Don't Make The Same Mistakes Twice: Quinn/Will T (2/?)
Don't Make The Same Mistake Twice
Summary: A collaboration between myself and laughingandsighing. Quinn and Will graduated in 1997. Quinn had a child, Will thought it was Bryan's but fourteen years have passed and Will's back, and the truth behind what happened will be coming out, as well. Quinn/Will (Will be M in future chapters)
Pairings: Quinn/Will and some minor mentions of the others throughout.
Spoilers:Season One
Links are better for the links to Fanfiction.net click "Chapter One" and "Chapter Two"
Rating: T for Teen.
Chapter One
Chapter Two
14 Years Ago:
She was sitting on the grass under the huge apple tree on the front lawn of her sister's house.
It was summer, she had graduated, she was 8 months, 3 days and 8 hours pregnant and was convinced that the only reason she hadn't given birth yet was because she couldn't for the life of her think of a suitable name for her daughter.
The soft breeze flicked her hair across her shoulders and she shifted her back more comfortably against the tree trunk.
The quiet road's peace that could be seen through the fence around the grass was interrupted by the revving engine of a stylish sports car sweeping quickly around the corner and coming to an abrupt stop at the kerb outside the neighbour's house.
As the engine noise died down, the noise of the music filled the air instead.
It was only a few mere seconds before that too was silent, followed by the slamming of the car door.
But Quinn only needed a few seconds for the associated memory to come flying back to the front of her mind.
She almost rolled her eyes at the predictability of her subconscious, and she could practically feel the roughed texture of the plastic chairs in the choir room again, as Will entered, humming under his breath and smiling with a smile that didn't reach his eyes at the disapproving looks from Terri and Kendra sitting either side of her.
Quinn instead chose to stare avidly at her nails, chose to pick at her nail varnish than commit to either role.
The role she was supposed to want to fill, the role of being the ringleader of the feared trio of cheerios. The Queen of popularity, the person who wasn't allowed to want to offer the spare seat in front of her to people like Will Schuester.
Quinn racked her brains to extract that hummed tune from her memory.
She rolled the melody around in her head, knowing it well enough from Will.
It seemed to be one of the few tunes he would lapse into in most social situations.
She had never understood how he could be so shy like that, hiding a whole other personality that most other people would only see on the stage.
The words… what were the words..?
Beth I hear you calling…
Beth?
Her heart skipped a beat.
Will sat down on the opposite side of the semicircle of seats and she pretended not to cast a glance over at him.
She was good at pretending.
Quinn. Beth. Will. Beth. Quinn, Will, Beth.
Beth.
Quinn and Beth.
Because Will didn't know.
Will wouldn't know.
Will would already be in New York, already initiated into the musical theatre summer camp.
He would be talent spotted.
He would be on Broadway.
That was the way it was meant to be.
Quinn's eyes closed, blocking out the happy sunshine and taking a deep breath of the fresh cut grass and summer flowers.
And that was the day she promised herself she would see him again one day.
The day she promised herself that Beth would see him too.
OOOO
Present Day:
"Your daughter is talented." Will was lounging on the chair in Quinn's office. He had pulled the other one to face him and was using it to prop up his feet.
This was the third time they had ate lunch together. The third time she tried to conjure the courage to say those three words: Beth is yours. Each lunch had ended with her halfway about to say something but the class bell ringing and her sighing in relief.
Our daughter, she mentally corrected him.
"Thank you, she loves glee." Quinn said instead, looking down at her desk.
She had heard so much about Will and the club this week. She loved that Beth was taking so well to him, but hated that she was the reason that neither of them could have the relationship they deserved...yet.
A moment of silence passed. Quinn tried focusing on her salad, but when Will was around she found it hard to eat or to think to clearly. She was nervous that he was going to hate her once the truth came out. Because it would. It was just a matter of time, and she knew she was the one who needed to tell him.
"They still miss you though." He took a bite out of the sandwich he had resting on a paper towel on his lap, "Maybe you could come like assist sometimes."
Quinn smiled, "Maybe."
"Quinn, what happened in high school?" His tone was lower and he was staring at her.
"Which part?" She asked biting down on her lip, "The part where I was seventeen and pregnant or the part where I was a total bitch to you?"
