Beth wriggled around under the covers in the room she had claimed for the night, but she just couldn't get comfortable.
She missed Quinn, and even though she was in the other room, Beth felt drawn to her, it was a feeling that she couldn't quite explain, but she just felt that she needed Quinn to make her feel safer.
"Can't sleep?" came a voice from the doorway and Beth bolted upright to see Quinn hovering at the door.
"No, I can't sleep. I just can't get comfortable" Beth replied as Quinn walked towards the bed and fluffed the duvet and plumped the pillows.
Beth snuggled back down but she still felt wide awake, so as Quinn made to leave, she cleared her throat awkwardly
"Quinn?"
"Yes Beth?" Quinn turned around and for a fleeting second, she saw herself all those years ago, lying awake at night, worrying about the future.
"Stay with me?" Beth asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.
"Of course, baby, I'll stay with you" Quinn replied and made her way towards the double bed and lay next to the teen who immediately snuggled into her arms.
"Thanks for staying. Rachel must be lonely though" Beth remarked and Quinn chuckled
"Hardly. That woman takes ages to get ready for bed, and then she's up at the ass crack of dawn to work out. She's probably still doing her infallible skincare routine, so hasn't even noticed that I'm not there."
"Her skincare works then, she's glowing. I just keep getting zits" Beth grumbled
"Doesn't help that you're still a teenager. My skin wasn't much better when I was your age, though I had to cover any breakouts when I was a cheerleader" Quinn smiled
"When you were pregnant with me, did you crave anything?" Beth asked
"Bacon. Could've lived off the stuff. Rach won't let me have it here very often, says it makes the whole house stink" Quinn laughed.
"That's weird. I can't stomach any meat at the moment. I usually love bacon but the smell makes me gag now" Beth moaned and Quinn laughed
"Sounds familiar. I went off loads of foods when I was pregnant with you. Smells as well. I hated my friend Santana's perfume. Any time she was next to me, I was probably dry heaving"
"That's a thing?" asked Beth, evidently horrified at this news
"It was for me. I did have more energy though. I used to clean and clean and then once I started to show and was off the cheerio's, I would jog for hours. Kept me fit and meant my labour wasn't too intense" Quinn replied thoughtfully
"I'm ready for more energy. I'm exhausted all the time! I feel like I could nap every couple of hours just now and still sleep all night." Beth laughed and Quinn laughed too.
"It'll come once you're into your second trimester. Not long now" Quinn smiled and Beth tensed up, wondering where she might be living during her second trimester. Quinn felt Beth tense up and decided to come right out with her questions,
"What's up?" she asked
"Nothing" Beth replied but Quinn wasn't buying it
"Nice try. You gonna climb out of my arms to get away from me? Didn't think so. Why did you tense up?" Quinn asked again and Beth sighed heavily
"Just thinking about where I might be living during my second trimester. I'm not welcome at home, and I can't go back to my hometown, gossip there is like wildfire, the city councilman probably already knows I'm knocked up" Beth said tiredly and Quinn tightened her hug around her daughter.
"If you're not able to go back to your… to Shelby, and you don't want to go home, I'll have to discuss it with Rachel of course, but I don't see any issue in you staying here with us. We can help you through this Beth, but you've got to let down your walls a little bit first" Quinn said, whispering the last few words into Beth's ear and Beth reached up and hugged her tightly, hoping that Quinn would never let her go.
The two blondes lay together for another hour until Quinn felt Beth's breathing even out and she was fast asleep. She tucked the younger girl in, tenderly making sure that she was warm and safe before she hesitated, then pressed a light kiss to the teens forehead and whispered to her
"Goodnight Beth, I love you so much" and then closed the bedroom door and went back to her own room.
Rachel was still awake, browsing something on her laptop when Quinn climbed in beside her, kissing along her jawline before working round to her lips
Rachel sighed contentedly and cuddled close to her wife
"I love you Q, you know that right?"
"I love you too Rach. Especially now" as Quinn's hand ghosted over Rachel's belly button and came to rest on her upper thigh, the pair kissed lovingly before they entwined themselves together.
