Friday came sooner than Quinn wanted it to. She'd sat with Rachel during lunch for the rest of the week, reading while she napped. Working so close to her bed-time probably exhausted her and Quinn couldn't help but feel a little guilty as Finn and Rachel got into her car after school and Rachel directed her to the clinic. Finn had asked, awkwardly, if Rachel could go with them because she was helping him pay for it. She'd had to work to sound ambivalent to it instead of just plain ecstatic. It was a small building not that far into Akron; the receptionist behind the counter didn't bat an eyelash at the three teenagers standing awkwardly in the waiting room.
A young man came over and handed them a clipboard. "Whoever is pregnant needs to fill this out. It's all relevant information, your name, birth date, ethnicity, where we can contact you, the price for basic things. There are pamphlets up front about genetic testing if either of the parents is a risk."
Rachel asked, hesitantly, "Would you please describe a genetic risk?"
He ticked them off with his fingers, "African-American, Latin-American, Native American, Indian-American, Asian-American, overweight, underweight, Jewish-"
"We'll take one," Quinn finally said. "Finn, please go get one." He opened his mouth, and then snapped it closed and went to get a pamphlet. The girls sat in the hard chairs and Quinn was thankful it was nearly empty. There were three other people besides the three teenagers; one a young woman, and another, a harassed looking father with his daughter, who coughed periodically into his sleeve. She then sneezed and wiped her nose with the end of his jacket. He never flinched. The daughter looked up at them with very gray eyes underneath a mop of straw-colored hair and wiggled her fingers at both of them. Quinn smiled, and she saw that Rachel was beaming at the girl as well.
A nurse stepped out and looked at the clipboard, "Alison Mosshart? The doctor will see you now." The young woman stood up, and Quinn ducked her head down to fill out her form.
Most of it really was simple stuff. It required a social security number, but she'd expected that and had written it on the edge of the note Rachel had left her all that time ago. Rachel looked down at it and gave her a soft smile, "I didn't know you still had it."
She shrugged, "I wasn't upset that week." Quinn was actually still a little upset that she'd ripped up the note that Rachel had left last in her locker. It wasn't often she got such sweet gifts and the blonde would probably gather them all and put them somewhere in a more organized manner then the front pocket of her book bag and her locker one day. Rachel proved just about every few days how easy it was to get into a locker.
Speaking of, how did she manage to do that?
"How do you keep getting into my locker?" Quinn asked, hand above the ethnicity of father question. Damn. Rachel was fairly dark, but she didn't have any African-American or Asian features, but she also didn't look fully Caucasian. She finally checked the multi-racial box.
"Trial and error."
She thought for a second Rachel was being serious, and then she saw the edge of a smirk. "Who'd you pay to get that?" She rolled her eyes.
"Jacob ben Israel knows the locker combination of every Cheerio. I smiled at him and he gave it to me."
Quinn gagged. She couldn't imagine talking to that creep for a long enough period of time to get anything but a case of head-lice. He was just – weird, and not in the way that people said Rachel was weird. Rachel was weird in that way that she was overly sincere in everything, hardly lied at all, liked what she liked with no apologies, and was an old film junkie (she'd talked her ear off last night about Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, and All Quiet on the Western Front and why, exactly, new movies would not live up to their standards). Jew-Fro was weird in that way that you checked outside your window and underneath your bed each night.
Finn lumbered back to them, and handed her three pamphlets. One said, "Genetic Risks: Are you one?" A second said, "What to expect when you're expecting: A guide for the young mother." The last said, "Baby and me: basic expenses from pregnancy to toddlerhood."
These were good choices and before she could ask, he explained, "The lady at the counter gave it to me."
She didn't say anything, but filled out the rest of the information before she gave it to Rachel, who stood and gave it to the woman at the counter. The kid coughed again, one that rattled in her chest, and the father put her on his lap and rocked her gently. Finn rubbed his eyes looking at them and said, softly, "That could be us one day."
Quinn cleared her throat, "Yeah." But it was closer to being Quinn and Rachel than Finn and Quinn.
He looked down at his hands, "You think we should decide on names?"
She shook her head, "No. It's really early on and we don't even know the sex yet. This one is just to make sure that the baby's healthy and growing at the right rate."
"Oh."
Rachel returned with the three pamphlets and started to read them.
A second person came out the door and said, "Jerry and Micah Tart?"
The father stood up, picking his daughter up and placing her head on his shoulder, her tan legs dangled almost to his waist; it was obvious she had to be really sick. "Yes?" His voice was a little creaky, and sounded tired.
"Dr. Renault will see you now." The man followed the intern or nurse through the door. Finn's legs started to jiggle and Rachel bit at her thumbnail as she read. Quinn stared ahead, forcing herself to calm down. There wouldn't be anything wrong with the baby. He or she was perfectly healthy and starting to form organs and fingers and a brain. She was eating right, and hadn't skipped a meal in almost two weeks. Her mother was starting to make all those vegetables that those pregnancy websites recommended. Rachel switched to her right index finger. Finn held his head between his hands. Quinn closed her eyes and prayed. Please let my baby be healthy, please let him or her be fully formed, I don't need anything else, I don't.