"Both."
"I was dumb, easy answer for both." She wanted to break their eye contact, but she forced herself to keep the connection.
"No, you weren't." He broke the contact and looked at the wall behind her, "I don't want to make you uncomfortable, but I've thought about all of it for what seems like forever, and none of it makes sense."
"What are you talking about?"
"Nothing." He shook his head, before the grin returned to his face, "So, I hear that we have a world class restaurant in Lima, Breadstix?"
She laughed, nervously, relieved he dropped the topic of their high school years for now, "Yes, Breadstix...world-class."
"I need to go then." He took a bite from his PB&J, "I hate eating alone, though."
"Are you asking me to dinner?" Quinn thought, only to realize that she spoke the words.
"You and Beth."
"Okay, she loves Breadstix."
"And you?"
"I love it, too."
OOOO
8 Years Ago:
She sat cross legged on the rug next to her bed, reaching forwards to flip the sheet that hung over the side back up onto the top, and rocking back again just to stare at the dusty space revealed in front of her.
She needed a new cardboard box, this one was already bursting at the seams, and even the thought of losing any of the collection inside made her insides clench with worry.
It was all she had to remind her that he was still out there.
Seeing his lopsided grin when Beth's hazel eyes sparkled was like their daughter was living proof that he had existed, but this collection of playbills proved to her that it wasn't just her who did.
He wasn't just a figment of her imagination.
She carefully flicked through, and she would always recognize that smile in the posed head shots.
His name in black and white was the only name she saw.
It was the day she remembered her promise.
It had taken 6 years to convince herself that if she didn't take Beth soon, she would be old enough to remember him, she might even be old enough to detect some kind of heavy guilt twinged with sadness and regret that Quinn just knew she would be controlled by with one glance of Will on the stage in front of her.
After that, everything just seemed to fall into place.
First of all, it was Frannie and Steve's anniversary, and a already planned trip to New York, a romantic weekend away together leaving cell phones in the cupboard on the top of the upright freezer in that air tight tin.
Secondly, it was Frannie's suggestion that Quinn take Beth to see the city.
The fleeting subtle double-meaning behind her innocent suggestion was so fleeting, Quinn may have imagined it.
She'd never said Will's name out loud.
Only in her head, where she would sometimes scream and shout as though he could hear her.
And then she'd open her eyes because he would be married to a million dollar model and have kids with tight curls and cheeky smiles and his green patterned jumper would still be at the back of the rack in the charity shop collecting dust.
And she was not the type of person who lived a life of regret.
She had friends, she had a beautiful healthy daughter, she'd never needed him, not really.
But somehow all that didn't stop her thinking that part of her did- part of her did, and most days that part of her took over and they were never even friends.
So she ordered 'Hairspray' tickets and deliberately chose a few rows back because he couldn't see her.
"Will she be alright for the journey?"
Quinn smiled at her sister, propelling Beth forward with her hands on her head, her smile widening because she had spent at least 10 minutes with a hairbrush, but it just refused to be tamed.
"She'll be fine… it's what- about 4 hours? I swear this little squiggle could sleep standing up if she wanted to! She'll be out like a light within 15 minutes- just watch".
It always made her want to know if she got that from Will, she herself found it impossible to get to sleep.
Sometimes the only way she could get to sleep was by sitting on the end of Beth's bed, watching the dreams dance across her closed eyes until she could no longer keep her own eyelids from closing.
OOOO
Present Day:
Beth still had twenty minutes of glee rehearsal. Quinn had finished with all of the paperwork that she had started leaving to do while Beth was at practice. Quinn had heard their voices coming from the auditorium as soon as she started walking down the hall.
Quinn couldn't name the song, but it was on the tip of her tongue. She saw Beth from the door window.
Will was sitting a couple rows from the stage, and was watching her...their daughter who was standing center stage, singing the second verse of the song.
Beth would sing around the house and in the car, but that had always been something Quinn had ignored out of habit. Everyone sang in those situations, but now seeing her daughter actually performing, she couldn't even find herself in Beth. At this moment, with the lights on her and singing for show, Quinn could only see Will in her daughter.
