fic: The All Star, Chapter 6
*Two Months Later*
“Well, good morning to you too,” Rachel sighed, her head tossing back gently. A muffled good morning rang out from underneath Rachel’s heavy, fluffy blanket, where’s Quinn’s mouth was hard at work giving Rachel an orgasmic wake-up in every sense of the word. The blonde had woken up just a few minutes ago, but the sight of Rachel spread out beside her, hair splayed, arms carelessly strewn above her head, she looked too gorgeous to resist; she needed a taste. The blonde had quickly dipped under the covers, spread Rachel’s legs a little further and pushed the crotch of her underwear to the side, then let her tongue dip inside Rachel’s warm sex.
“Mmmmm, it’s not even my birthday,” Rachel mused, her hand lazily gliding over to the lump in her blanket where Quinn’s head lay and pressing it down gently.
“Couldn’t help it,” Quinn called up quickly before running her tongue along Rachel’s sensitive outer lips, making the smaller girl shiver and mewl.
“Good. Never help it. Never ever, ever help it if it means you wouldn’t do this,” Rachel panted. She ground her hips down into her girlfriend’s hungry mouth, getting wetter and wetter with each quick swipe of the blonde’s magic tongue. Rachel was hovering on the edge when she let her seemingly benign statement slip past her panting lips. “What a gorgeous way to start a Sunday,” she sighed.
Suddenly Quinn’s mouth stopped for a second. “It’s Saturday morning, babe,” the muffled, disembodied voice replied before going back to making Rachel moan.
Rachel stiffened, trying to collect herself despite Quinn’s oral efforts. “Wait…” She looked at the clock beside her; 7:58 AM. “Shit, wait, Quinn, if it’s Sat-“
“Happy Saturday morning!” Mia squealed, pushing the door open with unusually tremendous force. Like clockwork, 2 minutes before children’s Saturday morning cartoons began, Mia would barge in to Rachel’s room, wake her up, and enjoy a cold cereal breakfast curled up with her mom on the couch until noon when all the good cartoons ended and some afternoon activity would commence.
“Mia!” Rachel squealed. Quinn stopped everything. The young doctor prayed that if she closed her eyes hard enough and wished enough, this whole situation would just freeze-frame and she could escape…she had no such luck.
“Come on, Mommy! I want Coco Puffs pleeeeeease,” the child urged, walking to the bed. Suddenly the little brunette paused and looked around curiously. “Didn’t Big Quinn and you have a sleepover?” she pondered allowed.
Rachel gulped. “Y-Yes sweetheart, she’s just…”
“Right here!” Quinn called, quickly emerging from underneath the blanket. Rachel went wide eyed, wondering what trick her girlfriend had come up with to get them out of the situation.
Mia looked at the pair sideways. They both had messy hair, were panting and sweating a little bit; odd. “What were you doing down there? How come you’re both all messy looking?”
“We-“ Rachel was cut off by Quinn, who played it completely cool.
“We were playing a game, silly! What else would we be doing?” She challenged the child to come up with something better, but Mia seemed satisfied with the answer by nodding.
“Was Quinn winning? Cause she’s the all star, remember mommy?”
“She’s talented, I know,” she said, throwing a wink Quinn’s way. The blonde chuckled and started to get out of bed since she was still wearing pants.
“Mia, how about I take you to get your cereal and your mommy can come join us when she wakes up. How does that sound?” Mia beamed and turned to walk out of the room. Just before Quinn could leave herself, Rachel sidled up behind her, sliding her arms around the paler girl’s midsection and kissing her neck gently.
“Just so you know, I was about 10 seconds away from winning all over your mouth,” Rachel husked. Quinn moaned. “Go take care of her, give me a few minutes to calm down.” Quinn nodded and turned her head to plant a kiss on Rachel’s forehead, then departed to the ever-eager child.
Mia was standing in the kitchen, looking up at a cabinet as if willing it to open and spit out her cereal box. Quinn crouched down, lifted Mia in her arms, opened the cabinet door and handed the brown box to the girl. “There you go, shorty.” Mia just held her tongue out at Quinn while the blonde pulled a bowl from a shelf and went to the fridge to pull out milk, smiling the whole way.
