Catalyst

Chapter 16

Being a mother had not, really and truly, hit Quinn until after AJ was born. They went between calling him AJ and Asher, sometimes within the same sentence. She had been pregnant teenager, example of debauchery and loose morals. Now, she was a mother. She was somebody's mother and he depended on her very much.

It was a shame he was a little ugly. Oh, he was still the most beautiful child she had ever seen, but as a parent, that was her job. When she was impartial, she could admit he wasn't the handsomest boy on the block.

They were both worried about the dried skin between the webs of his hands and feet and his huge head – she maintained it was entirely Rachel's fault – and how he was wrinkled and red and generally, looked like a little old bald monkey. All of their parents assured them it was common and expected, and that neither of them were exactly pinnacles of beauty at birth. That was a bold-faced lie. Pictures of them at birth showed sweet-faced, pretty babies. Rachel's long eyelashes had been present already, but her dark eyes were deep blue, like the ocean, and she was gorgeous. Quinn looked like a Gerber baby, and her hazel eyes were green instead, similar to her mother's eyes.

Within two weeks, Asher's swollen, red body had faded to a much tamer olive complexion and his eyes were large and a soft green, constantly rolling around in curiosity. His eyes were supposed to change but Quinn hoped they wouldn't because he was just so pretty. Quinn and Rachel would periodically sit on a blanket with him and just stare. Their parents all laughed at them, but they didn't care.

Quinn had permission from the school to finish her work at home, until she was in tip-top shape, but after two days back with intense bullying to both her and Rachel, her assignments were now online. All work had to be turned in by the end of the class period, but it was much easier online, without distractions from classmates and sidetracked teachers.

She and Rachel both maintained A's, putting them neck-in-neck for number one of the class but were more distracted by their tiny son. He was developing features and had what was, unmistakably, Rachel's nose. His mouth was still small, but Rachel and Gerard assured her that it was very close in shape to her own. Judy stopped by at least once a day to see the baby, and when he was finally able to be outside, they brought him to Glee practice.

"Jesus, Berry, could your genes have been any stronger?" Santana asked as he laid on a blanket on the floor. She was crouched near him as his unfocused eyes stared ahead, but when she spoke, his eyes shifted to her mouth. At around two months, this was expected, and he cooed at her voice.

"Wow," Said Brittany, awe in her voice. "Duckie's talking to you, San."

Brittany was the only one to call AJ 'Duckie' and Quinn felt immense relief that Brittany didn't have any hard feelings towards not saying who the other parent was or that she was pregnant.

The other members of Glee played with him as he looked at them and giggled. He was a friendly baby, and they'd made sure to socialize him well. Research showed that babies identified male at birth didn't get as much social interaction as babies assigned girls at birth and Quinn was especially worried because she wasn't as expressive as Rachel. She couldn't just stick her face in his crib and make funny faces, but he always reached for her when it was time for peekaboo. Then, of course, they revealed themselves as regular teenagers when he pooped and they handed him back to Quinn before scattering. Rachel kept him occupied as she changed him by waving his hands and tickling his soft little belly. They threw the diaper out and Quinn washed her hands as Rachel and Asher cuddled.

"I love his smell," Rachel said to her when she returned, and Quinn laid on the blanket so that Rachel could carefully deposit him on her chest. She knew exactly what Rachel was talking about. He always had a tender scent to him, the combination of baby oil, powder, and formula, she was sure, and there was something milder, more relaxing to him naturally, after he'd had a bath, normally, and was being a cuddly dear. She nuzzled her face against his pale curls. He clucked, then whined, and Quinn opened her shirt and adjusted him, sitting up, so he could eat.