The auditorium door clicked rather loudly as it shut on thanks to gravity. Will turned, hearing it even with the music.
He held up a hand, motioning for Quinn to come closer.
"Amazing, isn't she?" Will gleamed with pride when Quinn reached him.
Quinn nodded, the song was coming to a close. Beth certainly had a stage presence and even though Beth claimed to love the Cheerios, she seemed far more happy in this setting than cheering on the football team.
Quinn felt it bubbling up, the urge...no, the need to tell Will the truth. He had been at McKinley for less than a month and they had all taken to him so quickly. Beth had made sure that Will was a topic of converstation at the dinner table since her first glee rehearsal. Maybe it was right, maybe he was here for a reason, that it was time for her to tell him.
She had always imagined that one day she'd wake up with the courage, get on a plane to NY, show up at his newest play or his doorstep. Beth would be at her side and she'd tell him, somehow managing not to cry at that moment. He'd look shocked but then he'd realize that Beth and Quinn were exactly what his life was missing. He'd forgive her, and they'd live happily.
That, of course, she knew would never happen, it was just a dream she hung on to, when every thing else seemed to be going bad.
As the song ended, Quinn took the seat beside Will.
"Alright, everyone, that's enough for tonight." He called.
He turned to her, "What'd you think?"
"They're great, she's great...where'd all the new members come from?" Quinn had noticed there were at least three new people on the stage.
"Football team. With the three Cheerios, three of the football guys joined." Will shrugged.
"That's convenient. You might actually get to compete this year."
Will nodded, "I hope, they work far too hard to not get to compete."
"They do." Quinn agreed, hoping Beth would be quick to get her things together.
"So, dinner." Will smiled, "When did you wanna do that?"
"We're usually free, so it's up to you." Quinn felt her throat closing up. She hadn't thought of the implications that having dinner with Will would be like. It would be a family dinner in every sense of the word.
"You up for tonight?" He stood up, shuffling his papers into a semi-neat stack.
Beth choose that moment to come swaying into the auditorium.
"Mom! What'd you think?" Her face was light up with a grin and the singer's high was apparent on her face.
"It was great, darling." Quinn beamed.
"Beth, I was just trying to convince your mother to let me take the two of you to dinner." Will said, stuffing his papers into his bag.
Beth's eyebrows raised, "Of course, we'll go." Her elbow found it's way into Quinn's side.
"I guess we're going." Quinn replied, turning to give Beth a "What the hell is your problem look?"
Will grinned, "Great, I'm gonna go home and freshen up, how about I pick you up at seven?"
"Seven's great!" Beth exclaimed.
Quinn simply nodded.
OOOO
8 Years Ago:
She was right.
Beth was asleep before they pulled onto the freeway, and Quinn zoned out of Steve and her sister's dull conversation about Steve's cousin.
She couldn't concentrate enough to give an intelligent input to their conversation when her head was filled with images of Will Schuester standing on the stage.
She concentrated on putting on an excitable mask for her daughter, swinging her arm as they walked away from the car and became part of the unrelenting atmosphere of the city.
There was a noticeable gap the other side of Beth, that, if filled, could mean that Beth could be swung properly, just as Quinn loved when she was a child.
Quinn refused to acknowledge the gap, and instead adopted a similar outlook to the 6 year old beside her, joining in her game of counting and reading the flashing signs above their heads.
There was so much to do in the city.
So many places to see.
Quinn was glad Beth had no real interest in seeing any of these places, because she sure didn't.
There was only one reason she was in New York anyway.
OOOO
"Do you need to go to the bathroom Beth?" Quinn hissed.
It may have been the second or third time she had asked, judging by the bewildered expression her 6 year old daughter turned to her.
"We just went", she said pertly, and Quinn gave her a half smile because it was scary how alike they were.
She supposed they would be, really, due to the fact that she had raised her on her own, with the only other influential family figures in her life being her sister and her husband.
And, though Steve would beg to differ, Frannie was awful with children.
Her idea of entertaining Beth for a few minutes was to thrust a biro at her and wonder why the poor girl had a black tongue within a few short minutes.
Beth had acquired the best traits from her father.
And she kept trying to tell herself that she didn't include the 'trait' that she wanted to hug her close every time she smiled.