Once Mia was situated with her cereal bowl, she sat comfortably next to the coffee table in the living room, eating her breakfast and staring numbly at the cartoons. Quinn was relaxing with her eyes closed when Mia’s unfortunate question broke the silence. “What game were you and mommy playing before?”
Quinn choked on air. She hadn’t developed her excuse enough to answer questions. In a panic, she simply spit out the easiest, child-appeasing answer she could think of: “A grown up game.”
“What kind of grown up game?” Mia turned her attention from the TV, genuine curiosity in her eyes. Darn this little Rachel and her thirst to know anything and everything.
“It’s uh… i-it’s really just too hard to explain to a kid, Mia. You know how grown ups are, we’re so complicated…” Quinn was sweating bullets; she was not the one to explain sex, never mind lesbian sex, to Rachel’s daughter and certainly not when the child was that age.
“I guess, grown ups always do have so much goin’ on and stuff. You couldn’t ev’n try and explain, Big Quinn?” Mia threw puppy dog eyes at the young doctor and pouted. Quinn bit her lip.
“Well…” Quinn tried to think of the next best way to fool a child. Suddenly she grinned. “Well, the executive player enhances their capabilities by exfoliating extraneous matter from other more industrious and egregious opponents by channeling several complex algorithms and-“
“What does that mean?” Mia asked, her face locked in shock at the words throw at her by Quinn.
The blonde just nodded with faux-understanding. “I know, it’s so hard to explain, that’s why grown ups are the only ones allowed to play.” Mia nodded and returned her attention to her food. Quinn’s plan worked; throw enough big, confusing, multi-syllable words at a child and they back off in a heartbeat.
A couple of minutes later, Rachel walked into the living room and collapsed down next to Quinn, who greeted her with a knowing smirk and an outstretched arm. Rachel took the offer and curled in to the blonde’s warm chest, sighing contently at the situation. “Mommy, is Quinn coming to my birthday party next weekend?” Mia asked, not even bothering to turn around.
Quinn went stiff and looked at Rachel, confused. Birthday party? Since when was there a birthday party? Mia turned around at the lack of response to her question and eyed the two women expectantly. “Quinn, can I speak to you in the kitchen for a moment? Mia, sweetheart, I’ll answer your question in a minute, I just need Quinn’s help first.” Mia nodded and let herself get swept back into the cartoon.
Rachel walked out of the room first with Quinn close behind. The second the blonde closed the sliding wooden door to the living room, she looked at Rachel with confusion and some sadness. “Why didn’t you tell me that Mi was having a birthday? You know I’d be there in a heartbeat,” Quinn asked, a little hurt.
Rachel bit her lip. “I didn’t tell you because…”
“Because…”
“Because there are two reasons.”
“…” Quinn stared blankly. “And those two reasons are….”
Rachel sighed, as if she really expected Quinn to just let it go. “Well, first, and don’t be offended or anything, but I don’t really want you to meet my family yet.” Quinn felt like she just got punched in the stomach. “And two,” Rachel bit her lip and looked down, “My ex is going to be there.” And now she felt punched in the face.
At first there was silence; thick, tense, ugly silence. Quinn finally started speaking, albeit in a low tone. “I like that you said to me that I shouldn’t get offended, yet you essentially told me,” Quinn’s voice began to raise and become more impassioned with every passing work, ”you’re ashamed to be with me enough that you’re hiding me, and now you’re letting an ex in your life, like that wasn’t going to fucking hurt!?”
“Quinn, it’s not like that,” Rachel urged, her voice still low so Mia wouldn’t hear the two fighting. Quinn sensed the tone and immediately quieted herself.
“Then what’s it like, Rachel?”
The singer sighed again. “It’s like this. My last girlfriend, Naya, was with me for almost 2 years, with a few falling outs mixed in. She supported me just when I was starting to make a little name for myself and she helped me get some jobs since she’s on Broadway too. And it wasn’t that she was cruel, but clearly Mia wasn’t a high priority on her list, so I had to end it. Despite all that, Mia took such a shine to her and begged me to let her come to her party. I couldn’t tell her no, she doesn’t exactly understand the concept of the ex yet. And Naya agreed, so I didn’t want you to get mad by knowing she was coming.”
