V-DAY EXCHANGE FIC! what we want, for milk_and_glass
Title: what we want
Rating: G
Pairings/Characters: Emma/Will, Quinn
Word count: 3,018
Recipient: milk_and_glass
Warning: None, I don't think.
Disclaimer: The characters aren’t mine.
Summary: Emma reaches out to Quinn.
A/N: I did a mash-up of some of your prompts. And huge thanks to my beta stainofmylove who is still a hero. Any mistakes you see are my own.
When Emma had first heard about Quinn’s living situation, she was sympathetic but she didn’t see how she could get involved. In truth, she had expected Will to step up to the plate and be the man she knew he could be. The man he was.
She had sat behind her neat desk and hoped for the best. She was great at giving advice, but in terms of doing, well, that wasn’t her personal strength. As a counselor, Emma had learned to recognize her limits and make the best out of them. It was the key to good psychological health.
However, Will hadn’t been coming by as often since she turned him down gently over his kiss in the hall. It wasn’t about…the fact was now that Will was single, she had gotten a case of cold feet. The kiss had been wonderful, by the way. The kiss was stuck in her mind…like gum under a bench seat.
She felt terrible. It wasn’t because Will wasn’t a man that she loved. It was because she saw the problems. She saw the living situation dilemma, and she saw that he was grieving over a wife that had betrayed his trust. It’d be a betrayal of his trust if she took advantage.
In a nutshell, she was uncomfortable and she knew her place. She resigned herself to eating alone during the lunch hour after she had isolated two men. Emma hated touching things, but everything she did touch seemed to go a bit haywire.
So, in her pursuit of finding Ken to apologize once more, she hadn’t expected to find Quinn Farbray sitting on the bleachers after the school was closing
“Hi, Quinn,” Emma called up to her, keeping a distance. “Are you waiting for Wi…Mr. Schuster?” She winced at her inner omission of formality.
“Why would I be waiting for him? Is he going to sing my problems away?” Quinn asked. A bit grumpily. Well, that was all right and perfectly understandable.
“I was under the impression that he’d give you a place to stay.”
“Ew,” Quinn said, making a face at her.
“His wife is still in the house.”
“That’s even worse. I think she’ll cut me open in my sleep.”
“I’m sure she wouldn’t. That would ruin her sheets.”
Quinn looked at her, cupping her chin in her hand.
“Oh dear, that was meant to be a joke,” Emma clarified. “Do you not-.”
“No. Puck’s mother won’t have me, Finn’s mother won’t have me, and the ‘teacher who tries to be our friend’ won’t have me. Neither will his wife since they are getting a divorce. So. No. I don’t have anywhere to go.”
“Do you see anything constructive by sitting there, hoping to make a statement?”
“I think I made it five seconds ago. And no. I’m just figuring out what to do.”
A hotel. Only Emma didn’t have the money to support the girl over a few weeks. She couldn’t leave. And she couldn’t…offer. She couldn’t ask Quinn to stay at her home. Quinn turned her body away from her, a clear signal that she was done talking. That was what Emma’s body language course had taught her.
Emma closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “You can stay the night with me.”
Her face flushed tomato red instantly at the idea. She peeked slightly and saw that Quinn was shaking her head ‘no’.
“I saved some money. I can get a sleazy motel for the night.”
“That’s dangerous. No, no, that’s very dangerous. And dirty, considering the state of motels today.”
“I won’t tell on you.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“I won’t tell anyone that you saw me here. I won’t get you fired.” Emma didn’t move. “Look. Everyone wants something from me. What do you want?”
“To be quite honest, I won’t get what I want. The good night sleep I could get with a clean conscience would be ruined by the fact that I’m not used to people being in my house. This is sincere.”
“And slightly creepy,” Quinn said. Emma felt a pain of hurt at that but again, Quinn’s moods were quite understandable. Then she heard the footsteps on the bleachers coming towards her.
“All right. So. This will be fun,” Emma assured her. “Right. The car.”
