Author's Note: Moving a Judy mini-ficlet from my tumblr. Set after the ficlet span style Watch Them Grow and before the ficlet Sometimes I'm Easily Fooled.

Unbetaed so all mistakes are my own.

I Just Heard the News Today

Well I just heard the news today
It seems my life is going to change.
~Arms Wide Open, Creed

Quinnie tells her ten o'clock, so Judy sits down at her computer at ten minutes to the hour and boots it up before fussing with the video chat program. She still hasn't quite gotten the hang of using the one on her phone.

She hasn't been to visit her youngest daughter since last summer. It's the first week of March now, and Judy is hoping to be able to make it out to visit Quinn once the weather breaks for good. She'd wanted to travel to New York for Thanksgiving, but—well, Frannie was having a rough time and poor TJ had been so lost and confused. Judy had felt that she was needed more here with her oldest daughter and grandson as they'd navigated the first major holidays since Frannie and Timothy's marriage had come to an end, and Quinn had seemed to understand.

In any case, they've spoken regularly on the phone and had a number of these video chats in the last eight months, including a nice long one on Christmas Day in which Quinn had seemed particularly merry. Judy is happy that at least one of her daughters is so content.

Judy smiles when she sees Quinn's pixilated image fill the computer screen. "Quinnie," she murmurs happily.

"Hi, Mom," Quinn responds, reaching out to shift the computer, causing the screen to jump before it settles to reveal Rachel sitting next to Quinn. "Can you see us?"

"Yes. Hello, Rachel, dear," Judy responds politely, a little surprised to see them both. Quinn is usually the only one present for these calls.

"Hi, Judy," Rachel greets with a little wave.

Decades of good manners prompt Judy to ask, "How have you been? How is your show going?"

"Oh, it's going wonderfully," Rachel answers with a grin. "They're mentioning the tee word a lot around the theatre."

Judy's brows furrow slightly. "The tee word?"

Even through the digital connection, Judy can see her daughter's eyes roll. "Tony," she explains with a shake of her head, though Judy can tell that she's proud of her wife.

"Oh, of course. Well, you certainly deserve a nomination," she tells Rachel, and it's true. Judy had seen the show in Chicago last summer, and it was quite enjoyable. Rachel, of course, was outstanding. There's never been any question about her daughter-in-law's talent.

"Of course I do," Rachel responds without shame. Judy catches the slight movement of Quinn's shoulder before Rachel's eyes dart to Quinn, and she hastily adds, "As does everyone else involved with the show, of course."

"How are things in Chicago?" Quinn asks her, changing the subject.

"Cold," Judy quips with a little grimace. "TJ has been enjoying the snow well enough, but I can't wait until spring."

"He's doing okay though?" Quinn asks with a concerned frown. "With…the divorce and everything?"

Judy smiles sadly. "He's doing…better." Having his father move out has been hard on him, of course, but he's proving to be a resilient child. At least he no longer has to bear witness to his parents fighting all the time. "So is Frannie," she adds.

Quinn nods. "That's good. She's better off without him." It's no secret that Quinn had never liked Timothy. She'd always thought he was too much like Russell. Judy is sorry to say that Quinn was right.

"You could call her, Quinnie," Judy urges. Her daughters are still both incredibly stubborn—content to find out little tidbits of each other's lives through their conversations with Judy instead of swallowing their pride and trying to mend their relationship without Judy's mediation. "I think she'd like to hear from you."

Quinn huffs out a long-suffering sigh. "Mother…"

"I know you still have some issues," Judy interrupts, "but she is your sister."

Rachel offers Quinn a supportive smile, and Quinn rolls her eyes again. "I know," she concedes reluctantly. "But we didn't call to talk to you about Frannie." She glances over at Rachel again, biting her lip nervously before looking back at the webcam. "Rachel and I…we have some news."

There's something in Quinn's expression—in the tone of her voice—that makes Judy's stomach tighten in anticipation. "What kind of news?" she asks carefully. Really, it could be anything—good or bad. It could be something about Beth, or one of Rachel's fathers, or Rachel herself, or—

"We're having a baby," Quinn announces with a tremulous smile. "I'm pregnant, Mom."

"Pregnant?" Judy echoes breathlessly. Her stomach flips, and her mind races backwards in time to the first time she'd discovered that Quinn was pregnant and how terrible it had been—how Quinnie had looked so lost and broken and afraid. But this time—this time her baby girl is looking at her with such hope in her eyes. "Oh…Quinnie," she whispers, pressing her fingers to her lips.

Quinn sucks in a quick, little breath before she begins to talk again. "I'm due August 29th. I know we probably should have told you sooner, but we wanted to wait until the second trimester just to be safe. And…everything is perfect," she promises, unable to suppress the wide, joyful smile that lights up her face at the revelation, "and…we're really so happy, Mom."

Rachel moves closer to Quinn then, visibly wrapping an arm around her. "We are," she confirms into the camera. Judy would swear that she can almost see a mild warning in her eyes—don't do anything to diminish Quinn's happiness.

As if Judy could.

"Of course. Of course you are," she acknowledges, her own lips curving into an irrepressible smile. Her baby girl is having a baby—starting a family of her own with the person she's chosen to love—and Judy is going to be a grandmother again. She feels her own happiness begin to bubble to the surface, chased by a wonderful sense of hopefulness about the future. "Oh, Quinnie. I…you're going to be such a wonderful mother," she realizes with tears welling in her eyes. "Oh, I wish I was there so I could hug you." Her arms nearly ache with the desire to be wrapped around her daughter and—and her new grandbaby-to-be!

Quinn laughs then, eyes shining with happiness. "You can hug me when you come visit us next."

"I'm sorry we couldn't tell you in person, Judy," Rachel offers with a smile of her own.

"Well, I suppose that's to be expected when I live in Chicago," Judy dismisses, brushing away a few stray tears. "I promise you'll be seeing a lot more of me in the future. In fact, I think I need to call the airline and arrange a flight," she decides right then and there. She'd been a failure of an expectant grandmother with Quinn the first time around. She intends to make up for that now. "If you wouldn't mind an impromptu visit this weekend?"

Rachel and Quinn share a look between them, and Rachel nods, smiling back at the camera. "We would love a visit, Judy."

"You know you're always welcome here, Mom," Quinn adds, looking absolutely radiant as she beams into the camera.

Oh, yes. Judy will be taking advantage of that open invitation in the coming months. She's not going to miss out on the chance to watch Quinnie become a mother this time.

"I'm so very happy for you, Lucy Quinn. I love you."

Judy won't ever let her daughter doubt that again.