Quinn winced bitterly, partly because Rachel was planning on keeping something from her and partly because Mia was still attached to one of Rachel’s exes. “And what about not wanting me to meet your family, huh? We’ve been together over 4 months now, we’re happy and Mia seems to like me-“
“She loves you.” Quinn’s heart swelled with joy but her face didn’t reflect that emotion whatsoever.
“Besides the point. Rachel, I’m apart of your life and I don’t plan on going anywhere, so why shouldn’t I get more involved?”
“Because the rest of my family still thinks I should never have broken it off with Naya, ok? And having you there with her? It’s like putting yourself in direct competition and that’s not fair to anyone.” Quinn winced again and looked down. She felt absolutely sick. Rachel worried her lip between her teeth and took a few tentative steps towards the blonde before enveloping her in a tight hug. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to wait longer to introduce you to everyone, give Naya as much time as possible to sink into the background, show everyone that you’re my life now, not her.”
Quinn nodded in the hug but sighed. “I want to be there.”
Rachel pulled back. “Really?”
“If not for you or me, then at least for her,” Quinn said with a little smile, nodding towards the living room. “Birthdays are always a huge deal when you’re her age, I want to be there to celebrate it with her.” Rachel beamed and hugged Quinn again tightly.
“If you insist.”
**
The party had been scheduled to be the following weekend, and so far, things had gone off without a hitch. Mia invited just over 20 kids from her class to Rachel’s small house for an afternoon of fun, games and cake. Rachel kept her fathers stashed on one side of the room, not telling them that Quinn was here just yet. Meanwhile, Quinn mingled with some of the kids’ parents, she even made a couple of new clients; parents who wanted a new pediatrician and trusted Rachel’s judgment. Just over an hour in to the party, Quinn watched Rachel go to answer the door, where a gorgeous Latina woman walked in holding a large, wrapped present and a killer smile. Quinn gulped. Not her. Not her, please.
“Quinn, this is Naya,” Rachel said as warmly as she could, bringing the woman over to her girlfriend.
“Hi, it’s nice to meet you,” Naya said, offering her hand. Quinn nodded and shook her hand numbly. This was her girlfriend’s ex? The woman could be a fucking model.
It was then that Quinn realized she had been completely silent, just shaking Naya’s hand. “H-Hi, hi I’m Quinn, it’s nice to meet you too.” The three woman stood in awkward silence before Naya cleared her throat.
“I’m just gonna go say hi to your dads Rachel.” She shot Quinn a cocky look. “I’m sure they miss me as much as I’ve missed them.” With that, the taller brunette was on her way.
Rachel couldn’t miss the hurt look on Quinn’s face, watching her girlfriend’s ex mix so well with the family seemed like torture. Rachel was about to offer an apology when the real attack happened. “NAYA!!!!!” Quinn took a sharp inhale. Mia had spotted the Latina and was now charging over to her, wrapping her arms around her legs tightly.
Watching Naya pick Mia up and give her a kiss on the cheek made tears come to Quinn’s eyes. The whole scene felt like something she shouldn’t be apart of. Rachel’s dads were talking with both Mia and Naya, and everyone seemed so happy; Quinn had no place there. “I think I should go,” Quinn said softly. Rachel whimpered and shook her head.
“No baby, please, this was a bad idea and I know it now, but don’t leave,” Rachel pleaded. Quinn sighed and looked back to where Naya was standing. She had since put Mia down and was now engrossed in conversation with the Berry men. But that’s when Quinn spotted the difference between Naya and her. Mia waited patiently at Naya’s feet, tapping her knee insistently. Naya kept shushing the small girl or ignoring her completely. Mia started to pout, tugging gently at Naya’s pants, pleading for some attention. So Quinn took action and marched over, Rachel in tow.
“Excuse me,” Quinn said sweetly.
“Big Quinn!” Mia squeaked happily, as if she’d forgotten the blonde was even present.
“Hey munchkin!” Quinn bent down and picked Mia up, hugging the girl tightly in the process. Rachel’s dads eyed her curiously, wondering who this strange woman was that was playing with their granddaughter. Rachel stepped up behind Quinn and sighed before deciding now was the moment.
“Dad, Daddy, this is Quinn, my girlfriend.”
