A Collection of Glee Oneshots 5

Girl Talk (Quinn/Finn/H)

"I can't be with you, Finn." Quinn shook her head as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I can't be with anyone."

"Puck would want you to be happy." Finn said softly.

"No." Quinn replied. "If he wanted me to be happy, he'd be here."

"Quinn."

"I can't do this." Quinn decided. "I can't do this with you, I can't parent Beth on my own. I can't."

"Yes you can." Finn insisted. "It's all gonna be okay."

"When?"

-

"I'm really glad you and Beth decided to join us for Christmas." Finn noted, squeezing Quinn's hand.

"Yeah, me, too." Quinn agreed. "She deserves a good Christmas this year."

"So do you." Finn said.

"Well, thanks for having us." Quinn added.

"Of course." Finn smiled. "Whenever you're ready."

"I'm ready." Quinn confirmed.

Finn unlocked the front door of the Hudson / Hummel house and led the girls inside.

"We're here!"

Finn led the way through the house and into the dining room, where they found Carole, Burt, Kurt, and Blaine.

"Finn!" Carole smiled as she got up to greet her son. "Quinn, Beth, hi!"

"Hi." Quinn said, gently nudging Beth as she greeted everyone. "Thank you for including me and Beth. We appreciate it."

"You two are always welcome here." Burt smiled. "Finn, pull up some chairs."

"Mama." Beth said softly.

"Come sit, B." Quinn responded as she sat down beside Kurt and put her arms out. "You can sit with me, if you want."

"Yeah." Beth decided, climbing onto Quinn's lap.

Quinn wrapped her arms around Beth and held her. "B, did you say hi to everyone? Say hi to Kurt and Blaine?"

"Hi, Beth." Kurt waved.

"Are you excited for Santa to come?" Blaine asked.

"Yeah." Beth nodded. "Will Santa know I'm here?"

"He will." Quinn promised.

"Yeah, Santa can always see you, Beth." Finn added.

Beth looked at Finn.

"He can."

-

"Beth's asleep." Quinn said softly, returning to the kitchen. "Thanks for setting her up upstairs."

Finn smiled. "You need anything? Wanna come sit?"

"I think I might get ready to turn in, too, actually." Quinn shrugged.

"Honey, before you do, will you join me for a cup of tea and some girl talk?" Carole requested.

"Girl talk?" Kurt repeated, interested.

Blaine smiled and squeezed Kurt's hand.

Carole looked at Quinn.

"Tea would be nice, thanks." Quinn nodded.

"We can go in the kitchen." Carole decided as she got up. "The boys will stay here."

Quinn gave Finn a look before following Carole out of the room and to the kitchen.

Carole put the water on, and she and Quinn sat down together when their tea was ready.

"You've had a tough year." Carole began. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay." Quinn shrugged. "It's still one of those things that doesn't seem real, and I'm trying to be a rock for Beth."

"And you are." Carole noted. "But you don't have to be strong for her. You can miss him, too."

"I do." Quinn said. "Like crazy, especially this time of year."

Carole looked at Quinn.

"Our anniversary was in December, and the holidays." Quinn continued, sipping her tea.

"Have you seen Ruth?" Carole asked.

"No." Quinn shook her head. "I haven't seen her or Sarah since the services."

"What about Jake?" Carole wondered.

"Jake checks in every now and then, and he spends time with Beth or takes her to see Sarah and Ruth, but I asked him to give me more space." Quinn explained. "It's just been really hard, and being so connected to his family surprisingly makes it harder."

"You have to do what's best for you and Beth." Carole reminded Quinn. "How's she doing?"

"I never thought the first funeral she'd be at would be for her father." Quinn stated, tears in her eyes. "But she's doing okay. I just don't want her to forget him."

"Oh, honey, she won't." Carole promised. "You're gonna make sure of that. We all will. Beth is gonna grow up knowing how much Puck loved her, and you."

Quinn nodded slowly.

"I miss him, too." Carole told Quinn. "People used to think I was crazy for saying this, but he always was a good kid."

Quinn smiled slightly. "Yeah."

"And what about you?" Carole asked. "Have you been interested in anybody else?"

"Besides Finn?" Quinn wondered, knowing Carole knew.

Carole didn't say anything.

"I don't want him to wait for me or anything." Quinn clarified. "But we've been hanging out, and I like being with him."

Carole nodded.

"He's a good guy. And Puck and Beth would approve." Quinn noted. "Puck would approve, right?"

"He would want you to be happy." Carole insisted.

Quinn nodded. "Grief is such a horrible and difficult thing, especially with a young child."

"It is." Carole agreed. "Finn was only a baby when Christopher died so he never remembered him or had a relationship with him, but it was still hard."

"Yeah." Quinn said. "He's lucky to have a father figure in Burt."

"Burt filled a role that was empty in Finn's life." Carole pointed out. "It's different for you. For Beth. Puck was always there."

Quinn bit her lip, fighting tears.

"No one will ever replace him." Carole added.

"I know." Quinn agreed. "Finn's been so respectful of Puck, and so supportive. I don't want him to feel like he's being used or like he's in second place or anything."

"Finn has always cared about you and Beth." Carole reminded Quinn. "And Puck was his brother."

"Yeah." Quinn smiling slightly as Finn appeared.

"Hey." Finn said. "Just wanted to see how it's going. And save you from my mom."

"It's been nice talking to her." Quinn told Finn.

"Okay, good." Finn nodded.

"I am tired though." Quinn said as she looked at Carole.

"Get some rest." Carole replied with a nod.

"Thank you." Quinn smiled. "For the tea and for the talk."

"Thank you, too." Carole smiled back as she hugged Quinn.