She nodded for Quinn to follow her. The plastic seat covering seemed to be a problem, but they weren’t too wrinkled in the long run.
***
Unfortunately, the first night didn’t go as well as planned. She didn’t want Quinn to touch the doorknob or really move the chairs or sit on the couch. She owned a TV but with very select channels.
Quinn thankfully went straight to bed, tuckered out from her ordeal, and Emma tried not to think about the unused guest room being…used.
She couldn’t quite ignore the irony, but she tried not to over-think the situation. She felt invaded but it was rude to outright close the door. She took some medication and hoped that she’d fall asleep quickly to get the image out of her mind. Her sleep was short lived.
When the retching sounds reached Emma’s ears, her whole body froze up.
Her skin crawled, and she wanted to be sick. Then she was sick about almost being sick. She laid there until she heard Quinn padding down the hall (barefooted), her head lowered from exhaustion. She needed someone to be there, and Emma couldn’t be that person. She wanted to help her, but the panic was overwhelming.
Emma closed her eyes and tried to control her worst impulses. In the end, she gave up and went to shut the door tightly. She followed up her protection by shoving some sheets underneath the door. She’d have to use the disinfectant and cleaner. It’d be a futile battle since Quinn would continue to have morning sickness until the end of her pregnancy.
She hoped Quinn hadn’t heard the door shut, but some part of her knew that Quinn had.
Emma felt just awful. But she felt even more awful when she called Will in the morning on his cell phone to come take Quinn to school. He wanted to ask her more questions, but she told him that she really couldn’t talk right now.
She informed Quinn of the situation through the closed door.
Will honked the horn outside and Quinn stormed out there to meet him. Understandable.
Emma couldn’t leave until the bathroom was scrubbed clean. To Quinn’s credit, it was clean from the view down the hall, quite a distance aways. But she felt as if she had let someone down and in the end, that was what really made her sick.
And made her remain at home.
***
“Emma?” Will called from inside her home.
She had had to take a nap to get her wits about her, and his voice being the first thing she woke up to was kind of….horrifying.
“Are you all right?” he asked. From outside her door. She took several deep breaths.
“I’m fine,” she said, sitting up and brushing back her hair. “Will, it’s the middle of a school day.”
“Exactly,” he said. “Please. Open the door.”
She did as he said, opening it ever so much, keeping her eyes downcast. “It’s really not necessary for you to be here. I’m just a little under the weather, and I didn’t want Quinn-or you-to catch it.”
“You did a very nice thing for Quinn last night,” Will said softly.
“It wasn’t enough,” she admitted. “Not nearly enough.”
“Quinn told me that you had barricaded yourself in your room. I think she realized why.”
When Emma had closed the door so tightly last night. She ignored the twinge of guilt.
“I’ll give the bathroom a once over,” Will continued. “You know I’ve got my experience as a janitor,” he joked, and though things weren’t forgiven between them, she felt as if tension had broke.
She hovered near her living room and saw a bowl in the kitchen. Struggling to be mature and to actually be of help, Emma found one of her best gloves and placed the bowl in the sink. Painfully.
“If we pull together our resources, we could get her to a nice hotel.”
Emma frowned at Will, leaning against her doorway. He straightened up quickly.
“For her to be alone,” Emma protested.
“I’m not trying to be mean. I’m really not. But did she have company last night?”
Emma looked around the home, and knew that the home reflected her mind. It was too clean, and she could barely stand for even Will to be here, standing among her things and finally finding out ‘this is who Emma is.’ In a life made for having to prove oneself, emotional reactions were just as messy as germs and disease, constantly catching. For all her control, she was messy on the inside, and he saw.
“We need to find another solution,” Will continued. For all her control, she couldn’t stop herself. It felt as if she’d continue to break if she stopped trying to fight it.
“No,” Emma said, firmly. “I think we can make do. If you’d drive her in the mornings and of course, pick her up from school. This is better than a hotel. By far.”