Quinn beamed and extended her hand to the men who both looked like they’d tasted bad milk. They both shook her hand reluctantly, offering basic pleasantries. “It’s really wonderful to meet you both, Rachel’s said such great things,” Quinn offered cheerfully. One of the men smiled a little and nodded, but it remained pretty quiet.
“Rach, I was just telling your dads how my shows ben upped to 8 performances a week, we’re selling out too much; too much demand!” Naya laughed, eying Quinn in the process.
“Yes, isn’t that impressive darling?” Leroy, one of Rachel’s dads, offered as if he was pressing Rachel to rethink her break-up.
“Very impressive,” Rachel said dryly before turning back to Quinn, who was engrossed in giggling with Mia softly. The mother smiled and toyed with a strand of the blonde’s hair. “Quinn here is doing her fellowship at NYU, aren’t you baby?” Quinn nodded and smiled.
“I’m really excited about it, the spot’s only offered to 12 residents around the country, it’s such an honor,” she pressed. The Berry men looked a little impressed, but didn’t say anything. “Mia, how about you go introduce me to some of your friends, huh?” Mia nodded eagerly as Quinn set her down, and followed the speeding girl off to a pack of children. “It was lovely to meet you both, I’m sure we’ll talk again later,” Quinn called, and then she was gone.
Rachel watched them go before taking a deep breath and turning to face the critics. Naya was grinning smugly while her parents were looking around the apartment, anywhere but Rachel. “So…what do you guys think?” Rachel asked hopefully.
Hiram, Rachel’s other father, looked at Leroy before putting on a corny, fake smile. “She seems delightful, darling. As long as you’re happy.”
“As long as you’re happy,” Leroy echoed, nodding to himself and crossing her arms over his chest. Naya bit biting her lip hard, trying to keep herself from laughing; she so easily had the Berry men in the palm of her hand, they didn’t give a damn about Quinn.
Rachel’s face tensed. “You three are unbelievable,” she huffed angrily. Just before she turned to leave, she had to spit one last thing out: “I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my entire life,” she growled, glaring specifically at Naya. With that, Rachel took off.
**
Quinn had lost Mia in the wave of children and balloons and parents and tables, so she walked over to the snack table to pour a drink when she felt a tug at her pant leg. She turned around and went wide-eyed; Mia was standing there with a small army of 6 year olds. “Big Quinn, these are my friends!” Mia turned around and surveyed the group. “Friends, this is my Big Quinn.” A chorus of Hiiii Big Quinn rang out from the pack. Quinn smiled and replied with a wave. “Say something smart.”
Quinn’s eyebrows knitted in confusion. “Excuse me?”
Mia sighed, like Quinn was the one making no sense. “Please say something smart for my friends.” Quinn just cocked her head to the side.
“…Why? What does that mean, Mia?”
“I told them all you’re the smartest person in the world, they said prove it. So say one of your really big doctor words!”
Quinn chuckled and walked over to a vacant spot on the couch. Like baby ducklings following the mother duck, the children all followed. Quinn took a seat and pulled Mia into her lap. “Ok, what kind of doctor words?”
“Tell them something you seen in your doctor office from this week.”
Quinn thought back. “Well, one girl suffers from bad sinus infections, so that means her nose…hmmm, what’s an easy way to put this…”
Mia shook her head with conviction. “Not the easy way, say it like I’m a doctor too, please!” The other kids nodded, watching Quinn like she was about to perform a magic trick.
Quinn smirked. “The patient reported in with chronic sinusitis, where ibuprofen and naproxen were having little to no affect on calming her inflamed nasal passages. I had to give her a small saline drip because she was overly dehydrated, and from there, the problem didn’t persist. Luckily, there is no frontal blockage, or ethmoid as it’s called, or I would’ve been more concerned and may have sent her for a CT. But for now, I gave her a high grade decongestant, not something OTC, and told the patient to come back if there continues to be no improvement or if her headaches start to become more frequent…. Good enough?” Several kids were gaping.
“Told ya so, she’s the smartest smart person ever,” Mia said triumphantly.
“How high can she count without messing up?” One child asked.
“112!” Quinn couldn’t help but sigh when all the kids got more worked up over that than her medical diagnosis. Just then, the lights started going dim. Quinn’s heart melted when a suddenly frightened Mia grabbed hold of her shoulder as a comfort source. Just a second later though, it became apparent there was nothing to be scared of.