All three of them jumped up when someone called, "Quinn Fabray?" Seeing their faces, the young man from earlier smiled as if to ease their nervousness, "Dr. Kim will see you now."
There were quite a few little rooms that they passed on the way, and almost all of them were occupied. Rachel was still biting her nails and Finn was drumming his fingers in the air as Quinn was instructed to sit on the edge of a cushioned chair lined with paper. She sat and picked at the edge of her sweater until Dr. Kim came in. She was small, smaller then Rachel even, and said briskly, "Is this your first ultrasound?"
She nodded, and then stuttered over her tongue, "Yes, it's my first ultrasound."
The doctor nodded, "And how far along are you?"
"Seven weeks."
"From your last menstruation?"
"No, from the conception."
She hummed and made a note on her chart, "Okay, just so you know, we count from your last menstruation, when it comes to your expecting date. So, you're nine weeks.
Finn asked, "How often do we need to have these ultrasounds, Dr. Kim?"
"Including this one, three because as teenagers, you're high risk. This is to confirm the pregnancy, the second will be between sixteen and twenty weeks to see if there are any issues and the gender, and for you, the last would be after that, but at least two weeks before delivery, just to make sure everything's fine."
"And they'll each run along the same price?" Rachel asked.
The doctor raised her eyebrows, but said, "Yes. The anomalies test is purely visual unless you ask for the amniotic fluid test, which may be up to five hundred dollars."
Rachel and Finn nodded. They'd be able to raise the money by then, and the most they would have to pay for would be maternity clothes and stuff for the baby, like a crib or a bassinet. Dr. Kim turned to Quinn and asked, "Do you feel comfortable having everyone in here, or do you want it to just be the two of us?"
"This is fine."
She nodded, "Very well. I'll go get the machine."
She stepped out the room and closed the door behind her. Finn and Rachel were both fiddling with their hands again, and Quinn closed her eyes.
"Thanks for doing this, Rachel," Finn said.
"It's perfectly fine. You and Quinn are my friends and I'll be glad to help."
"That's really awesome of you." He sounded almost awed and she resisted the urge to just – to just hit him or call him names. Something very unladylike, at any rate. "Where's Puck today?"
"He's watching Hannah."
Things were quiet again, and then there was a knock on the door. One of them opened it and Dr. Kim's voice was heard again, "Thanks. Hey, big guy, you mind helping me put this next to your girlfriend?"
The wheels clacked and the door snapped closed behind them before the doctor said, "Would you mind opening your eyes, Miss Fabray?" Quinn did and was greeted by Rachel's concerned face. "Are you feeling okay?" She mouthed, and Quinn nodded to her. Rachel didn't look very reassured but she couldn't exactly do more with Finn in the room. Finn was still helping set the machine up and held up a wire and what looked like a connector with it.
"Where do I put these?"
The doctor took them from him, plugged the wire into one side of it and held up the wand before turning the ultrasound machine on. Finn moved to stand next to Rachel. Quinn had changed before they left school into sweatpants and an older t-shirt. There was no way that her mother would her out like that, disgrace or not.
"Lift your shirt up, please."
Quinn pulled her shirt up and Dr. Kim said, "I'm going to put some gel on your stomach. It'll be a little cold, but be patient; it'll warm up really fast."
She squirted some on Quinn's stomach and smeared it with the flat part of the wand. It was colder than cool but Quinn clenched her fists. Dr. Kim flicked a knob and they heard what sounded like galloping horses underwater.
"Whoa," Finn and Rachel said at the same time, and looked at each other over Quinn's head.
"That's the baby's heart beat?" Quinn asked. Her eyes were watery and she quickly rubbed them.
Dr. Kim nodded, "Yes. You have a nice, healthy baby with a heart rate of 157 beats. The average is from 120 to 180."
Rachel sniffled a little and Finn looked dumb-founded.
The doctor grinned at them, "Hold on, let me see if I can get a better vision of your baby."
She moved the wand around so that the sound got stronger, and then said, "Ah-ha!"
A grayish-white blob appeared on the screen and Dr. Kim said, "And that's your baby. Friendly little thing, too; normally I have to search a little more."
That was all Rachel. The baby was an attention-whore already. She felt a little bad, thinking of her baby like that, but the truth was the truth. They stared at the screen, then Finn said, "Are you sure that's a baby? It looks like one of those aliens."
Quinn wanted to strangle him and could feel herself rapidly coloring. The doctor only laughed though, "I've heard that before, Miss Fabray, don't worry." She turned her face to Finn's, "Yes, young man, that is a baby. He or she will look more like a human next time, I swear. Right now, he or she is developing organs, a brain, fingernails, the whole nine yards, and without that stuff, you pretty much look like a blob."
He nodded and gave a relieved grin. Rachel was still staring at the sonogram machine and said, voice choked, "Do we get pictures, or a CD of them or something?"
Dr. Kim nodded, "Yes. I'll take a few now, then I'll print them and give you five wallet sized, one for a scrapbook, and the CD with more for you to print out on your own."
She pressed something on the wand, then flicked the machine off, and said, "And that's it, ladies and gent. Miss Fabray, I'll give you some paper towels to clean up with or you can head to the bathroom, and I'll print these out for you."