He was the one to frown at her this time, but he let it go. She wished he hadn’t, regretting that this decision was her own.
***
“I’ve made a little something for you,” Emma said gently. This time, she had cooked a nice dinner after Quinn had gotten back. She was determined to make an effort.
“Thanks,” Quinn said, smiling. “I promise I’ll try not to throw it up.”
Oh. Dear.
“Well, that’d be good. But don’t stress yourself.”
“I talked to Mr. Schue about where to put my clothes. He said he could find a storage place for them.”
“I suppose we could go shopping,” Emma offered, hating the mall but what could she do?
Quinn covered looking at her in disbelief by sampling the soup in front of her. It was unpleasant to hear her slurp it, but she kept the smile on her face.
“So. The plastic is for decoration or…”
Quinn’s moods were perfectly understandable. Perfectly. Just…
“Quinn, you know better than that,” Emma scolded, unable to help herself.
“I do. I’m just wondering why you’re trying this for me. I don’t want to drive you crazy.”
She winced. “That’s very rude.”
“What?” Quinn asked, her eyes widening. “I don’t want to bother you that much. That’s all I said.”
“The comment about mental illness,” Emma said, tenting her fingers together. “It’s unkind. And one of the worst things you could say to someone.”
“What do you have?” Quinn pushed, her eyes on her. Emma wondered if the girl didn’t want to be kicked out into the street.
“The term is commonly referred to as ‘germaphobe,’ but I dislike having no control over my environment. It’s complicated.”
“…I must be a germaphobe too then,” Quinn said lightly, and when Emma looked to see if she was being made fun of, Quinn winked at her. “It’s like this. In the end, you’re the one helping me.”
Emma didn’t know what to say. Help was a broad term, and this didn’t seem like the right about of interpersonal help.
“Don’t worry. I’ll clean this up, and I’ll stay in my own room. Is that all right?”
“If you need to talk, don’t hesitate to come to me,” Emma said, sincere. She didn’t know of how much help she’d be because sometimes talking wasn’t enough.
Thankfully, Quinn was only sick once that morning, and Will came by early to clean things up for her. Emma made it to school on time and only came to hope the day lasted longer.
***
“Do you have the hots for Mr. Schue?”
Emma flinched. “That’s not an appropriate question.” She was gradually getting used to scolding Quinn more, the longer the girl remained in her home. Now, she was supervising Quinn doing her homework and reading a book quietly in the corner herself. She had cooked a larger dinner. Usually, she disliked the mess in the kitchen, but Quinn needed to eat well.
She hid the fact that she took off early and came home to throw away the old dishes after getting new ones.
“That’s not an answer,” Quinn teased.
“I think he’s a good man.”
“Then you do. Knew it.”
“I don’t see how that takes priority over your homework.”
“Is that why I’m here? To keep him coming over?”
Emma almost dropped her book. “No. Absolutely not.”
“I didn’t know. I was wondering since he was married when you flirted with him, I didn’t think you’d care about using me.”
This was a nightmare. A nightmare. “We are colleagues and we work together. A part of that job is being supportive on one another.”
“So, if anyone else was in charge of Glee Club-like say Couch Sylvester or Couch Tanaka, you’d still listen all the time...”
Emma swallowed hard, her breathing quickening. “Well. I see you’re distracted by my presence. I think it’s time that I go to sleep.”
And she left her own living room quite quickly to hide in her room.
The next disaster after that one was discovering Quinn’s laundry in her washing machine.
***
The third night of retching, Emma ventured down the hall with a mask over mouth and gloves on. This would do it, and ever since Quinn’s questioning of her motivations, Emma’s been more determined to show her that she truly wanted to help her.
“Get out,” Quinn said, huddled in the floor and pale. “This is too gross for you.”
“I’ve seen worse. Unfortunately. I doubt I’ll pass out, considering.”
“Why don’t you wear pajamas like a normal person?” Quinn demanded, as if she was offended by the sight of Emma being properly clothed.
“Because they are being fumigated.”
