Title: It's Just You.
Author:
dangercwPairing,Character(s): Finn/Quinn
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1073
Spoilers: Up to 1.22.
Summary: Finn meets the baby he once thought was his daughter.
Author's Notes: Very, very special thanks go to
grdnofevrythng for being the best beta out there.
Standing outside the Lima City Hospital nursery ward, Finn Hudson was busy mentally scolding himself for even coming. He should have been off with the rest of New Directions, mourning the loss at Regionals and plotting ways to get back at Vocal Adrenaline. But he wasn’t, and he didn’t want to be. The only place Finn wanted to be was standing outside the nursery window, peering down at a little girl wrapped up in pink who was gazing right back up at him.
Quinn had been standing behind him for a few moments herself. Puck had gone off somewhere, but the blonde wasn’t totally sure where nor did she care that much. She had known Finn was there in the waiting room, everyone except Rachel was, but now they were all supposed to be headed back to Mike Chang’s to console each other. Yet here Finn was, standing there and looking down at a baby that was once his.
“Hi,” Quinn said quietly as she too approached the window. Chewing at her lip, she looked up at him questioningly. “Shouldn’t you be with Rachel?”
“Probably,” Finn mumbled, his eyes too busy looking at the squirming baby to look at Quinn. “I just wanted to see her first.”
The tension was thick between them, an uneasy tone masking as tentative friendship as both contemplated their next words. The only thing they both knew was Finn was there of his own free will.
“Do you...do you want to hold her?” The blonde asked, licking her lips nervously. Her brow had creased in fear of his rejection. She knew that he had wanted to meet her before the adoption went through, but the girl had not counted on it being just the two of them.
For the first time, Finn tore his eyes from the baby and turned to Quinn, full of want, excitement and confusion. A classic Finn look. “Y-yeah. Can I?”
The former Cheerio just nodded and caught a nurse passing by at the arm gently, “Miss, could we see Baby Fabray please?”
As the woman nodded in acknowledgement and began to back track, the tiniest little smile spread on the boy’s lips as his body pivoted from the window to the girl, arms folding across his chest. “Not Puckerman?”
“God no.” Quinn laughed brushing aside some fallen hair.
“What’s her name?”
“Puck’s still calling her Beth.”
A hearty laugh escaped Finn’s chest, but before Quinn could question why, the nurse had returned and was advancing on the new mother. Quickly shaking her head, she gestured towards Finn. Instantly, the tall boy opened his arms to the nurse who set the baby into his arms. He stood awkwardly for a moment, trying to figure out how to hold her properly, but the baby seemed to be content in his large arms, finally settling down. “She’s tiny,” he commented.
“Or you just have huge arms.”
The two echoed another laugh as Finn’s eyes dropped down to the baby. He noted her full cheeks, thin lips, button nose and attributed them all to Quinn. Her eyes were his favorite though as they reflected the same color of the blonde standing in front of her. In fact, Finn could hardly even detect Puck in her.
Quinn on the other hand felt a pang of pain and longing hit her. Watching Finn with her daughter, she wanted nothing more than for her to be theirs. He looked so natural holding that little pink bundle and even in the rush of emotions, Quinn knew the warmth spreading in her was one of love, for him and her daughter.
Briefly she contemplated keeping the girl, as long as Finn agreed to be there, but it passed as quickly as it came. She couldn’t put him, or Puck, through that. It was like night and day with those two. For Finn, she would have lied and given up the baby for him. But with Puck, she was giving her up solely so she didn’t have to raise a baby with him.
“He hasn’t held her yet,” Quinn suddenly blurted out. “You’re the first one besides me.”
“Cool.” Finn raised his head and let his hazel eyes connect with her brown orbs and grinned, eyes flicking down to the baby once more. “You really gonna call her Beth?”
“I don’t know, probably,” Quinn responded, shifting uncomfortably. “Why?”
“You don’t really seem to like it. Besides, you used to say you were going to name your baby Daisy.”
Standing with them, Quinn started to rack her mind for the memory in which that came up while Finn merely continued to grin.
“Finn,” she whispered, tears glistening in her eyes. “That was in the third grade.”
“So?” He said finally, taking a step closer to the blonde as he bounced the baby in his arms. “I remembered it after I told you about Drizzle. I figured you didn’t like Drizzle cause you wanted Daisy cause Drizzle really was the best baby name of all time.”
Still Quinn stood silently, her lip quivering. Balancing the baby in one arm, Finn slide his other around Quinn, pulling her into his chest. Instinct told him too. Want told him too. Everything told him too. “Shush, it’s going to be okay. It’ll be okay.”
They remained together until a clearing of a throat broke their moment suddenly.
“Am I interrupting?” Shelby whispered, glancing between the two teenagers before her eyes settled onto the sleeping baby.
“No,” Quinn said quickly, breaking away from Finn, furiously wiping at her eyes. “We were just-”
“Just stealing a moment,” Finn said, saving Quinn with a little smile as well.
He handed the baby over to Quinn, glancing over at Shelby and feeling his own little sting as he caught the look in her eye. Shelby was better for Daisy, but it still hurt him slightly.
“Do you want to hold Daisy?” Quinn asked as she stepped towards the raven haired woman.
“Daisy? I thought it was Beth.” Shelby responded, grinning from ear to ear as she took the baby.
“It’s up to you, Shelby. I like Daisy myself,” Quinn informed her, sneaking a glance back at a smiling Finn.
“She looks like a Daisy.”
In that moment, with Finn’s arm back around Quinn, there was no Rachel or Puck to think of. It was them and Daisy and thoughts of could of been. More than anything though, it was finally enough.