"Who do we pay?" Rachel asked. She was still staring at the blank machine.
"The receptionist at the front will give you your total bill. It'll come up to about three hundred, maybe three fifty. Speaking of, you guys want the expected date of birth now or later."
"Now," Quinn said immediately. Anticipation wasn't a good look on her.
"Ok, it's April 24th."
Rachel squeaked, and then covered her mouth with a blush at their looks. "Sorry, but that's Barbra's birthday."
"Who is Barbra?" Finn asked.
"My explanations are wasted on you," Rachel muttered. Quinn was very glad that Rachel was finally starting to learn that Finn was, to put it frankly, an idiot and a jerk. One or the other was fine, but both were pushing it.
"Barbra Streisand," She said. He still looked confused and the brunette sighed, "Never mind, Finn."
The doctor chuckled, cleaning off the wand with sanitation napkins. "Are you two related?"
Finn stuck his tongue out in disgust and Rachel audibly gagged, before they both said, again in unison, "No!" Then they laughed at each other, like they were old friends.
Quinn felt a little jealous of them. Even if they didn't work out, which would be nearly impossible for them to work out even if only because of her, they'd probably still be friends. Being friends with Rachel would probably be hurtful at best; Quinn was a selfish soul, it was unlikely that any ex she had would remain her friend. She'd be jealous of anyone else they had, whether she wanted them for herself or not.
Dr. Kim wheeled the machine out. Quinn followed her out the room and saw the sign for the bathroom.
She wet a paper towel and was rubbing the gel off of her stomach furiously when Rachel came in, cupped her face with her hands, and kissed her so wonderfully Quinn's knees buckled. Rachel's thumbs rubbed against her cheekbones as her tongue licked at the entrance to her mouth. Quinn opened up with an audible whimper that was muffled by sucking on Rachel's tongue. How beautiful that was, really, she thought as she dropped her paper towels and threaded her fingers through thick, curly hair. She felt acute warmth in her abdomen and she let her go and stepped back. Rachel's face followed for a moment, and then she opened her eyes and gave a satisfied exhale.
Quinn smiled at Rachel, "What was that for?"
"Because you're beautiful and lovely and I care for you immensely as a person, and I care for you ineffably as the mother of my child." Rachel said it in her quick, frank way, in a manner that left no doubt to her sincerity.
"Oh," Quinn said and felt like an idiot for being unable to articulate everything she wanted to say. Maybe the baby would be lucky and get Rachel's propensity for overt verbosity.
They stared at one another before Quinn gestured to her abdomen, "I'm just going to clean this up."
Rachel nodded, flushed, and turned away.
"It's not like you haven't seen me naked," Quinn laughed.
Rachel mumbled, "Shut up."
Quinn rubbed what was left of the gel off of her stomach, dried her abdomen, and then dropped her shirt. Rachel was still turned away from her and she said, "I have to pee."
Rachel immediately exited the room and Quinn went into the stall, hurried about her business, and then washed her hands before exiting. Rachel was standing just outside the door and she bumped her shoulder against her gently. Rachel smiled at her as they walked over to Finn, who was outside the room, and they moved to the waiting room. Finn and Rachel conversed lowly over the bill, then banded their money together and paid the receptionist.
Rachel had given the majority, and told Finn to stifle his complaints as they left, "The stuff after this is going to cost much more. A crib, blankets, clothes, shoes; all of that you'll have to save up for, Finn. If you're afraid you'll lose it or spend it unnecessarily, I'll hold it for you, but don't worry about the ultrasounds."
He nodded, thankfully, and the teenagers climbed into her car, headed home.
Just as they were getting onto the interstate, Finn switched her radio station casually onto the classic rock station. She'd had it on the one classical music station her radio received. Most of the Internet agreed that classical music stimulated brain development; the parts that didn't, said playing it backwards revealed satanic references.
Quinn turned it back to the original station. Finn switched it again, and started drumming on the dashboard to the song on the radio. She forced herself not to say something sharp, and instead turned it off.
"Hey," He whined, and then shrank back at the look she gave him. They were quiet, he with his arms crossed in a sulky fashion, and Quinn with both hands on her steering wheel. A glance in her rear view showed that Rachel had stretched herself across the back seat and was listening to music. Her iPod was on her stomach, one of those brick-like ones that held over a hundred gigabytes. The drive to Lima was quiet, except for when Rachel sang softly to herself.
"The clouds above opened up, and let it out," She sang, at one point. "I was standing on the surface of a perforated sphere when the water filled every hole."
Finn grumbled, "Why does she get to sing and I can't drum?"
She sighed, ignored him, and stared straight ahead. Home couldn't happen fast enough.
They were almost home when Finn's phone rang. He answered, "Hi, mom."
She could only hear his side of the conversation but the basis of it was that she was concerned of where he was and wanted to see them before they went home. "Do you want to see my mom?" He asked.
Quinn tried to think of a diplomatic answer to "Hell no." Finally, she said, "If Rachel goes, I'll go." If she was going to be in an awkward, guilt filled situation, she was sharing the guilt and terrible feelings.