There was a pause.
“That was a joke.”
“I feel bad.”
“That’s perfectly natural. Um, perhaps you could try to get back to sleep. Get some rest.”
“No. I feel bad for my child. She would have had better with Mr. Schue. I almost had my life back,” Quinn stated this as if it was a fact with little outpouring of emotion. She kept her body curled up protectively.
“I see,” Emma said, her heart falling to her toes. “I understand your feelings but you can’t speak to me so disrespectfully.”
“Are you going to throw me out in the street? Tattle on me to the principle? What would Mr. Schuester think of you?”
Quinn’s watery eyes were defiant, her blonde hair slicked back with sweat. Emma steadied herself and took a step into the room.
“He can’t think as badly of me as you do. So, that is my priority. You knew, then, that Will was being lied to?”
“…Because she loved him,” Quinn answered. “He was a good man who she wanted, and she had him first.”
It sounded as if Quinn understood this situation, and the fear almost pushed Emma back out the door. It was as if she was about to see the point of view of that other woman…and then she began to allow herself to think on it. Her thoughts began to fall into place.
“Terri, though I don’t know her well, did love Will. Does love him. I believe that, just like I believe he loved her. But she didn’t consider him an equal, and to keep something like that through your life, means that there would be more things to come. Why was she so scared of losing him through a mistake?”
“I don’t know,” Quinn said darkly, a little too fiercely. “Probably because she was better than him. She had to think of what to do, not him.”
“But she forgot to give him the opportunity to show he loved her. She didn’t think enough of herself to stand alone.”
“Did you get your degree online?” Quinn asked. “You should have spent the money on more plastic covers, you obviously don’t have enough.”
“But there are things I admire. She can hold him tightly while I have to struggle with it. If she had a baby, she’d be able to hold her. I could never do that like you, for example, can with your daughter.”
Quinn looked up at her, her jaw set. Then:
“…I am sorry about that. That does suck.”
Emma stood up slowly and took off her gloves. She reached over and touched Quinn’s shoulder through her clothes.
“It is hard. But due to that, I do appreciate the things I can have. I’ve had to figure out who I was a long time ago. I think she’ll learn to appreciate things now as well. She might get him back.”
“But it’s up to him to choose…” Quinn muttered, looking away.
“And you don’t want someone who doesn’t love you for your flaws as well as your strengths. Trust me, you’ll find out pretty quickly.”
“…I am pretty tired. I think I will sleep.”
Emma nodded and stepped back. Her help never did seem to be enough.
***
Coming home from school, she found Will standing carefully in the middle of her room. It startled her, but she realized that Quinn must have given him the key.
“Quinn told me you wanted to talk,” he said. “I definitely don’t mind your cleanliness.”
“What?” Emma asked, blinking.
“It’s not a big flaw to me. I never thought it was. It’s just a part of you trying to keep things honest.”
Emma’s heart fluttered.
“Where is Quinn?”
“She’s out with the glee kids. Having a good time as long as she can,” he explained.
“Then we do have time to talk,” she said, gathering her courage again.
Will walked towards her couch, careful of the plastic.
“You can come help me make some tea…if you like,” she offered. And with those words, she finally felt like she was taking an action.
Judging by Will’s smile, it had worked.
Rating(s) requested (G-NC-17): G-R
Character(s) or pairing(s): Emma/Will, Rachel/Emma, Emma/Quinn (can be femslash, can be friendship)
Prompts (minimum of 3, no maximum!):
1. Emma and Quinn's baby, can be with any of the above pairings, and involve other characters
2. Hurt/comfort with Rachel or with Quinn (Emma, or Emma and Will, comforting after a crisis)
3. Emma/Will first date, or Will comes to Emma's house for the first time
4. Any backstory on any of the characters, but especially Emma. Where did she come from, her quirks, her likes and dislikes, her thoughts and feelings.
