Are You Ten Years Ago? [8/14]
Title: Are You Ten Years Ago?
Major Characters/Pairings: Quinn Fabray-Puckerman, Beth Puckerman, Noah Puckerman, Jr., Jasper Puckerman, Rachel Berry, Finn Hudson/OC, Mentions past: Quinn/Puck, Rachel/Puck, Rachel/Quinn
Minor Characters/Pairings: Mike/OC, Matt/OC, Artie/Tina, Rachel's dads Mentions: Brittany/Santana, Mercedes/OC, Kurt/OC
Rating: PG-13
Length: 45,200+
Summary: AU beginning after 'Funk'. Rachel got the hell out of Lima, Ohio immediately after graduation, breaking Quinn's heart in the process, and never looked back. Now, ten years later, she's back and Quinn is the one to show her the aftermath and the pieces of what she left behind - all the while trying desperately not to fall back in love with her ex-girlfriend.
Warnings: Pre-story character death discussed in detail.
-Chapter 8-
Quinn got to the Berry house right at two-thirty Sunday afternoon, half an hour before the scheduled time. The remainder of the week had been uneventful, yet almost exciting at the same time. Thursday night Rachel came over for dinner, as promised. It was nothing extravagant, just the macaroni and cheese and hot dogs that Quinn had promised Noah on Monday. Rachel insisted it was the best she’d tasted, despite the fact that it came from a box. She came to the house again on Friday night with boxes of Chinese take-out and Noah curled his nose at it but Quinn made him try some and he insisted they have it as much as possible after he sampled everything. Saturday, Quinn made sure Rachel came into the store at 3:30 so she could spend her break helping her shop for the meat. She pulled out her employee discount card even though she knew Rachel didn’t need it. But it was a gesture to thank the brunette just for being there and Rachel smiled and accepted it.
Long story short, things were going smoothly. Noah and Beth had behaved and Rachel was Jasper’s new best friend and a new word, “book,” was used regularly in Rachel’s presence. It had been less than a week but Quinn saw the attachments forming between her children and Rachel and she could only continue praying that Rachel stayed true to her word. She had to trust her.
Rachel answered the door happily and led the four Puckermans through the house. Rachel’s dads, Leroy and Hiram, jumped up from their seats in the living room to greet Quinn and she introduced Beth, Noah, and Jasper to them. Quinn had seen the men quite a few times around town but it was always a polite nod and a smile. They’d come to Puck’s funeral but there wasn’t really time for formal introductions.
After a little conversation Rachel led everyone to the big back yard. There was a long table set up off to one side with plenty of chairs and a small inflatable bouncy-house set up in another corner and Beth and Noah both gasped and tore through the back yard to get to it. Quinn groaned.
“Really, Rachel? A bouncy house?”
“Well there will be other children aside from Beth and Noah and I thought they might want to be kept occupied. I’ve also hired a well qualified child care provider to keep an eye on them as well as a very good chef to handle the grill. I contemplated a bartender but with children being around I decided against it.”
“And here I thought we planned a simple barbeque.” Quinn smiled and nudged the brunette.
“My parties are never simple, Quinn. I’m Rachel Berry. I was nominated for an Oscar. If my party was anything less than spectacular then my reputation would be completely ruined.”
“Drama queen.”
“It’s part of my charm, remember?”
“If you hired a live band…”
“Of course I didn’t hire a live band! That would be a little too over the top. I hired a DJ.”
The doorbell rang and Quinn was left on the patio laughing and trying to hold onto Jasper. After Rachel showed the chef the kitchen and the grill Quinn left Jasper in her care to go to the van to get his stroller. It had been his birthday gift from all of the extended family when he was three, Tina and Artie had orchestrated it and it was an absolute lifesaver for Quinn. It would hold him until he was at least six or seven…but Quinn prayed every night she would be able to sell it before the end of the year because it wouldn’t be needed. She took it up around the side of the house and Rachel carefully put him down in it and strapped him in.
“He really likes you,” Quinn said.
“I’m a likeable person, of course he likes me.”
“And again, so modest.”
Rachel turned around and stuck her tongue out at Quinn and the blonde giggled.
By three-fifteen everyone that Rachel had invited was there and the DJ was set up and playing a carefully selected playlist that Rachel had given him. There were a total of five kids in the bouncy house (the two Puckermans, Emily Chang, and Thomas & Tucker Rutherford) and Finn kept trying to sneak in but the child-care provider threw him out since he would’ve pushed the weight limit way over. Mike had his second daughter, Grace, on his hip and Artie had his and Tina’s adopted daughter, Jae, on his lap wheeling her around the patio.
Rachel made a speech before they all started eating, Quinn had to pull her down after about three minutes because Finn was across from her practically drooling over the steak that was on his plate. Halfway through the meal Rachel excused herself when her phone started ringing, everyone looked at Quinn questioningly and the blonde shrugged. Noah took that moment to tug on her sleeve and tell her he had to go to the bathroom so she told Beth to watch Jasper and Quinn led Noah through the house to where she remembered the half-bathroom on the first floor was.