"How's Beth?" Rachel asked
"Asleep now. She fell asleep in my arms. Rach, I can't help but feel like…" Quinn trailed off as she searched for the right words to use
"Feel like what Quinn?" Rachel prompted
"I feel like she's my daughter again. When I held her for the first time in the hospital, she felt like mine. I've never felt that since until now, when she fell asleep while I was holding her. She's my baby and I love her. I can't help it." Quinn explained as Rachel nodded
"I think that's natural. She was always your daughter but you've never been close enough to mother her until now, and she's allowing you to mother her. She's been hurt Q, by both this boy who got her pregnant and by Shelby for rejecting her when she needs her most." Rachel remarked
"She doesn't want to go back to Shelby. And she doesn't want to go back home either. Can she stay here?" Quinn asked, trying to gauge Rachel's reaction
"Here as in New York, or here as in with us?"
"With us. I won't let her go again Rach, I can't! I love her" Quinn said, feeling the love for Beth ooze into her voice
"We'll need to speak to Shelby. We'll need to get her back into school, or online school at least, and have her put on our medical insurance. She'll need to go and see our doctor, even so she can get antenatal vitamins and checkups. She needs a hell of a lot of love thrown her way as well" Rachel smiled and Quinn kissed her
"She might need to get Shelby to sign away her rights so she can be legally emancipated, and then I can petition for guardianship and reinstate my parental rights, if that's what she wants me to do. And yes, schooling and medical stuff is high on my list of priorities but I think she needs time to heal from this. Her world has turned upside down and she's pregnant. I think she should see a therapist, maybe we should do a group session, to make her feel safe" Quinn finished and as the two women were about to settle down to sleep, Rachel broke the silence
"We need to tell her Quinn, it's not right to keep this from her"
"You're right, tomorrow morning, at breakfast. We can tell her together"
At this, Rachel nodded and the pair got themselves settled and ready for sleep, which came thick and fast.
Quinn bolted upright, the sun was streaming in the window, but she couldn't sleep anymore. Something must've woken her and then she heard it: muffled retching and vomiting coming from the hallway.
And then, yesterdays events came flooding back to her, and she got up to go and check on Beth.
Quinn found her on the floor of the guest bathroom, hunched over the toilet. She crouched down behind her, and began rubbing soothing circles on her back, whispering "You're okay, I'm here, we're gonna get through this, you'll be fine in a minute." Over and over until the retching stopped and Beth shifted slightly and Quinn sat next to her and handed her a glass of water.
"I didn't wake you up, did I?" Beth mumbled, washing out her mouth and spitting the water into the toilet before flushing it.
"No, I was up anyway" Quinn smiled and Beth grinned weakly.
"are you okay? Think it's over?" Quinn asked and Beth shook her head before the retching kicked back in and Quinn resumed rubbing her back and holding back her hair.
This continued for the better part of forty minutes until Beth finally felt better and moved from the bathroom floor onto the couch downstairs. Quinn made her a fruit and honey tea and made herself a coffee and joined the teen on the sofa.
"You'll need to drink lots of fluids if you've got morning sickness. I don't want you to get dehydrated"
"Thanks" Beth mumbled, her face still quite pale and sweaty.
"When I was pregnant with you, I was sick a lot. I used to snack on saltine crackers, or I would drink this specific tea, and you made me crave lollipops. I'm amazed my teeth didn't fall out from the amount of those damn things I used to crave. Noah's mother used to have these ginger cookies in the kitchen and would give me one every time I was nauseous. Worked like a charm" Quinn revealed, as she sipped at her coffee.
"I… my mom said that she drinks Powerade when she feels sick, or Gatorade, those sports drinks, but I'm worried about the caffeine in them being bad for the baby." Beth admitted as she blew on her tea to cool it
"You can get caffeine free ones Beth, they're better for you anyway, not that you should be drinking a lot of caffeine at your age. We can speak to the doctor and see what she recommends for you based on your age and overall health." Quinn said and Beth looked at her, confused.