Things you DON’T want in your story (squicks, triggers, genres you dislike, characters you hate, etc.): I'm fine with most things but I want a lot of angst in the story! :)
Rating: G
Pairings/Characters: Emma/Will, Quinn
Word count: 3,018
Recipient: milk_and_glass
Warning: None, I don't think.
Disclaimer: The characters aren’t mine.
Summary: Emma reaches out to Quinn.
A/N: I did a mash-up of some of your prompts. And huge thanks to my beta stainofmylove who is still a hero. Any mistakes you see are my own.
When Emma had first heard about Quinn’s living situation, she was sympathetic but she didn’t see how she could get involved. In truth, she had expected Will to step up to the plate and be the man she knew he could be. The man he was.
She had sat behind her neat desk and hoped for the best. She was great at giving advice, but in terms of doing, well, that wasn’t her personal strength. As a counselor, Emma had learned to recognize her limits and make the best out of them. It was the key to good psychological health.
However, Will hadn’t been coming by as often since she turned him down gently over his kiss in the hall. It wasn’t about…the fact was now that Will was single, she had gotten a case of cold feet. The kiss had been wonderful, by the way. The kiss was stuck in her mind…like gum under a bench seat.
She felt terrible. It wasn’t because Will wasn’t a man that she loved. It was because she saw the problems. She saw the living situation dilemma, and she saw that he was grieving over a wife that had betrayed his trust. It’d be a betrayal of his trust if she took advantage.
In a nutshell, she was uncomfortable and she knew her place. She resigned herself to eating alone during the lunch hour after she had isolated two men. Emma hated touching things, but everything she did touch seemed to go a bit haywire.
So, in her pursuit of finding Ken to apologize once more, she hadn’t expected to find Quinn Farbray sitting on the bleachers after the school was closing
“Hi, Quinn,” Emma called up to her, keeping a distance. “Are you waiting for Wi…Mr. Schuster?” She winced at her inner omission of formality.
“Why would I be waiting for him? Is he going to sing my problems away?” Quinn asked. A bit grumpily. Well, that was all right and perfectly understandable.
“I was under the impression that he’d give you a place to stay.”
“Ew,” Quinn said, making a face at her.
“His wife is still in the house.”
“That’s even worse. I think she’ll cut me open in my sleep.”
“I’m sure she wouldn’t. That would ruin her sheets.”
Quinn looked at her, cupping her chin in her hand.
“Oh dear, that was meant to be a joke,” Emma clarified. “Do you not-.”
“No. Puck’s mother won’t have me, Finn’s mother won’t have me, and the ‘teacher who tries to be our friend’ won’t have me. Neither will his wife since they are getting a divorce. So. No. I don’t have anywhere to go.”
“Do you see anything constructive by sitting there, hoping to make a statement?”
“I think I made it five seconds ago. And no. I’m just figuring out what to do.”
A hotel. Only Emma didn’t have the money to support the girl over a few weeks. She couldn’t leave. And she couldn’t…offer. She couldn’t ask Quinn to stay at her home. Quinn turned her body away from her, a clear signal that she was done talking. That was what Emma’s body language course had taught her.
Emma closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “You can stay the night with me.”
Her face flushed tomato red instantly at the idea. She peeked slightly and saw that Quinn was shaking her head ‘no’.
“I saved some money. I can get a sleazy motel for the night.”
“That’s dangerous. No, no, that’s very dangerous. And dirty, considering the state of motels today.”
“I won’t tell on you.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“I won’t tell anyone that you saw me here. I won’t get you fired.” Emma didn’t move. “Look. Everyone wants something from me. What do you want?”
“To be quite honest, I won’t get what I want. The good night sleep I could get with a clean conscience would be ruined by the fact that I’m not used to people being in my house. This is sincere.”
“And slightly creepy,” Quinn said. Emma felt a pain of hurt at that but again, Quinn’s moods were quite understandable. Then she heard the footsteps on the bleachers coming towards her.
“All right. So. This will be fun,” Emma assured her. “Right. The car.”