A beaming Rachel stepped out of the kitchen holding a massive birthday cake with 6 candles lit on it. A chorus of Happy Birthday rang out as the cake was delivered to the coffee table next to Quinn and Mia. As the last verse of the song rang out, Mia got down on her knees in front of the cake, smiling from ear to ear. “Go ahead, Mi, blow out the candles,” Rachel said eagerly, holding up her camera with excitement.
Just as Mia took in a big breath, she stopped. “Wait!” Mia turned and yanked at Quinn’s shirt. The blonde had been stuck in a small trance with a warm smile plastered on her face, overcome with the joy that Mia made her feel. Suddenly she realized the young girl was summoning her. “QUiiiiin, come ooooon!” Quinn’s eyebrows shot up as she nodded once and dropped off the couch onto her knees besides the girl. “1…2…3!” Together, Mia and Quinn blew out all 6 candles while a tearing up Rachel snapped a few pictures.
Everyone clapped while the proud mother walked around the table to her child. “Happy birthday, my baby girl,” Rachel said warmly, taking her daughter in a big hug.
“Thank you mommy,” she whispered, hugging back. After a few seconds, Mia turned her head to face Quinn. “Thank you Quinn.” Quinn smiled and blew the girl a kiss.
**
Hours later, everyone was gone except for Rachel’s parents and Naya, all of whom were helping to clean up...well Hiram and Leroy were at least. Naya was sitting on a rug playing with some toy cars with Mia. Quinn and Rachel were washing dishes alone in the kitchen, looking out at them. Rachel bit her lip as she watched Quinn staring intently. “Don’t you think she’s overstaying her welcome?” Quinn asked bitterly, watching Mia collapse in a fit of giggles as Naya drove a little red car over her arms.
“Quinnie, she’s a friend of mine and she’s important to Mia.”
“When’s she leaving?”
“Whenever we finish cleaning up.”
“And when will that be?”
“Quinn, you’re being childish. Look, my parents already invited her out to dinner, she’ll leave when they leave, ok? And in case you were wondering, yes I was invited, but I politely declined so I could stay in with you two.”
Quinn glared at her. “Oh please, don’t do me any favors, if you want to go, just go. I’ll stay here with Mia and you can go fuck Naya in a public bathroom!” Quinn threw her sponge down and stormed off, leaving Rachel sputtering and confused.
Hiram walked in just in time to catch Quinn leave in a huff. He stopped and watched the furious blonde go. “What’s wrong with her?”
Rachel sighed. “I don’t even know! I told her you guys were taking Naya to dinner and that I politely declined to join you guys, and she just freaked out.” Hiram crossed his arms and nodded.
“She’s threatened,” he finally said simply. Rachel looked at him with a knotted brow. The man chuckled. “Think about it, here she is, happy as a clam with you and Mi for however long you ladies have been dating, then suddenly she’s meeting parents, and an ex who her girlfriend’s parents are still very fond of,” Hiram hinted, Rachel just rolled her eyes, “and she sees Mia with her to boot. Then, on top of all of it, you sound like you want to have dinner with her. She feels like the life she’s been leading for the past few months is being yanked out from under her and she can’t do a thing about it.”
Rachel pouted. “You really think that’s how she feels? Like I’m ready to jump ship with the life we’ve been putting together just because I spent an hour or two with Naya today?” Hiram shrugged. Rachel scoffed. “She’s made me happier in 4 months than Naya ever made me over our 2 years, she knows that! ...she should know that at least.” Rachel threw her towel down angrily. “She’s too damn insecure to see it!”
Hiram took a step towards his panting daughter and rubbed her back. “Easy Rae, easy. If that’s how you feel and you think she doesn’t know it, then go tell her.” Rachel took a deep breath and nodded, standing in silence with her father. “She really makes you that happy?” He finally asked in a small voice. Rachel looked up at him and nodded quickly.
“Happier than I’ve ever been.”
“And she’s good to Mia?”
Rachel broke into a tremendous smile. “She’s practically better to her than I am. Watching them together…” Rachel blushed and looked down, “It’s like Mi finally has that second parent I always wanted her to have.”
Hiram took Rachel in a big hug and kissed the crown of her head. “Then I couldn’t be happier for you two, and I look forward to getting to know her better.”
