass off for an entire summer to get her body back after Beth was born, and she'd been sixteen at the time. There's no way she's bouncing back from this pregnancy so easily. The thought of it only bothers her a little bit.
Shaking her head, Rachel squeezes Quinn's hand in reassurance. "Even if you can't, you'll still be the prettiest girl I've ever met."
Quinn will never tire of Rachel telling her that, but, "I don't know...our daughter might edge me out in a few months."
Rachel's smile is soft and adoring as she lifts their joined hands and presses a kiss to Quinn's knuckles. "She's the only one who ever could," she acknowledges.
Quinn's eyes grow watery—something that's been happening with increasing ease lately—and she chuckles, absently brushing a stray tear from her cheek. "You know, there's a Baby Gap near Union Square," she reminds Rachel. They're not very far from there, having decided to walk a few blocks and enjoy the fresh air after their appointment before flagging down a taxi to take them home. "I think our daughter really needs something in yellow plaid."
Rachel's eyes sparkle, and the smile that lights up her face is blinding. "And a sweater with a kitten? Or maybe a carousel horse. Oh…or an owl," she suggests excitedly.
Quinn rolls her eyes, realizing that she's just set Rachel on the road to recreating her youthful wardrobe—all with Quinn's full approval. "Why don't we just see what we find," she cautions as they turn in the direction of the store, but her own excitement is growing with every step they take just thinking about shopping for their daughter's first outfit.
She wonders if they sell baby-sized cardigans…