She nodded for Quinn to follow her. The plastic seat covering seemed to be a problem, but they weren’t too wrinkled in the long run.
***
Unfortunately, the first night didn’t go as well as planned. She didn’t want Quinn to touch the doorknob or really move the chairs or sit on the couch. She owned a TV but with very select channels.
Quinn thankfully went straight to bed, tuckered out from her ordeal, and Emma tried not to think about the unused guest room being…used.
She couldn’t quite ignore the irony, but she tried not to over-think the situation. She felt invaded but it was rude to outright close the door. She took some medication and hoped that she’d fall asleep quickly to get the image out of her mind. Her sleep was short lived.
When the retching sounds reached Emma’s ears, her whole body froze up.
Her skin crawled, and she wanted to be sick. Then she was sick about almost being sick. She laid there until she heard Quinn padding down the hall (barefooted), her head lowered from exhaustion. She needed someone to be there, and Emma couldn’t be that person. She wanted to help her, but the panic was overwhelming.
Emma closed her eyes and tried to control her worst impulses. In the end, she gave up and went to shut the door tightly. She followed up her protection by shoving some sheets underneath the door. She’d have to use the disinfectant and cleaner. It’d be a futile battle since Quinn would continue to have morning sickness until the end of her pregnancy.
She hoped Quinn hadn’t heard the door shut, but some part of her knew that Quinn had.
Emma felt just awful. But she felt even more awful when she called Will in the morning on his cell phone to come take Quinn to school. He wanted to ask her more questions, but she told him that she really couldn’t talk right now.
She informed Quinn of the situation through the closed door.
Will honked the horn outside and Quinn stormed out there to meet him. Understandable.
Emma couldn’t leave until the bathroom was scrubbed clean. To Quinn’s credit, it was clean from the view down the hall, quite a distance aways. But she felt as if she had let someone down and in the end, that was what really made her sick.
And made her remain at home.
***
“Emma?” Will called from inside her home.
She had had to take a nap to get her wits about her, and his voice being the first thing she woke up to was kind of….horrifying.
“Are you all right?” he asked. From outside her door. She took several deep breaths.
“I’m fine,” she said, sitting up and brushing back her hair. “Will, it’s the middle of a school day.”
“Exactly,” he said. “Please. Open the door.”
She did as he said, opening it ever so much, keeping her eyes downcast. “It’s really not necessary for you to be here. I’m just a little under the weather, and I didn’t want Quinn-or you-to catch it.”
“You did a very nice thing for Quinn last night,” Will said softly.
“It wasn’t enough,” she admitted. “Not nearly enough.”
“Quinn told me that you had barricaded yourself in your room. I think she realized why.”
When Emma had closed the door so tightly last night. She ignored the twinge of guilt.
“I’ll give the bathroom a once over,” Will continued. “You know I’ve got my experience as a janitor,” he joked, and though things weren’t forgiven between them, she felt as if tension had broke.
She hovered near her living room and saw a bowl in the kitchen. Struggling to be mature and to actually be of help, Emma found one of her best gloves and placed the bowl in the sink. Painfully.
“If we pull together our resources, we could get her to a nice hotel.”
Emma frowned at Will, leaning against her doorway. He straightened up quickly.
“For her to be alone,” Emma protested.
“I’m not trying to be mean. I’m really not. But did she have company last night?”
Emma looked around the home, and knew that the home reflected her mind. It was too clean, and she could barely stand for even Will to be here, standing among her things and finally finding out ‘this is who Emma is.’ In a life made for having to prove oneself, emotional reactions were just as messy as germs and disease, constantly catching. For all her control, she was messy on the inside, and he saw.
“We need to find another solution,” Will continued. For all her control, she couldn’t stop herself. It felt as if she’d continue to break if she stopped trying to fight it.
“No,” Emma said, firmly. “I think we can make do. If you’d drive her in the mornings and of course, pick her up from school. This is better than a hotel. By far.”
He was the one to frown at her this time, but he let it go. She wished he hadn’t, regretting that this decision was her own.