“What are you talking about!?” Quinn heard Rachel shriek from the nearby den. Curiosity got the best of her and she tiptoed to the slightly opened door.
“The HRC charity event in LA, Rachel! You’re on the program to sing! How could you forget about this?!” came from the speaker of Rachel’s phone.
“Ashley, I did not sign up to do that.”
“The agency did. Rachel if you blow this off there will be some serious backlash. People will think you don’t support…”
“Don’t support! I have two gay dads! The world knows this! Why should I have to show up to something I didn’t even know I was attending until two minutes ago?!”
“Don’t yell at me, I’m just the messenger.”
“I can’t, Ashley! It’s Tuesday night, I have to be in Lima on Wednesday. I have to be here, it’s important.”
“So I’ll get you a private plane to pick you up as soon as the dinner is done and get you back to Cowtown USA. What the hell could be so important, anyway?”
“Career day at one of the elementary schools.”
Quinn smiled a little and looked back behind her as Noah got out of the bathroom. She quietly shooed him to go back to the back yard and he shrugged and took off. Quinn turned her attention back to the voices. She felt kind of bad for eavesdropping but…she couldn’t help it.
“That’s not on your calendar. How much are you getting paid for that? You can’t schedule these things without…”
“I’m not getting paid anything. I’m doing it for the son of a friend of mine.”
Rachel dropped down into one of the chairs and put her phone on the desk and Quinn tried to pull away but she couldn’t.
“Since when do you care about kids? Wait, is this the friend they spotted you with? I’ve been getting phone calls about that! The tabloids are…”
“Ashley, if I tell you that I’ll go to the dinner will you please shut up? Call Tony, he’s the only one I want flying my plane. There’s a small airport just outside of Lima, tell him to be there at ten on Tuesday morning and I swear to God, Ashley, I swear I will fire every single person I can if that plane isn’t up and running by the time I get to the airport on Tuesday night after dinner, do you hear me? You will be fired, Tony will never work again, even the bag boy will be fired. Got it?”
“Got it.”
“I do not want to fly out of LAX, find something smaller so I can get out of there when I want to.”
“Will do.”
“Have Chuck pick out potential dresses and I’ll pick one out when I get there. I’ve got to go. I’ll call you when I’m on my way.”
Rachel hit a button on her phone and leaned forward to rub her temples. Trying to look like she hadn’t just overheard the conversation, Quinn knocked on the doorframe. Rachel quietly told her to come in and Quinn stepped inside.
“Everything okay?”
“I have to go back to LA Tuesday night but I swear I’ll be here on Wednesday. I’ll be tired and look like I’ve been hit by a bus but I’ll be there Wednesday morning. I’m so sorry…I swear no one told me that I had to be there for this stupid charity event. I’ll go, sign a prop check, sign some autographs, kiss some babies, and then I’ll be right back here to get a few hours of sleep before I go to Noah’s school.”
“It’s fine, Rachel,” Quinn said with a sincere smile. “If you say you’ll be there then you’ll be there. I-I trust you.”
Rachel nodded and grabbed her phone and Quinn led the way back out to the party where Rachel apologized for her absence. Dessert was some chocolate thing that Quinn had never heard of that the chef had prepared while they were eating. He set it on fire and Noah was absolutely mesmerized.
The Puckermans stayed at the Berry house to help clean up after everyone left and Quinn, Rachel, Beth, and Noah played a game of Sorry while Rachel’s dads played with Jasper and read to him after he repeated “book” at least a dozen times. Rachel enveloped Quinn in a tight hug when they left and invited the Puckermans back for dinner Monday night and but Quinn made her promise not to hire a chef and to let her help do the cooking.
Rachel kept her promise and she and Quinn made dinner together that night while the kids and the fathers Berry kept occupied in the living room. Quinn smiled over at the brunette as she carefully checked the chicken that was in the oven. She and Rachel had done this several hundred times before and somehow, after ten years, they re-established their familiar rhythm quite quickly of silently knowing who was going to do what and the other was ready for it. It wasn’t awkward and they didn’t once bump into one another and it was just very…natural. Despite trusting Rachel, Quinn kept thoughts that she could get used to this (again) shoved very, very far in the back of her mind.
Tuesday at lunch Quinn checked her phone to find a voicemail from Rachel that she’d landed safe and sound in Los Angeles and would have her phone with her wherever she went. Quinn immediately called her back and Rachel answered brightly on the first ring.
“Hey!”
“How was your flight?” Quinn asked with half a mouthful of sandwich since she hadn’t anticipated Rachel to pick up so quickly.
“Wonderful. Tony is an amazing pilot, he’s the only one I’ll let fly me if I take a private plane. I’m currently trying to figure out which dress I want to wear for tonight.”