He smiled, and twisted around to tap her shoulder. She pulled one headphone out and he asked, "Do you want to see my mom?"
There was a pause that felt long to Quinn, but Rachel finally said, "No, thank you. I have some things to do today."
Finn slumped in his seat, and mumbled their response into the phone. He hung up a little bit after that, but didn't say anything else on the drive until they were in his driveway. "She knows about the baby," He told her, before he closed the door.
She forced herself to remain still and quiet. There was no way Finn had said that. There was no way in all Hell that Finn had just dropped a bomb like that, and left. Apparently, he had because she felt like her chest was caving in and Rachel was suddenly next to her, holding her face, taking overly exaggerated breathes. Rachel pressed her forehead to Quinn's when she managed to regain her breath and said seriously, dark eyes surprisingly dull, "We need to switch seats."
Quinn agreed as well as she could and exited, Rachel on the other side. Carole was at her front window, and waved at them. They both waved, and Quinn could see her guilt reflected on the other girl's face. Quinn nearly collapsed in the front seat, and Rachel adjusted the driver's seat for her own height. Rachel drove them slowly, but not in a way that seemed cautious so much as she was postponing them leaving. She was a good driver, but antsy. Her fingers kept twitching against the steering wheel, like she was restraining herself from doing something else.
"Home?" Rachel asked her. Quinn stared ahead, and then shook her head. "No."
The brunette nodded and turned down another street, and then another and another, until they were nearly in the surrounding corn fields. Rachel parked, and turned the car off. They sat in silence until Quinn took a deep, shuddering breath and said, "I asked him to wait. I asked him to wait to tell his mother and he couldn't even do that for me."
Rachel took her hand and Quinn leaned her head against the back of the seat. Quinn bit her lip. "I never wanted to lie to anyone."
It was, at least partially, the truth. She'd never wanted to lie to anyone because she hadn't intended to get pregnant. She'd planned on crushing Rachel's spirit to the best of her abilities, being the best cheerleader, dating the quarterback, going to Church and believing in that message as essentially as she could. One stupid party and her entire life was turning into something she couldn't understand.
Rachel remained silent, simply holding her hand. Quinn continued to speak, "I'm going to have to tell her someday that the picture she has, isn't of her grandchild."
Quinn didn't even have any tears, just stared at the dying stalks of the corn. They were still and silent in the car for almost an hour before Quinn's cell phone rang. She answered, "Hello?"
Her mother's voice was concerned, "Quinn, it's almost five. I know you're a teenager that needs some freedom, but I'd like to know when you come and go."
"Sorry, mom," Quinn apologized. "I was just with my friend. I'll drop her off and come home, okay?"
"Don't hurry now, your father has a late meeting, but I'd like for you to be inside by seven. Besides, we have the chastity ball gown, and I wanted to make sure that it fit."
Quinn agreed, and told Rachel what her mother had said. Rather than taking the opportunity to hang out, Rachel took the printed out sonogram and said, "You should give the sonogram to your mother. I think she'd like it."
The blonde couldn't agree to that, really. Her mother would probably start sobbing or go get a drink. Maybe both, if she'd been having a good day. Quinn thought of the two she had and replied reluctantly, "I don't know if she could hide it from my dad. They share everything with each other."
This was the biggest lie in their marriage, as far as she knew. Her father's adulterous ways were unacknowledged, but at least known. Her earliest memory was of the entire family praying. Her second earliest was of her kindergarten teacher spread over the couch, her father on top of her, and her mother dropping the groceries they'd just bought. He'd been better at hiding them since then.
She had a sudden, sickening thought. What if they got a divorce and she was the reason? She wasn't sure if she could get over that. Quinn shook her head, her hair fluttering against Rachel's neck, and Rachel rubbed her thumb along Quinn's fingers, offering her silent support again. Quinn let her hand go, and dug into her book bag for the photos. They were pressed between the textbooks, and she held up the print out of the ultrasound.
"Look at our baby," Quinn said softly. Rachel leaned closer and said, "He or she does look a little like an alien."
Quinn smacked her on the shoulder and Rachel laughed. Quinn took another look at the photo, and found a slight resemblance to E.T. around the head. The baby probably had Rachel's head; she and Rachel had heads around the same size, despite Rachel's petite stature everywhere else. Well, almost everywhere else, if you excluded her shoe size.
The blonde put the photo down and pulled Rachel closer by the head before flattening the hair down.
"What are you doing?" She asked.
"You've got a big head so I'm trying to imagine your head baby-sized."
Rachel shook her hands off and scowled at her, "Shut up. As long as the baby doesn't get your ears, we'll be fine, Dumbo."
"Dumbo was a cooler character then E.T."
"He flew with his ears!" Rachel replied, incensed.
Quinn insisted, smiling, "Better than a bike."
Rachel pouted and Quinn laughed at her pout before kissing her protruding bottom lip. Rachel exaggerated it to get another, then hooked her hands around Quinn's ears and pulled her in when she was close. Quinn was a little upset that it actually worked, she didn't think her ears were that big, but at the same instance Rachel's tongue rubbed against her lips and she couldn't think beyond, "More, more, more."