But she did.
The lights dimmed and Quinn dropped the programme in her lap to avoid crumpling it in her death grip.
She wiped her sweaty palms on her skirt and offered a fake bright smile to her daughter, who's eyes were already wide with excitement.
It was bright lights, bright costumes and big hair.
But Quinn couldn't breath until Link Larkin stepped onto the stage.
She didn't see anyone else for the rest of the show.
Her eyes were shining with tears, and a small hand slipped into her shaking one, a sixth sense that her mummy needed contact, and Beth held her together until the final bow.
Because she had a beautiful healthy daughter, and he had everything he'd ever dreamed of.
And she couldn't ask for more.
OOOO
"Who was your favourite Beth?" Quinn asked softly, stealing a gummy bear from the small packet open on her daughter's lap.
Beth frowned up at her, and didn't answer until she had lined up the remaining bears across her skirt, as she sat cross legged on the bench next to Quinn.
"The one with the green", she replied absentmindedly.
"The one with the green? Was it a boy or a girl?"
Will had been wearing a green suit…
"A boy".
"Don't speak with your mouth full", Quinn returned automatically.
"Who was your favourite?"
"I think Wi-Lin… the one in the green looked very happy- don't you?"
He had looked happy.
Maybe a little tired, but she had been several rows back, she couldn't really notice much…
Apart from the fact that he was taller than she remembered, taller and broader, the stage lights highlighting the suggestion of muscle definition beneath the shirt he had worn
His jawline was more defined, his hair darker, his eyes still sparkling…
Overall he was the most convincing teenage heartthrob there could ever be.
And she supposed to feel jealous of Tracy, that was just the mark of good acting.
They say it's a man's world
Well, that cannot be denied
But what good's a man's world
Without a woman by your side
And so i will wait
Until that moment you decide
That I'm your man
And you're my girl
That I'm the sea
And you're the pearl
It takes two, baby,
It takes two
She'd done just fine on her own.
And so had he.
AN: Another chapter.
Hope you enjoyed it, I know I enjoyed writing my parts and that laughingandsighing wrote beautiful parts. Any reader of mine or hers can probably easily tell who writes what.
Reviews Are Love
Summary: A collaboration between myself and laughingandsighing. Quinn and Will graduated in 1997. Quinn had a child, Will thought it was Bryan's but fourteen years have passed and Will's back, and the truth behind what happened will be coming out, as well. Quinn/Will (Will be M in future chapters)
Pairings: Quinn/Will and some minor mentions of the others throughout.
Spoilers:Season One
Links are better for the links to Fanfiction.net click "Chapter One" and "Chapter Two"
Rating: T for Teen.
Chapter One
Chapter Two
14 Years Ago:
She was sitting on the grass under the huge apple tree on the front lawn of her sister's house.
It was summer, she had graduated, she was 8 months, 3 days and 8 hours pregnant and was convinced that the only reason she hadn't given birth yet was because she couldn't for the life of her think of a suitable name for her daughter.
The soft breeze flicked her hair across her shoulders and she shifted her back more comfortably against the tree trunk.
The quiet road's peace that could be seen through the fence around the grass was interrupted by the revving engine of a stylish sports car sweeping quickly around the corner and coming to an abrupt stop at the kerb outside the neighbour's house.
As the engine noise died down, the noise of the music filled the air instead.
It was only a few mere seconds before that too was silent, followed by the slamming of the car door.
But Quinn only needed a few seconds for the associated memory to come flying back to the front of her mind.
She almost rolled her eyes at the predictability of her subconscious, and she could practically feel the roughed texture of the plastic chairs in the choir room again, as Will entered, humming under his breath and smiling with a smile that didn't reach his eyes at the disapproving looks from Terri and Kendra sitting either side of her.
Quinn instead chose to stare avidly at her nails, chose to pick at her nail varnish than commit to either role.
The role she was supposed to want to fill, the role of being the ringleader of the feared trio of cheerios. The Queen of popularity, the person who wasn't allowed to want to offer the spare seat in front of her to people like Will Schuester.
Quinn racked her brains to extract that hummed tune from her memory.
She rolled the melody around in her head, knowing it well enough from Will.