***
“I’ve made a little something for you,” Emma said gently. This time, she had cooked a nice dinner after Quinn had gotten back. She was determined to make an effort.
“Thanks,” Quinn said, smiling. “I promise I’ll try not to throw it up.”
Oh. Dear.
“Well, that’d be good. But don’t stress yourself.”
“I talked to Mr. Schue about where to put my clothes. He said he could find a storage place for them.”
“I suppose we could go shopping,” Emma offered, hating the mall but what could she do?
Quinn covered looking at her in disbelief by sampling the soup in front of her. It was unpleasant to hear her slurp it, but she kept the smile on her face.
“So. The plastic is for decoration or…”
Quinn’s moods were perfectly understandable. Perfectly. Just…
“Quinn, you know better than that,” Emma scolded, unable to help herself.
“I do. I’m just wondering why you’re trying this for me. I don’t want to drive you crazy.”
She winced. “That’s very rude.”
“What?” Quinn asked, her eyes widening. “I don’t want to bother you that much. That’s all I said.”
“The comment about mental illness,” Emma said, tenting her fingers together. “It’s unkind. And one of the worst things you could say to someone.”
“What do you have?” Quinn pushed, her eyes on her. Emma wondered if the girl didn’t want to be kicked out into the street.
“The term is commonly referred to as ‘germaphobe,’ but I dislike having no control over my environment. It’s complicated.”
“…I must be a germaphobe too then,” Quinn said lightly, and when Emma looked to see if she was being made fun of, Quinn winked at her. “It’s like this. In the end, you’re the one helping me.”
Emma didn’t know what to say. Help was a broad term, and this didn’t seem like the right about of interpersonal help.
“Don’t worry. I’ll clean this up, and I’ll stay in my own room. Is that all right?”
“If you need to talk, don’t hesitate to come to me,” Emma said, sincere. She didn’t know of how much help she’d be because sometimes talking wasn’t enough.
Thankfully, Quinn was only sick once that morning, and Will came by early to clean things up for her. Emma made it to school on time and only came to hope the day lasted longer.
***
“Do you have the hots for Mr. Schue?”
Emma flinched. “That’s not an appropriate question.” She was gradually getting used to scolding Quinn more, the longer the girl remained in her home. Now, she was supervising Quinn doing her homework and reading a book quietly in the corner herself. She had cooked a larger dinner. Usually, she disliked the mess in the kitchen, but Quinn needed to eat well.
She hid the fact that she took off early and came home to throw away the old dishes after getting new ones.
“That’s not an answer,” Quinn teased.
“I think he’s a good man.”
“Then you do. Knew it.”
“I don’t see how that takes priority over your homework.”
“Is that why I’m here? To keep him coming over?”
Emma almost dropped her book. “No. Absolutely not.”
“I didn’t know. I was wondering since he was married when you flirted with him, I didn’t think you’d care about using me.”
This was a nightmare. A nightmare. “We are colleagues and we work together. A part of that job is being supportive on one another.”
“So, if anyone else was in charge of Glee Club-like say Couch Sylvester or Couch Tanaka, you’d still listen all the time...”
Emma swallowed hard, her breathing quickening. “Well. I see you’re distracted by my presence. I think it’s time that I go to sleep.”
And she left her own living room quite quickly to hide in her room.
The next disaster after that one was discovering Quinn’s laundry in her washing machine.
***
The third night of retching, Emma ventured down the hall with a mask over mouth and gloves on. This would do it, and ever since Quinn’s questioning of her motivations, Emma’s been more determined to show her that she truly wanted to help her.
“Get out,” Quinn said, huddled in the floor and pale. “This is too gross for you.”
“I’ve seen worse. Unfortunately. I doubt I’ll pass out, considering.”
“Why don’t you wear pajamas like a normal person?” Quinn demanded, as if she was offended by the sight of Emma being properly clothed.
“Because they are being fumigated.”
There was a pause.
“That was a joke.”