Before she could crawl onto Rachel's lap, she forced herself to think of dead animals and other things, before she leaned away. Rachel's hands had moved from her ears to her hair, and she tugged a little on her hair when they parted, but made sure Quinn was paying attention as she licked her lips lasciviously. Quinn shook her head at her and asked to distract herself, "How'd you get work off today?"
"I traded shifts with someone," Rachel explained. "Normally, I wouldn't be allowed to, but he's taking Sunday off and Friday was more convenient for both of us. Our manager decided to allow it."
Quinn nodded, "Are you ready to go home, or do you want to do something?"
Rachel replied, "Noah wanted to go to the local comic book store, Alter Ego, around six o'clock; do you want to go?"
The blonde told herself that she needed to stop being surprised by Rachel. "I wouldn't mind. It's just you and Puck?"
The brunette looked thoughtful, "I'm unsure. Normally it is, but sometimes there are a couple of my cousins, or his cousins. I think Dale and his brother Edwin are coming."
She didn't think she would be overly bored and agreed, "As long as we finish before eight."
Rachel grinned and they switched seats. Rachel directed her to the small comic book store, a converted shop front. She pulled up somewhat close to Puck's distinctive truck, and found him leaning against it. They walked a little ahead of her, and she heard Puck say lowly, "Not that I'm still pissed at Fabray, but seriously? It's bro night, Rachel, you didn't have to bring her."
"I wanted to bring her. You've brought several girls to bro night." She smiled a little, but somewhat upset that she was making them argue again. Bro night sounded so weird coming from Rachel though, that she couldn't help but smile.
He protested, "But I wasn't serious with them. You're in lesbians with Fabray, or something?"
"In lesbians?" Rachel asked.
"Dude, we read the Scott Pilgrims comics together. About the dude and the band and the chick and the other dudes and that one other girl."
"Despite the fact that you've made several sweeping generalizations towards media in general, I now recall what you meant. And, no, I am not in love with Quinn. I care about her immensely, and I think later on I could love her, but right now we're still very young and this is a very unusual situation. I'd prefer to take it slow; you understand what I'm saying."
Puck rolled his eyes, "Right. Not in love with her. Okay. The left side of my ribs doesn't say the same thing."
Rachel gave a noisy sigh, turned partially, saw Quinn, and winked. Puck coughed twice, words clearly audible, "In love!" Rachel glared and he said, "Geez, sorry, fine. Lesbian gay-type lovers then."
Rachel rubbed her eyes, "I don't understand what your obsession with Buffy the Vampire Slayer is."
"Faith Lehane is my spirit animal."
Rachel stopped and stared at Puck, "Right. That makes so much more sense to me."
"It ought to; you're the one in that stupid TV shows fandom."
Quinn gave up on following their conversation, and simply listened to them bicker.
"Don't call Supernatural stupid. You make graphics!"
"You write dissertations on why 'Wincest' is more canon then Destial or whatever."
"Not dissertations, fanfiction."
"Same shit. It's long as all Hell. The difference between gifs, a fanmix cover, and quadrillion words on their childhood is totally different. Besides, it's only in Buffy and Popular."
"Popular was cancelled after two seasons, and was worse than Supernatural."
He scoffed and flopped into a chair dramatically.
She rolled her eyes, pulled out a seat for Quinn, and sat down afterwards, "Don't be such a baby, Noah."
Quinn looked around. It was almost like being in a music store, but in place of vinyl and CD's, there were comics, arranged alphabetically. Puck was craning his neck to look at something, and finally said, "Damn. They don't have the newest Buffy comic."
Rachel said under her breath, "Loser."
He glared and slowly enunciated, "Barbra Streisand."
Rachel glared back at him, and they stared at each other seriously before he asked, "Justice League # 1?"
She scoffed, "Please. It's only Batman and Green Lantern, and all they do is fight. I would rather overlook that travesty."
He scowled, "Don't tell me you're trying to get me into that stupid manga thing again."
"You'll like Katekyo Hitman Reborn! And possibly Naruto. I couldn't get into it, but it's about ninjas."
"I'm not listening to you; you always set me up for failure. Maybe I want a comic that ends happily."
She sighed, "Are you still not over Tokyo Babylon?"
"They were in love, dammit!"
People were murmuring, hearing his statement, and he rubbed his Mohawk briefly; neither he nor Rachel seemed embarrassed at all, so she didn't say anything.
Rachel turned to look at her, "Do you read comics, Quinn?"
She shook her head, "No." Quinn had always preferred the images in her head to looking at someone else's world. Rachel nodded and asked, politely, "Would you like to see a few of the comics I like?"
She didn't particularly want to see them, but she got the feeling that Rachel would at best be a little miffed and at worst a sulky, pouty mess if she didn't see, so Quinn agreed. Rachel tugged her upright and showed her pretty much a whirlwind of names, dates, and back stories. Rachel, she observed, was an enthusiastic talker. Not just in her speaking, which she'd known already, but the way she talked with her whole body. She was angled to face Quinn, her face was open and thrilled, and her hands waved around. Normally, they fluttered a few inches, or her fingers twitched; now, she was basically flailing around and only stopped when she smacked herself in the mouth, and was so surprised she stopped talking for almost a second afterwards, then pressed her fingers to her mouth, pulled them back, and saw blood. Her eyes welled up and she whined, "Quinn, look."