It seemed to be one of the few tunes he would lapse into in most social situations.
She had never understood how he could be so shy like that, hiding a whole other personality that most other people would only see on the stage.
The words… what were the words..?
Beth I hear you calling…
Beth?
Her heart skipped a beat.
Will sat down on the opposite side of the semicircle of seats and she pretended not to cast a glance over at him.
She was good at pretending.
Quinn. Beth. Will. Beth. Quinn, Will, Beth.
Beth.
Quinn and Beth.
Because Will didn't know.
Will wouldn't know.
Will would already be in New York, already initiated into the musical theatre summer camp.
He would be talent spotted.
He would be on Broadway.
That was the way it was meant to be.
Quinn's eyes closed, blocking out the happy sunshine and taking a deep breath of the fresh cut grass and summer flowers.
And that was the day she promised herself she would see him again one day.
The day she promised herself that Beth would see him too.
OOOO
Present Day:
"Your daughter is talented." Will was lounging on the chair in Quinn's office. He had pulled the other one to face him and was using it to prop up his feet.
This was the third time they had ate lunch together. The third time she tried to conjure the courage to say those three words: Beth is yours. Each lunch had ended with her halfway about to say something but the class bell ringing and her sighing in relief.
Our daughter, she mentally corrected him.
"Thank you, she loves glee." Quinn said instead, looking down at her desk.
She had heard so much about Will and the club this week. She loved that Beth was taking so well to him, but hated that she was the reason that neither of them could have the relationship they deserved...yet.
A moment of silence passed. Quinn tried focusing on her salad, but when Will was around she found it hard to eat or to think to clearly. She was nervous that he was going to hate her once the truth came out. Because it would. It was just a matter of time, and she knew she was the one who needed to tell him.
"They still miss you though." He took a bite out of the sandwich he had resting on a paper towel on his lap, "Maybe you could come like assist sometimes."
Quinn smiled, "Maybe."
"Quinn, what happened in high school?" His tone was lower and he was staring at her.
"Which part?" She asked biting down on her lip, "The part where I was seventeen and pregnant or the part where I was a total bitch to you?"
"Both."
"I was dumb, easy answer for both." She wanted to break their eye contact, but she forced herself to keep the connection.
"No, you weren't." He broke the contact and looked at the wall behind her, "I don't want to make you uncomfortable, but I've thought about all of it for what seems like forever, and none of it makes sense."
"What are you talking about?"
"Nothing." He shook his head, before the grin returned to his face, "So, I hear that we have a world class restaurant in Lima, Breadstix?"
She laughed, nervously, relieved he dropped the topic of their high school years for now, "Yes, Breadstix...world-class."
"I need to go then." He took a bite from his PB&J, "I hate eating alone, though."
"Are you asking me to dinner?" Quinn thought, only to realize that she spoke the words.
"You and Beth."
"Okay, she loves Breadstix."
"And you?"
"I love it, too."
OOOO
8 Years Ago:
She sat cross legged on the rug next to her bed, reaching forwards to flip the sheet that hung over the side back up onto the top, and rocking back again just to stare at the dusty space revealed in front of her.
She needed a new cardboard box, this one was already bursting at the seams, and even the thought of losing any of the collection inside made her insides clench with worry.
It was all she had to remind her that he was still out there.
Seeing his lopsided grin when Beth's hazel eyes sparkled was like their daughter was living proof that he had existed, but this collection of playbills proved to her that it wasn't just her who did.
He wasn't just a figment of her imagination.
She carefully flicked through, and she would always recognize that smile in the posed head shots.
His name in black and white was the only name she saw.
It was the day she remembered her promise.
It had taken 6 years to convince herself that if she didn't take Beth soon, she would be old enough to remember him, she might even be old enough to detect some kind of heavy guilt twinged with sadness and regret that Quinn just knew she would be controlled by with one glance of Will on the stage in front of her.
After that, everything just seemed to fall into place.
First of all, it was Frannie and Steve's anniversary, and a already planned trip to New York, a romantic weekend away together leaving cell phones in the cupboard on the top of the upright freezer in that air tight tin.
Secondly, it was Frannie's suggestion that Quinn take Beth to see the city.