“I feel bad.”
“That’s perfectly natural. Um, perhaps you could try to get back to sleep. Get some rest.”
“No. I feel bad for my child. She would have had better with Mr. Schue. I almost had my life back,” Quinn stated this as if it was a fact with little outpouring of emotion. She kept her body curled up protectively.
“I see,” Emma said, her heart falling to her toes. “I understand your feelings but you can’t speak to me so disrespectfully.”
“Are you going to throw me out in the street? Tattle on me to the principle? What would Mr. Schuester think of you?”
Quinn’s watery eyes were defiant, her blonde hair slicked back with sweat. Emma steadied herself and took a step into the room.
“He can’t think as badly of me as you do. So, that is my priority. You knew, then, that Will was being lied to?”
“…Because she loved him,” Quinn answered. “He was a good man who she wanted, and she had him first.”
It sounded as if Quinn understood this situation, and the fear almost pushed Emma back out the door. It was as if she was about to see the point of view of that other woman…and then she began to allow herself to think on it. Her thoughts began to fall into place.
“Terri, though I don’t know her well, did love Will. Does love him. I believe that, just like I believe he loved her. But she didn’t consider him an equal, and to keep something like that through your life, means that there would be more things to come. Why was she so scared of losing him through a mistake?”
“I don’t know,” Quinn said darkly, a little too fiercely. “Probably because she was better than him. She had to think of what to do, not him.”
“But she forgot to give him the opportunity to show he loved her. She didn’t think enough of herself to stand alone.”
“Did you get your degree online?” Quinn asked. “You should have spent the money on more plastic covers, you obviously don’t have enough.”
“But there are things I admire. She can hold him tightly while I have to struggle with it. If she had a baby, she’d be able to hold her. I could never do that like you, for example, can with your daughter.”
Quinn looked up at her, her jaw set. Then:
“…I am sorry about that. That does suck.”
Emma stood up slowly and took off her gloves. She reached over and touched Quinn’s shoulder through her clothes.
“It is hard. But due to that, I do appreciate the things I can have. I’ve had to figure out who I was a long time ago. I think she’ll learn to appreciate things now as well. She might get him back.”
“But it’s up to him to choose…” Quinn muttered, looking away.
“And you don’t want someone who doesn’t love you for your flaws as well as your strengths. Trust me, you’ll find out pretty quickly.”
“…I am pretty tired. I think I will sleep.”
Emma nodded and stepped back. Her help never did seem to be enough.
***
Coming home from school, she found Will standing carefully in the middle of her room. It startled her, but she realized that Quinn must have given him the key.
“Quinn told me you wanted to talk,” he said. “I definitely don’t mind your cleanliness.”
“What?” Emma asked, blinking.
“It’s not a big flaw to me. I never thought it was. It’s just a part of you trying to keep things honest.”
Emma’s heart fluttered.
“Where is Quinn?”
“She’s out with the glee kids. Having a good time as long as she can,” he explained.
“Then we do have time to talk,” she said, gathering her courage again.
Will walked towards her couch, careful of the plastic.
“You can come help me make some tea…if you like,” she offered. And with those words, she finally felt like she was taking an action.
Judging by Will’s smile, it had worked.
Rating(s) requested (G-NC-17): G-R
Character(s) or pairing(s): Emma/Will, Rachel/Emma, Emma/Quinn (can be femslash, can be friendship)
Prompts (minimum of 3, no maximum!):
1. Emma and Quinn's baby, can be with any of the above pairings, and involve other characters
2. Hurt/comfort with Rachel or with Quinn (Emma, or Emma and Will, comforting after a crisis)
3. Emma/Will first date, or Will comes to Emma's house for the first time
4. Any backstory on any of the characters, but especially Emma. Where did she come from, her quirks, her likes and dislikes, her thoughts and feelings.
Things you DON’T want in your story (squicks, triggers, genres you dislike, characters you hate, etc.): I'm fine with most things but I want a lot of angst in the story! :)