Second Chances

Chapter 9

When Quinn walked out of her bedroom the next morning, she saw Beth sitting on the countertop and clapping for Rachel, who was flipping pancakes and singing Don't Rain On My Parade. Quinn smiled at the sight and Rachel turned around and beamed back at her.
"Hey, I know you said not to-"
Quinn cut her off. "It's fine, is Beth okay?"
Rachel nodded and grinned.
"Yesterday, when I said those things about you not being a part of Beth's life, I really didn't mean it. I just," She stopped and looked from Rachel from her daughter, who was stirring more pancake batter on in bowl with flour all over her face. "I mean look how happy she is, she clearly loves you. I was just mad about... other stuff. Some old unresolved issues and feelings, but I'm okay now."
"Well I'm glad you're feeling better," Rachel said and pulled her into a hug.
Quinn rested her head on Rachels shoulder and Rachel allowed herself to hug Quinn a little tighter than normally. She pulled away though, and went back to the pancakes and Quinn missed her presence, even though Rachel was only a few feet away.
Quinn sat down at the kitchen table and ran her hands through her hair lazily. She watched as Rachel picked up Beth and carried her over to the seat next to her.
    "I really am happy you decided to stay, even if you'll only be here for a few more weeks" Rachel said and placed a pancake in front of her.
    Quinn smiled and blushed. She took a deep breath before speaking. "I um... Rachel, I..." she stopped. "Later... can I talk to you?" She asked shakily.
Rachel nodded and grinned at her. "I'd love that."
    "Hey, since it's a saturday I was thinking, maybe we could all go to central park and have a picnic, I could call Santana and Britt, and I think Kurt and Blaine are free today too, how does that sound?" Rachel asked enthusiastically.
    Quinn thought about it. She hadn't seen any of them, with the exception of Kurt since she graduated. She hadn't gone to Brittany and Santana's wedding or Kurt and Blaine's, which had taken place a month later. She couldn't be sure if her, Brittany and Santana were even friends anymore. Despite her desperation to escape her past, Brittany and Santana had meant a lot to her. They'd been best friends all throughout high school and even nicknamed themselves the Unholy Trinity. However they hadn't talked in years, and Quinn wasn't sure if Santana and Brittany would even want to see her again. But this wasn't about Quinn. She wanted to apologize to Rachel, and this would be how to begin to make up for it.
    "Sure, I'd love to," Quinn replied and forced a smile. You're doing it for Rachel.