The fleeting subtle double-meaning behind her innocent suggestion was so fleeting, Quinn may have imagined it.
She'd never said Will's name out loud.
Only in her head, where she would sometimes scream and shout as though he could hear her.
And then she'd open her eyes because he would be married to a million dollar model and have kids with tight curls and cheeky smiles and his green patterned jumper would still be at the back of the rack in the charity shop collecting dust.
And she was not the type of person who lived a life of regret.
She had friends, she had a beautiful healthy daughter, she'd never needed him, not really.
But somehow all that didn't stop her thinking that part of her did- part of her did, and most days that part of her took over and they were never even friends.
So she ordered 'Hairspray' tickets and deliberately chose a few rows back because he couldn't see her.
"Will she be alright for the journey?"
Quinn smiled at her sister, propelling Beth forward with her hands on her head, her smile widening because she had spent at least 10 minutes with a hairbrush, but it just refused to be tamed.
"She'll be fine… it's what- about 4 hours? I swear this little squiggle could sleep standing up if she wanted to! She'll be out like a light within 15 minutes- just watch".
It always made her want to know if she got that from Will, she herself found it impossible to get to sleep.
Sometimes the only way she could get to sleep was by sitting on the end of Beth's bed, watching the dreams dance across her closed eyes until she could no longer keep her own eyelids from closing.
OOOO
Present Day:
Beth still had twenty minutes of glee rehearsal. Quinn had finished with all of the paperwork that she had started leaving to do while Beth was at practice. Quinn had heard their voices coming from the auditorium as soon as she started walking down the hall.
Quinn couldn't name the song, but it was on the tip of her tongue. She saw Beth from the door window.
Will was sitting a couple rows from the stage, and was watching her...their daughter who was standing center stage, singing the second verse of the song.
Beth would sing around the house and in the car, but that had always been something Quinn had ignored out of habit. Everyone sang in those situations, but now seeing her daughter actually performing, she couldn't even find herself in Beth. At this moment, with the lights on her and singing for show, Quinn could only see Will in her daughter.
The auditorium door clicked rather loudly as it shut on thanks to gravity. Will turned, hearing it even with the music.
He held up a hand, motioning for Quinn to come closer.
"Amazing, isn't she?" Will gleamed with pride when Quinn reached him.
Quinn nodded, the song was coming to a close. Beth certainly had a stage presence and even though Beth claimed to love the Cheerios, she seemed far more happy in this setting than cheering on the football team.
Quinn felt it bubbling up, the urge...no, the need to tell Will the truth. He had been at McKinley for less than a month and they had all taken to him so quickly. Beth had made sure that Will was a topic of converstation at the dinner table since her first glee rehearsal. Maybe it was right, maybe he was here for a reason, that it was time for her to tell him.
She had always imagined that one day she'd wake up with the courage, get on a plane to NY, show up at his newest play or his doorstep. Beth would be at her side and she'd tell him, somehow managing not to cry at that moment. He'd look shocked but then he'd realize that Beth and Quinn were exactly what his life was missing. He'd forgive her, and they'd live happily.
That, of course, she knew would never happen, it was just a dream she hung on to, when every thing else seemed to be going bad.
As the song ended, Quinn took the seat beside Will.
"Alright, everyone, that's enough for tonight." He called.
He turned to her, "What'd you think?"
"They're great, she's great...where'd all the new members come from?" Quinn had noticed there were at least three new people on the stage.
"Football team. With the three Cheerios, three of the football guys joined." Will shrugged.
"That's convenient. You might actually get to compete this year."
Will nodded, "I hope, they work far too hard to not get to compete."
"They do." Quinn agreed, hoping Beth would be quick to get her things together.
"So, dinner." Will smiled, "When did you wanna do that?"
"We're usually free, so it's up to you." Quinn felt her throat closing up. She hadn't thought of the implications that having dinner with Will would be like. It would be a family dinner in every sense of the word.
"You up for tonight?" He stood up, shuffling his papers into a semi-neat stack.
Beth choose that moment to come swaying into the auditorium.
"Mom! What'd you think?" Her face was light up with a grin and the singer's high was apparent on her face.
"It was great, darling." Quinn beamed.