Rachel smiled and nodded. “I just wish I could show her how much she means to me, show her I don’t need or even want anyone else.”
“Then go be with her, you just know she’s expecting you to go after her. Do you want me to go tell Nay to leave?”
Rachel paused, and then shook her head. “I want to tell her to go. I-I’d like you all to go actually, no offense daddy. I just want to spend some time with Quinn and Mia, alone.” Hiram understood and nodded, releasing his daughter from the hug. With that, Rachel walked out of the kitchen, father in tow, and into the living area, where Mia was curled up on the floor, gingerly pushing a car back and forth in front of her. “Naya, dad,” the two looked up in Rachel’s direction, “It’s been lovely, but I think it’s time for you all to go. I’m pretty tired and I’d just like some solidarity, if you don’t mind.” Leroy nodded and walked over to kiss his daughter on the forehead, then took Hiram’s hand and walked to the door to get their coats. Then Naya stood up and walked slowly towards Rachel, who was trying to look anywhere but the Latina.
“Mia, be a love and go play in your room for a bit?” Rachel asked quickly. The smaller girl obliviously nodded, picking up the two cars and racing them against each other as she sprinted off to her bedroom. Naya took the girl’s exit as her cue.
“I’m so glad you invited me today, Rachy,” she said softly, stepping right in to Rachel’s space.
Rachel nodded once. “Mia insisted.”
Naya put on a confident smirk. “Right, Mia wanted me here.” She chuckled softly and ran one finger up Rachel’s arm. The smaller girl froze, crossing her arms tightly over her chest.
“Yes, Mia. Not me, not anyone else, just her. You’d know that if you really gave a damn about her,” Rachel spat. Naya’s movements stopped.
“This again, Rachel?” She sighed. “You know I care about Mia, I do, I’m just not a huge kiddy person or whatever, so sue me! Just cause you’ve got her, doesn’t mean we should’ve ended it. She’s just a speed bump, something we can work around, baby.” Naya leaned in to kiss Rachel’s lips.
The singer pushed back immediately, shock and anger written all over her face. “How dare you!” Rachel slapped Naya right across the cheek, huffing and puffing with rage. “How fucking dare you call my daughter a speed bump, make her out to be some useless nothing that just gets in the way. This is exactly why I broke up with you Naya; you just don’t get it! Mia is my child, she’s my world, and Quinn? She respects that! You never did, you always just shoved her aside you selfish, arrogant-”
“Baby, baby, calm down-“
“I am NOT your baby! Get the hell out of my apartment!” Rachel bellowed.
“Baby, what is going on!?” Quinn’s voice rang out. Rachel spun around to see the blonde jogging over. Rachel’s face was flush and she was shaking with anger.
“See?!” Rachel growled as her girlfriend arrived at the scene of the commotion. Quinn was shocked when Rachel pulled her into a heated kiss. “See? I’m her baby, she calls me that, not you! Not now and never again, now get the hell out!” Rachel’s fathers watched from the doorway, completely silent. Naya looked livid, switching her gaze between a growling Rachel and a confused but protective Quinn.
“Fuck you, Rachel, you don’t know what you’re missing with this tramp,” the Latina spat before turning on her heels and storming off towards Rachel’s dads. It took all of Quinn’s strength to hold Rachel back. When the door closed gently, courtesy of Hiram, leaving the loft quiet and empty, the small brunette finally calmed down.
“Baby, what the fuck happened?” Quinn asked slowly, her previous anger forgotten. Rachel just stared at the door, like she expected Naya to return.
“She’s just…” Rachel gestured with frustration, “She’s so smug. She thinks everyone and everything wants to be with her, and I just hate it. I hate how she treats me, I hate how she treats Mia, I hate her whole attitude, I just…UGG!”
Quinn smiled gently and pulled Rachel into a hug. “Hush, sweetheart, she’s gone ok?” Rachel nodded. “Good.”