Quinn dutifully looked, despite seeing the whole thing, and pulled Rachel's hands away from her mouth and pulled her lip down a little. Sure enough, there was a small cut from where her bottom tooth had pierced through, but it wasn't going to last long.
"You'll be fine," Quinn told her. "It's just a little cut."
Rachel sniffled pathetically but her eyes dried up and she licked her cut despite Quinn's finger nearly being on top of it, and winced at the sting. Quinn wiped the spit off of her finger onto Rachel's shoulder. Rachel resumed her crash-course of comic book history with X-Men, which Quinn mentally rephrased as Gay Harry Potter. Several times, Rachel had licked the cut on the inside of her mouth, physically shuddering or wincing.
Quinn rolled her eyes as they came to some reloaded version of Gay Harry Potter and Rachel forgot about her life-threatening injury to wave her hands around again and pop herself on the mouth again. Instead of whining this time, she looked down at her hands and tucked them into the pockets of her cardigan carefully, like they were weapons. Quinn's stomach grumbled lowly and she remembered that lunch had been quite a few hours ago. Rachel appeared not to have heard, as she was flipping through a display comic quickly, and then put it down to pick up another one. Quinn was going to get her attention when Puck walked over and said, "Babe, I'm hungry. We should go eat."
Rachel turned to Quinn, "Are you hungry? I could do for some macaroni and cheese."
Puck gagged, "That shit is gross. It's not real cheese, it's like this weird, fake curdled crap."
"This restaurant serves non-vegan food as well," Rachel said casually, most likely to Quinn. It was already six thirty in the evening, though, and she said, a little upset that she couldn't go, "My mom wants me home at seven."
Rachel's face fell, "Oh."
She found herself saying, "Do you guys want to have dinner at my house?"
Rachel actually looked contemplative but Puck replied, "Dude, I like cougars and they like me. A lot. No offense or anything, but you're hot, and your mom is probably the same. If you don't want your mom to have sex with me, I think it's best if we just don't."
Rachel smacked his arm but he didn't even seem fazed. Quinn's mouth gaped even as Rachel confirmed, "I will say, it's probably best if I ever had dinner with your family, it'd have to be without Noah."
She agreed and Puck said, "I'll take Rachel home."
Rachel smiled at her, "Yes, I'll be fine. Thank you for today, Quinn. It's not every day that I get to see a sonogram of our child."
Quinn smiled back, after a moment of looking around, kissed her cheek, and headed to her car. She got home just a little after six-thirty, and stared out at her house from her seat. The sonogram picture was burning a hole in her mind, so she carefully took it out. Her mother was too afraid of her father to even think of helping her, but Quinn didn't have much to lose, in the long run. She was already getting kicked out soon, and knew she'd have a place to stay, likely with Rachel. Her parents didn't seem the type to kick someone out. After all the disappointment, she could do this much for her mother. The blonde exited her car, went in through the front door and found that dinner was on the table. Her mother was washing some of the dishes in the kitchen, and she cleared her throat, fiddling with the strap of her book bag. Her mother looked up and scowled, "Those are not the clothes I sent you to school with."
Quinn nodded, "I know. I had to go to the doctor's after school."
Her mother's hand slipped into the water, and she quickly pulled it back up. "Oh?" Judy's voice was shaky, hesitant.
"Yeah, I had an ultra-"
"Don't say it!"
Quinn ignored her, stating louder, "I had an ultrasound." She stepped closer to her mother, watching her scrub an already clean pan hard, face downwards.
"Mom," She said. "Mom, don't you want to see them? Don't you want to see your grandchild?"
Her mother slammed the pan into the sink, water rising and falling, chest falling and rising, her eyes luminous and sad, "Goddammit, Quinn! Stop this foolishness. You are too young, too smart, for this." She rubbed her face with her soapy hands, voice muffled, "You were supposed to get out. You were supposed to be my pride and joy, the one I wanted, and now you turned out the same way I did, stubborn and silly and dreaming."
Her throat felt like it was closing, "Mom?"
Judy took a deep breath, "I got married to your father at eighteen because I was pregnant with your sister."
Quinn blinked hard, "Oh."
Judy took a deep breath, "Yes. Oh. I came from a good, Christian family, and so did he, and at eighteen, he took me out one night, and when I came home the next morning, I was carrying your sister. We were engaged by the end of the month, and married before I started to show. We called her a honeymoon baby, and nobody ever said anything otherwise."
Quinn said, "Okay," but stayed where she was. It was only after her mother had dried her hands that she gave her the sonogram and scurried out to the dining room. She fixed her own plate, and was nearly finished eating when Judy stepped into the room. The sonogram was in her hand. Quinn was finishing her drink when her mother said, quietly, "You'll have to leave soon."
Quinn stared down into her glass of water, "I know."
"Do you have a place to stay?"
She nodded, "Yes."
Her voice was choked, "They'll – they'll take care of you? They won't bully you, or do anything you don't want them to, right?"
