Catalyst

Chapter 9

The Hudson's didn't go to church. That might not seem like a big deal to most people, but Quinn had gone to church every Sunday no matter what time, date, or condition she was in. She'd actually tried, and Mrs. Hudson had driven her, but apparently, the news had spread quickly, and the looks she got just in the parking lot were so harsh Mrs. Hudson had asked, softly, "Would you prefer to go home?" Quinn almost started crying. She knew, logically, that Mrs. Hudson simply meant her home, where Finn was still asleep, but her initial thought had been for her childhood home, where she wasn't even allowed on the front lawn, damn the actual house. Instead, Quinn stayed quiet, and sniffled a little from the remnants of her cold, in the seat and Carole drove them back.

Mrs. Hudson made pancakes while she laid on her bed, still in her good dress and heels, burying her face in her arms. She laid there until the pancakes were done, when she changed into jeans and a t-shirt and headed upstairs, sneezing twice on the steps. Carole looked tired, exhausted really, but she gave Quinn a friendly smile at seeing her again and said, "Go ahead and eat, honey, you'll need your strength."

Quinn nodded, sneezed, and took two pancakes before asking, "Is Finn coming down soon?"

Carole chuckled, "Not before noon, and he'll complain about being hungry for sure."

She nodded and cut her pancakes up before pouring a light amount of syrup on them. She wasn't much of a syrup person, and suddenly remembered the fruit sauce Rachel had put on her deflated pancake cup things. Rachel had told her last night that she would bring her an air purifier for the room, but it was still early. She'd just have to wait to talk to her.

After pancakes, Carole took her dishes and washed them. She shooed Quinn away when she attempted to help, so Quinn went downstairs and finally examined her room. She'd been too embarrassed and distraught last night to do much more than take off her clothes and fall asleep.

Now, she could see that there were two small, high windows, and the concrete floor was cool and dry. The basement did have a bit of a dank feel to it, and what little light there was felt diluted and weak, almost artificial in a way. The water heater was in the opposite corner of her bed and various pipes ran along the ceiling and downwards to the floor. A fridge looked like it'd seen better days, but when she looked inside, saw that it was clean, bare, and plugged in. Maybe she would bring snacks down here or something so she wasn't intruding on them so much. She opened one of the windows to clear the room out a little and shivered at the invasion of cold air, then sneezed again. Quinn rubbed her arms and then moved to get a sweater out of her bags, before she put her clothes in the drawer, and set up her computer on the desk the boys had brought in. Starting the computer showed that the Hudson's didn't have wireless internet, but the neighbors did, and it was unprotected.

Quinn was organizing her books when there was a knock on the door, and Carole peeked in before saying, "You have a visitor."

Rachel appeared with a heater and an air purifier in her arms, the air purifier on top of the heavier machine. Carole closed the door after her and Rachel descended carefully. She had on khaki pants and a purple Oxford, sleeves rolled up to the crooks of her elbows again. There was something rolled up and tucked into the back of her khakis. As much as Puck talked about his guns, the subtle muscles of Rachel's forearms held her fascination more. Rachel put the machines down carefully and then gave Quinn a beaming smile. Quinn smiled back and kissed her forehead. Kissing her cheek would probably lead to kissing her mouth, and the last thing she needed was for Finn or Carole to come in and see them kissing.

Rachel didn't seem to have any of those reservations, and stood on the tips of her toes to kiss Quinn's mouth. Rachel threaded her fingers through Quinn's hair and scratched her scalp with her short nails. Quinn moaned and found herself responding, forgetting her want to keep them secret. The blonde pushed herself away, hearing a thump from upstairs. They were in Carole's house, the mother of her boyfriend, and Carole and Finn were both sure that the baby was Finn's.