The pair stayed locked in an embrace for several seconds, just enjoying holding each other before Rachel spoke up. “I wanted to talk to you.” Quinn pulled back and nodded. “I wanted to say first, thank you for coming today. It meant a lot to me and I know it meant a lot to Mia. And…and I know my parents will come around to you, so thank you for putting up with whatever bullshit you might’ve encountered with them.” Quinn smiled and pecked Rachel’s lips. “But on a more serious note…” Quinn’s smile fell. “How you behaved earlier wasn’t acceptable Quinn. You can’t just storm out on me if something doesn’t go your way, it’s not fair and it makes me feel terrible about myself. I love you Quinn, I love you so much and I only want to be with you, but I need you to understand that and open yourself up to that. I didn’t want Naya today, I don’t want anyone else, just you.”
Quinn hung her head and nodded. “I know… I know that. I love you too Rachel, and you’ve made me so happy these past few months. Not just you, Mia too. I just didn’t like seeing Naya today, knowing someone else has had you like I have you now, knowing someone has been such an integral part of Mia’s life like I wish I could be… I’m sorry, but it was really hard for me to watch that today.”
Rachel nodded. She stood on her tip-toes and pecked Quinn’s lips. “I understand. I’m sorry I put you through that. Can we just forget today happened? The bad parts at least? Because I know there’s a little girl in that room who would love to eat some leftover birthday cake and curl up with her Big Quinn to watch some cartoons,” Rachel said, beaming.
Quinn nodded. “That sounds perfect.”
**
Rachel had fallen asleep just after eating her second slice of birthday cake, leaving Quinn and Mia sitting on the floor watching a DVD of assorted cartoons. Mia was resting in Quinn’s lap, her head lying on the blonde’s chest. Once Quinn heard Rachel let out a soft snore, she smiled and kissed Mia on the head. “I have a surprise for you, shorty.”
Mia glanced up. “What kinda surprise?”
“A present surprise.”
Mia’s eyes went wide. “It’s a turtle, isn’t it!”
Quinn stared blankly. “…No. Why would it be a turtle?” Mia’s face fell a bit as she shrugged and Quinn giggled. “Come on, let’s go get it, it’s in mommy’s room.” Mia nodded and let Quinn lift her. They made the walk down the hall and into Rachel’s room, where Quinn playfully dropped the child onto the fluffy mattress. “Wait here,” she instructed and went into Rachel’s closet, poking around until she pulled out a bag. Mia was bouncing eagerly on her mother’s bed, practically salivating at having another present to open. When Quinn sat down on the bed beside the girl, she held the bag in her lap and looked at Mia.
“Alright, I know that Naya got you that whole awesome car set thing, and that this isn’t something you play with as much, but here,” Quinn reached in the bag and pulled out a stuffed lion and handed it to Mia. “I had a toy lion just like that when I was about your age and I loved it, I brought it with me literally everywhere and I thought you might like the same thing.” Quinn felt bashful about her present; going in to the party, she thought it would be great. Then she saw Mia’s presents. Suddenly her gift was outdated and almost boring, especially when compared to Naya’s electronic racing kit. But when Quinn looked at the little brunette, she was beaming ear to ear, petting the lion’s mane like it was real cat.
“He’s so soft,” she said quietly, like she thought the toy was asleep and would wake up if she spoke in her normal tone. Quinn smirked a little and nodded.
“Yeah, he’s great to cuddle with.” Mia hugged the lion tightly and smiled.
“I like him!” With the lion still in one arm, Mia turned and flung her other arm around Quinn’s neck. “Thank you, Big Quinn.” Quinn smiled and hugged Mia close to her chest.
“You’re welcome, Mia.” Quinn released the child and watched her stroke the lion’s mane delicately and continuously. “So what’re you gonna name him?”
“Hmm…..” Mia inspected the stuffed toy. “Quinn!” Quinn looked at Mia sideways.
“You said it’s a him. I’m Quinn, I’m a girl.”
“Then he’s Boy Quinn! This way, I always have a Quinn to hug even if you’re not here,” Mia looked quite proud of herself. Quinn felt her heart melt. “B.Q. will be his nickname!” The girl hugged her new lion close to her chest and rubbed her face in the plush mane. “I love my B.Q. just like I love my Quinn” she said into the fur. Quinn beamed and wrapped Mia and B.Q. up into a big hug.
“I love you Mia.” From Quinn’s tight embrace, Mia made a little growling noise and wriggled her stuffed animal until it was in Quinn’s face. The blonde laughed. “And I love you too, B.Q.”