"No, mom. They'll be good to me."
She felt sorry for her mother, suddenly, taking preventive measures to make sure that her daughter didn't end up the same way she did. She kissed her mother on the cheek, then felt one of her hands on the side of her face, and pressed her forehead against her mother's temple for a few long moments before she was let go. Quinn was upstairs and out of sight when she heard the door open with a boisterous, slightly slurred, "Lucy! I'm home!"
Quinn went into her room and closed and locked it behind her. She wasn't scared of her father, physically, because he'd never done much more than swat her on her backside with a brush, but mentally navigating with him could be draining emotionally and mentally. She didn't want to have to tally up how many drinks it took for him to be able to stand her company and went to take a shower. She still didn't have a bulge, thank God, but she pinched the skin around her waist unmercifully, and resolved to hit Rachel later for her involvement in this. Or maybe just tap her. Or possibly just kiss her.
Quinn collapsed onto her bed when she left the bathroom and sighed. It was only seven thirty but she was exhausted and thrilled, just a little, to know her baby was healthy and growing up right on track. She turned the light off and prayed before climbing into her bed. She snuggled into her pillows and went right off to sleep. It was actually a good thing she had gone to bed so early because she woke up at almost five, ready to throw up last night's dinner. More than just the general grossness that came afterwards, she felt sick. Her forehead was warm but her arms felt cold and Quinn was still sleepy. She wasn't sure if her parents were up, and didn't intend to wake them if they weren't. Quinn headed back to bed, and only woke up to her mother shaking her shoulder and a pathetically stuffy noise. Her mother took one look at her, covered her in blankets, and put a heater in the room despite it being maybe sixty degrees.
She went in and out of sleep until almost noon, where she was fed a hearty chicken soup and her mother moved her to the couch so that Judy had company while watching some of her older soaps. There wasn't much on TV on Saturdays. Quinn felt like she couldn't get warm, and was swaddled in two shirts, a sweatshirt, and a heavy afghan when she told her mother. Quinn fell asleep on the couch and woke up to two text messages from Finn. Wnt 2 hng out?
The next was only a few minutes old. Whre r u?
Home, im feeling sck
O there was a break, then he texted im comin over 4 dnr to mke sre u r btr.
Quinn's eyes drifted around and she felt too exhausted to bother with him now, so she replied ok.
Her mother took the time, while she was incapacitated, to put the chastity gown on and make a few adjustments. She tightened it around Quinn's waist, bent to look a little more closely, and said, eyebrows raised, "My, this is going to be a large one."
It was the first time her mother had ever said something somewhat positive about the baby. Quinn told herself not to beam and instead made a sound that could have been positive but also might have been negative, then remembered Finn said he was coming.
"Mom, Finn wants to come today for dinner."
Her mother's mouth thinned, "Fine. I'd have liked some forewarning, Quinn, but I suppose that we have enough turkey for four."
She sneezed and then protested, "I didn't invite him, he invited himself."
"Well, that's inconsiderate," Judy said.
Her mother wrote down the adjustments and then put the dress in a garment bag when Quinn took it off. She yawned and put her pajamas back on before going to sleep on the couch again.
Judy woke her up shortly and sent her upstairs to get dressed for dinner. She checked her phone and saw that Brittany and Rachel had also texted her. They had both asked if she was okay, and she sent I'm fine, just a little sick.
Rachel immediately responded Are you sure you're okay? I can stop by if you want.
No, it's okay. It's just a little bug. Then, she felt like teasing her. Must have picked it up in the comic store, like nerdfluenza.
Hardy har har. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Alter Ego.
Quinn pulled on her dress before she texted him. Someone's getting defensive.
I am not. Papa's asking about you.
She smiled. Tell him I said hi. I have to go to dinner, but I'll text you later.
Of course.
Quinn finished getting dressed, did her hair, and then, after a moment, put on a little make-up. Just as she finished, her mother called upstairs, "Quinn, dinner!"
The blonde went downstairs and took her normal seat before there was a knock on the door. Her father answered, and came back with Finn, who was dressed politely in khaki slacks, a button-down shirt, a tie, and a black jacket. There was a boom box behind him. He kissed her cheek and said, "Nice to see you again, Mrs. Fabray."
Her mother's smile was frosty, "Pleasure to see you, Finn. Please, please, take a seat."
Judy drank her first glass of wine before the prayer, and had downed three more before dinner was over with. Russell drank Scotch throughout dinner, and finally topped them off with a glass of red wine and a whiskey. They didn't like Finn much, than. If they liked someone, they tended to be sober. Neither of them were drunk, but they were definitely erring on the wrong side of tipsy.
Finn cleared his throat, despite babbling throughout most of dinner, and said, "Mr. Fabray, Mrs. Fabray, I'm going to sing you a song."
Her father mumbled, "Ah, Hell," while her mother clapped lightly. Quinn forced herself to keep from laughing.
Finn stood up and pressed play on the boom box. The strands of an annoying familiar song came on and the Fabrays' collective mouth fell open.
"Havin' my baby
What a lovely way of sayin'
How much you love me
Havin' my baby
What a lovely way of sayin'
What you're thinkin' of me – "
He didn't get much further. Her father threw the boom box to the side and said, lowly, "Son, you've got ten seconds."