"I've already seen a doctor, why do I need to go again? And anyway, doctors cost money that I don't have and I've not got my own insurance, and I doubt my mom's will cover this" Beth huffed
"You're seeing our doctor. Don't argue, it's getting fixed up today. She's the best in the state and as for money, you're still my daughter and it's my job to look after you while you're in my care so I don't want to hear another word about money, or cost, or insurance. Okay?" Quinn asked and Beth nodded firmly and drank some of her tea.
"Morning you two, you're up early" Came Rachel's voice from the kitchen
"Morning babe, Beth was up early and I was awake anyway" Quinn called and Beth flushed
"Morning Rachel, did you sleep okay?" Beth asked, still feeling shy around the brunette
"I did, thanks Beth, why were you up so early?" Rachel asked, walking in with a tall glass of water
"Morning sickness" Beth mumbled
"Oh, I see. You're feeling better now though?" Rachel confirmed and Beth smiled and nodded.
"Actually Beth, there's something we need to tell you" Quinn interjected and Rachel's dark eyes suddenly looked anxious.
"What's up?" Beth asked, trying to ignore the niggling feeling in her stomach
"Well, firstly, please don't freak out" Rachel said
"Good start" Beth sassed and both women laughed
"We'd love for you to stay here with us, if that's what you want to do but it's your choice" Quinn paused and Beth realised she was looking for an answer
"I mean… if you're both happy to have me here?" the teen asked
"Of course we're happy to have you. However, this road ahead of us is not going to be easy. We need to speak to your mom and find out if she's willing to take you back or not and from there we decide how best to go about gaining legal custody of you." Quinn explained and Beth nodded
"And while you're living here, there are some rules, don't roll your eyes at me Beth, they're easy enough to follow. Keep your room and bathroom clean and organised. Curfew is 9pm on school nights, 11pm on weekends. You'll be put into education, either in person or online and you will be expected to keep up with your classwork and homework. And we ask for open communication, if something bothers you, hurts, or makes you feel angry or sad or anything, come to us and tell us. Oh and you're to follow these rules or you'll be grounded. No phone, laptop, early bedtime, essays for punishment and chores. Is that clear?" Quinn asked and Beth readily agreed.
"On the subject of open communication, we have something to tell you together." Rachel said and took a deep breath
"We're having a baby too"
Beth felt as though she was floating, surely, she had misheard Rachel. This wasn't possible!
Rachel was pregnant at the same time as her stepdaughter. That sounded so wrong and Beth couldn't help the tears that flooded into her eyes.
"Beth? Don't cry sweetheart, it's okay" Rachel said as she watched the teenager's tears spill over
"Beth, look at me baby, please" Quinn said gently and Beth looked at the older blonde
"I know what you're thinking, but let us explain"
Rachel then took over and, after moving to sit on Beth's other side, began to explain
"We know how this must look and feel to you. Quinn was worried you'll think that we're replacing you with a new baby, and that is absolutely not true. We're having a baby purely because we want a baby and we're in the time and place of our lives that works for us. I'm carrying the baby because Quinn didn't want her pregnancy with you to make her feel conflicted or bad in any way. I'm sixteen weeks along, so only 2 months ahead of you, and honestly, I'm so excited to go through this journey with someone who can understand and relate to me at the moment" Rachel explained, taking Quinn's hand in her left and Beth's hand in her right.
"I feel confused. You're my, kind of, my stepmother, and you're having my half-sibling, while I'm going to give you a step-grandchild. This is all kinds of weird!" Beth exclaimed
"I hear you, I do, and when you told us that you're pregnant as well, I felt the same way. But I don't want to look at you as my stepdaughter, I want to look at you as my daughter. Quinn and I have spoken about you over the years and we've fallen into the habit of referring to ourselves as your 'Other Mothers' so, I guess what I'm saying is, will you let us be your mothers?" Rachel asked, and both she and Quinn looked at Beth
Beth, who could only describe her feelings as numb, conflicted and confused. But deep down, she needed all the love she could get right now and here were these two amazing women tell her that she was their daughter, both biologically and by choice.
"Yes. You can be my mother's" Beth smiled.
And they group hugged and wiped away happy tears until Beth's phone rang, the word "SHELBY" flashing up repeatedly
"Way to kill the vibe Shelby" Beth moaned and reached for the phone and hesitated before answering it.