"Beth, I was just trying to convince your mother to let me take the two of you to dinner." Will said, stuffing his papers into his bag.
Beth's eyebrows raised, "Of course, we'll go." Her elbow found it's way into Quinn's side.
"I guess we're going." Quinn replied, turning to give Beth a "What the hell is your problem look?"
Will grinned, "Great, I'm gonna go home and freshen up, how about I pick you up at seven?"
"Seven's great!" Beth exclaimed.
Quinn simply nodded.
OOOO
8 Years Ago:
She was right.
Beth was asleep before they pulled onto the freeway, and Quinn zoned out of Steve and her sister's dull conversation about Steve's cousin.
She couldn't concentrate enough to give an intelligent input to their conversation when her head was filled with images of Will Schuester standing on the stage.
She concentrated on putting on an excitable mask for her daughter, swinging her arm as they walked away from the car and became part of the unrelenting atmosphere of the city.
There was a noticeable gap the other side of Beth, that, if filled, could mean that Beth could be swung properly, just as Quinn loved when she was a child.
Quinn refused to acknowledge the gap, and instead adopted a similar outlook to the 6 year old beside her, joining in her game of counting and reading the flashing signs above their heads.
There was so much to do in the city.
So many places to see.
Quinn was glad Beth had no real interest in seeing any of these places, because she sure didn't.
There was only one reason she was in New York anyway.
OOOO
"Do you need to go to the bathroom Beth?" Quinn hissed.
It may have been the second or third time she had asked, judging by the bewildered expression her 6 year old daughter turned to her.
"We just went", she said pertly, and Quinn gave her a half smile because it was scary how alike they were.
She supposed they would be, really, due to the fact that she had raised her on her own, with the only other influential family figures in her life being her sister and her husband.
And, though Steve would beg to differ, Frannie was awful with children.
Her idea of entertaining Beth for a few minutes was to thrust a biro at her and wonder why the poor girl had a black tongue within a few short minutes.
Beth had acquired the best traits from her father.
And she kept trying to tell herself that she didn't include the 'trait' that she wanted to hug her close every time she smiled.
But she did.
The lights dimmed and Quinn dropped the programme in her lap to avoid crumpling it in her death grip.
She wiped her sweaty palms on her skirt and offered a fake bright smile to her daughter, who's eyes were already wide with excitement.
It was bright lights, bright costumes and big hair.
But Quinn couldn't breath until Link Larkin stepped onto the stage.
She didn't see anyone else for the rest of the show.
Her eyes were shining with tears, and a small hand slipped into her shaking one, a sixth sense that her mummy needed contact, and Beth held her together until the final bow.
Because she had a beautiful healthy daughter, and he had everything he'd ever dreamed of.
And she couldn't ask for more.
OOOO
"Who was your favourite Beth?" Quinn asked softly, stealing a gummy bear from the small packet open on her daughter's lap.
Beth frowned up at her, and didn't answer until she had lined up the remaining bears across her skirt, as she sat cross legged on the bench next to Quinn.
"The one with the green", she replied absentmindedly.
"The one with the green? Was it a boy or a girl?"
Will had been wearing a green suit…
"A boy".
"Don't speak with your mouth full", Quinn returned automatically.
"Who was your favourite?"
"I think Wi-Lin… the one in the green looked very happy- don't you?"
He had looked happy.
Maybe a little tired, but she had been several rows back, she couldn't really notice much…
Apart from the fact that he was taller than she remembered, taller and broader, the stage lights highlighting the suggestion of muscle definition beneath the shirt he had worn
His jawline was more defined, his hair darker, his eyes still sparkling…
Overall he was the most convincing teenage heartthrob there could ever be.
And she supposed to feel jealous of Tracy, that was just the mark of good acting.
They say it's a man's world
Well, that cannot be denied
But what good's a man's world
Without a woman by your side
And so i will wait
Until that moment you decide
That I'm your man
And you're my girl
That I'm the sea
And you're the pearl
It takes two, baby,
It takes two
She'd done just fine on her own.
And so had he.
AN: Another chapter.
Hope you enjoyed it, I know I enjoyed writing my parts and that laughingandsighing wrote beautiful parts. Any reader of mine or hers can probably easily tell who writes what.
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