Finn stared at him, shocked, "Quinn and I are having a baby. I – They always said that saying stuff through song was best."
Russell wasn't facing her. "Quinn. Is this true?"
Quinn stared ahead.
His voice was louder, "Quinn."
She whispered, "Yes, daddy."
"Son, you'd better be the one pregnant."
Finn laughed weakly, "No, sir."
Russell moved to the liquor cabinet and poured himself a couple of fingers of a drink, then swallowed, and his voice was deathly calm, "Quinn. You've got half an hour to get everything you want. After that, it's in the trash."
Quinn ran up the stairs, and Finn stumbled after her.
"Quinn! Quinn, I'm sorry, I didn't mean, I didn't think – "
She turned to him, "You never think! I told you no, I told you I didn't want my family to know and what do you do? You tell them in a song!"
Finn stared at her, mouth open, "I – "
"No. I don't want to hear it."
Quinn went into her room, and texted Rachel Finn just told my parents. Im getting kicked out.
She put her textbooks in her book bag and the things she used every day. By the time they were actually inside her bag, Finn had entered the room. By the time she'd told him to get out, Rachel, Puck, and the two guys from Glee that never said anything were there. Puck and the two guys pushed past Finn, and Rachel quickly walked over and hugged her tightly. Quinn sniffled into her shoulder, and then sobbed. Rachel rubbed her back and asked softly, "Is that bag the only thing you want?"
Quinn rubbed her eyes, "That's the important stuff. I'd like to have my books and things, so they don't go in the trash, but-"
"No buts," Rachel said firmly. "Matt's family was moving, so we have an empty U-Haul."
The football players had lifted her bed, mattress and all, and navigated it carefully out the room. Puck had some empty trash bags and was putting her books inside it. Rachel took one and was taking her clothes out of the closet. Quinn took one of the black bags as well and took the clothes from her dresser and put them inside. Finn took a hesitant step forward, "Can I help?"
Puck and Rachel snarled, "No!"
He shrank back.
They worked quietly, and the two football players took her empty book case downstairs, then her dresser. Within twenty minutes, all of her things were inside and they hauled her stuff downstairs. Her father said, "Put the house key by the door" and resumed drinking his whiskey.
She took it off the ring and put it on the table and her mother drank another glass of wine, and then hugged her, Rachel, Puck, and the two boys who'd moved her things, Mike and Matt.
Judy held Rachel's face between her hands and ran her thumbs over Rachel's cheekbones, "Take care of my baby, please."
Rachel nodded, face serious, "Yes, ma'am."
When they were outside, the three football players approached Finn, but Rachel got there first, slapping him so hard everyone winced.
Her voice was quiet but furious, "Are you a complete and utter idiot?"
His shoulders slumped and he rubbed his pink cheek, "I'm sorry. I just, I thought it was time. We've had the sonogram, and we're making plans and –"
"This was not your call to make," Quinn told him. "I told you no, and you went ahead and said it anyways. How am I supposed to raise a baby with you and this is how you respond to important stuff? I can't trust you, Finn."
Tears welled in his eyes. "I'm sorry. I thought –"
Puck scoffed, "Whatever, dude. Don't expect me to block for you in practice, or The Wonder Twins." Obviously, he was referring to Mike and Matt.
"Where are you staying?" Mike asked her softly.
Finn said, hurriedly, "Please, move in with me, I promise I'll do better, I'll take care of you."
"You could stay with me," Rachel replied quietly.
They turned to her and Quinn could see the sincerity in her. She wanted to help Quinn, really did, but this was going to blow up in their faces. Rachel deserved more than this, right now. Let her take out her negative feelings on Finn and save the good, sweet parts for Rachel. Besides, she wasn't sure if she could stomach hurting Rachel more; already, she had thawed, being polite to people she normally wouldn't have looked twice at and crying on her shoulder. She was like Frosty, but the magical hat kept unraveling as she tried to fix it.
"I'll stay with Finn," She finally decided. Rachel's jaw clenched and her mouth thinned, but she didn't respond. Puck wrapped an arm around her shoulders and they turned to the truck and Finn's mother's car. They drove to the Hudson house in silence, and Carole's face was tired and sad when she saw them.
She hugged all of the teenagers and kissed Quinn's forehead. "The basement's empty," She said. The boys took the furniture downstairs and Rachel and Quinn took the bags with clothes. Finn lugged the books. Rachel, the three boys, and Quinn set her room up. Rachel looked around and then sniffed the air a little.
"You'll need an air purifier, it smells stale," Rachel said kindly. "I have an extra at home; I'll bring it to you tomorrow."
"Thank you," Quinn said, and hugged Rachel again. She smiled a little and kissed her on her neck before leaving, each of the boys giving her a small hug as well. Puck hesitated, and then ruffled her hair. "Sorry, Fabray, but I really can't hug you."
He exited as well, leaving her and Finn.
Finn opened his mouth when she said, "Leave. I'd like to be alone."
He nodded, and Quinn threw herself onto her bed in tears. This day couldn't have gone any worse at all.