They met Santana and Brittany in the park at around one in the afternoon. Rachel lay down a blanket on the grass and sat down with Beth in her lap. Quinn sat herself closer to Rachel as she saw Santana and Brittany walking towards them. It felt strange, only less then two months ago, Quinn had tried to hide from Rachel in almost this exact spot. Now she kept moving closer to Rachel, because Rachel made her feel safe.
    "Quinn! Oh my God, I can't believe it's really you," Santana exclaimed.
    Quinn stood up and smiled a real genuine smile before embracing Santana in a hug.
    "Damn stretch marks, look at you, skinny as ever, and that ass is looking great!" She continued loudly.
    Quinn laughed. "Watch it, Beth's here."
    "I know, she's already made friends with Brittany," Santana said and turned to her wife, who was sitting on the ground with Beth and brushing the fur on her stuffed unicorn.
    "You know, I really missed you Q," Santana said genuinely.
    Quinn smiled. "I missed you too, and Brittany."
    Sanatana hugged her again. "If you tell anyone I missed you I will bury you alive," she whispered into Quinns ear. Then when she pulled away she smiled sweetly.
    "So how long have you and Rachel have been dating for? Or is it just sex?" Santana asked bluntly.
    "Excuse me?"
    Santana exhaled loudly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You're living together aren't you? I asked Brittany to move in with me because I loved her, and I wanted to get in her pants," she said and shrugged.
    "First of all, Santana, it is perfectly normal for two friends to live together, second of all, Beth is here, so please watch your profanity," Rachel cut in.
    "Well Berry, I'll have you know, whatever I say is just preparing her for the fact that her mom is a total lesbian," Santana said with a smirk.
    Quinn looked at Rachel for help, but Santana kept talking. "And please, one day sweet, innocent Beth is going to walk in on you doing it with tubbers here and you're going to have to explain to her, what it means to be gay, and how lesbians have sex," Santana went to continue but Quinn cut her off.
    "Listen sandbags, I'm not gay for Rachel Berry, I'm not gay at all!" Quinn fought back and Santana burst out laughing.
    "I'm sorry to interupt your childish and pointless debate as to whether Quinn and I are secretly dating, but I'll have you know we're not. Now if we could please get to the lunch I've prepared for us," Rachel said and gestured to their picnic basket.
    Rachel sat down next to Beth and Brittany, and Quinn sat next to Rachel. Santana sat down next to Brittany and kissed her gently on the lips. And for the first time, Quinn felt jealous of Santana. Santana had a wife who loved her, she wasn't afraid to be out and proud in public. She wasn't afraid to be herself. Quinn knew she loved Rachel, she just couldn't be sure what she was. She wasn't straight, she didn't think she was bisexual, but being completely gay seemed to scary. It would change everything about who she was. She knew she'd never loved Finn, she'd never even loved Beth's father. She'd only agreed to lose her virginity to him because she'd felt fat and he got her drunk off of wine coolers. And if she was being completely honest, she didn't really want to give it up to him, she just wanted him to stop asking her. And the quickest, easiest way would of been to get it over with and stare at the ceiling while she tried to think about something else.
    "Q, you okay?" Rachel asked in a hushed voice.
    Quinn nodded. "Yeah, I'm just... thinking about stuff."
    Rachel squeezed her hand. "You know I'm here if you need it," She reassured her.
    Quinn nodded. "I know, and if it's okay, I'd still like to talk to you about that other thing later though."
    "That's fine Quinn, whenever you're ready," Rachel smiled supportively.
    "Can you stop sucking each others faces so we can eat?" Santana interrupted.
    "Yeah! I wanna eat mommy!" Beth agreed.
    "I like this kid," Santana said with a smirk.
    Just as they were about to eat, Kurt and Blaine came running over and sat down with them.
     "Look guys it's lady Hummel and Mrs. Hummel!" Santana exclaimed and gestured for them to sit down.
     "Oh how I've missed you Santana," Kurt replied sarcastically.
      "Guys look, Beth's here. She's like four years older then she used to be," Brittany said, speaking to the group for the first time since they'd arrived at the park.
     Beth smiled at her new friend. "It's because I'm four years older!"
     "Well, since we're all here I thought this would be a good time to tell you guys," Santana started. "Britt and I are adopting a baby!"
     Quinn's jaw dropped and Rachel looked from Santana to Brittany to Beth. Kurt and Blaine both awed in unison and Brittany clapped happily.
     "That's just, that is... I'm so happy for you guys!" Rachel exclaimed and hugged Brittany excitedly.
     "Yeah, you guys are going to be great parents" Blaine added and hugged Santana.
     "Are you two sure about this?" Quinn asked.
     As soon as she spoke a chorus of what's and seriously Quinn's erupted from the group. Quinn sunk into herself a little bit before she continued to speak. "I just mean a baby's a lot of work. I mean with Beth, especially when she was a newborn, I was up all night with her. When your baby cries or needs be changed at 2am you always have to be there for them, even if you don't want to be because you're so tired and all you want is a minute of sleep. Are you sure you're ready for this?"
     "Listen stretch marks, I'm not planning on going and getting myself knocked up like you did. We're adopting a baby so we'll have time to prepare. And unlike you I have someone doing this with me, Brittany is going to be there for me and I'll be there for her. So take your sob story somewhere else, because we're having a baby whether you like it or not," Santana argued.
     Quinn sighed and fidgeted with her fingers. "Yeah, I know I'm sorry, my experience was different from how yours is going to be. I'm happy for you guys," she said nervously.
      Rachel squeezed Quinn's hand again and smiled at her.
     "Thank you," Santana said reluctantly.
     They spent the rest of the afternoon catching up with each other and asking Quinn questions about her "new life". She told them that she was studying to be a pediatric nurse and they all wished her luck. Santana and Brittany apologized for not inviting her to the wedding and Quinn said that it was okay and that she forgave them. Kurt and Blaine left early because they had tickets to Hamilton so the girls took Beth to a nearby playground. Brittany and Rachel pushed her on the swings while Quinn gave Santana advice on raising a baby.
     "I didn't want to say anything in front of the group but I'm really scared, I mean, don't tell anyone I said this but you were right. This is a huge deal," Santana admitted.
     Quinn nodded. "Does Brittany know?"
     Santana shook her head. "No, she's so excited, I don't want to stress her out."
     Quinn nodded again. "Tell her, you guys are in this together, she won't get mad if that's what you're worried about, she loves you to much."
      "You know as much as I made fun of you and called you stretch marks, tubbers and Lucy Caboosey, you've always been there. Thank you for that," Santana said, and Quinn could tell she meant it.
     "The most important part of having a baby is making sure they know you love them. When things got hard for Beth and I, I made sure she always knew I would never leave her. And it made her feel better. You have the opportunity to change a little girl or boys life. You're doing a really good thing," Quinn said and smiled sweetly.
      "Thanks Q, hey you should let me babysit Beth sometime, she'd love betting to know her Aunty Tana," Santana said.

AN: sorry for not uploading for so long! Here's a long chapter to make up for it