“Is there anything green? You always looked good in green.”
“Hold on.”
Quinn waited while she listened to Rachel ask the stylist and the brunette shrieked.
“Oh my gosh, Quinn, he found the perfect green dress! It’s amazing. I’ll send you a picture tonight. Chuck, I want this one. Anyways, how has your day been?”
“Good, I suppose. As interesting as stocking produce can be. If you’re in the market for some more fennel we got a new shipment.” Quinn smirked and took another bite of her sandwich.
“I’m still not sure what to do with the fennel I have. I need to look it up and find out. What exactly is the shelf life for it?”
There were shuffling sounds and murmured whispers on the other end of the line and Quinn waited for them to stop before she gave her response. “I have no idea. Do you need me to let you go?”
“Oh, no, it’s fine! Chuck has to shorten the dress a little so I’ve got nothing to do for a bit. So what exactly should I be talking about at career day tomorrow? Do you think they would appreciate my awards? I could have someone go to my house and get them for me.”
“Rachel, they’re nine-year-olds. The boys want blood and the girls want princesses.”
“Hmmm…you know, I think I can pull that off. I know several people in prop departments and I’m sure someone owes me a favor. I’ll see what I can come up with.”
“Rachel, I don’t think you have to…”
“Nonsense! I’m Rachel Berry. I won an Emmy. I don’t just go into career day empty handed.”
Quinn laughed so hard that part of her Diet Coke shot out of her nose and she choked and sputtered and dropped her phone while she groaned in pain from the burning in her nasal cavity while still laughing.
“Quinn!? Quinn are you okay!?” came the small voice from Quinn’s phone.
“Oh…God. Hold on…just hold on!”
Quinn quickly cleaned up part of her mess and wiped the liquid off of her phone and blew her nose a few times to try and get rid of the burning.
“Quinn, what happened?!”
“Sorry…I kind of spit Diet Coke out of my nose,” she answered. She kept trying to clean where the carbonated beverage had sprayed to while listening to Rachel.
“Are you okay? What happened? Did someone say something?”
“No, don’t worry about it,” Quinn chuckled.
“You were laughing at me, weren’t you!?”
“Possibly.”
“You have a knack for laughing at inappropriate times, Quinn.”
“That was pretty appropriate.”
“Me winning an Emmy is hysterical enough for you to shoot Diet Coke out your nose?”
“Take it as a compliment, Rachel. You’re a great unintentional comedienne!”
Rachel grumbled and Quinn giggled.
“Winning an Emmy is very serious.”
“Sure thing, Rach. I’ve got to finish my lunch and call over to see how Jasper’s doing. Call me tomorrow morning and let me know you made it in okay?”
“I will. Have a good rest of the day and night, Quinn.”
“You too. Talk to you later.”
Quinn finished her lunch still giggling.
Rachel sent Quinn a picture on her phone of her in her dress at the HRC event that night. Quinn let out a quiet gasp and she felt her face redden. She pretended not to notice the flutter in her heart or the way her mouth went dry at the sight of Rachel in the long green dress with a neckline that plunged to her waist. Quinn couldn’t take her eyes off the picture but she finally pried herself away when the clock struck eleven and she finished cleaning the kitchen and went to bed.
Quinn woke to the sound of her phone alarm and she looked at the screen to see no missed calls or texts. She got Beth up so the girl could take her shower and the blonde got Jasper out of bed and took him to her bathroom to get him his bath. She checked her phone again, nothing. After Jasper’s bath she settled him in his chair at the kitchen table while she pulled out the bowls and cereal and as soon as she heard Beth get out of the bathroom she woke Noah and he took his shower while Quinn had an apple and checked her phone again. When Noah was finished with his shower Quinn took her own then while Beth and Noah finished getting ready she checked to make sure Noah had everything in his backpack and she stretched Jasper. Finally, at 7:15 she scrolled through her contacts and hit “call” at Rachel’s number. It went straight to voicemail.
“Rachel Berry’s phone, I can’t take your call right now but please leave a message and I’ll get back to you.” Beep.
“Rachel, it’s Quinn…you said you’d call…and you haven’t…and it kind of scares me that your phone didn’t even ring. Call me.”
Quinn sighed and quickly finished getting ready. She tried again. Voicemail again. She quickly flipped through the phone book before they left and put the Berrys number into her phone and she called it after she strapped Jasper into his car seat.
“Hello?” a sleepy deep voice answered.
“Mr. Berry? Leroy?”
“Who’s calling?”
“It’s Quinn. Have you heard from Rachel?”
“I’m not sure, hold on and let me go check her room.”
Quinn pressed her phone between her shoulder and her ear as she cautiously drove down the road and waited for Rachel’s dad to give her an answer.
“She’s not in her room. She said she would be back late last night, didn’t she?”
“She did,” Quinn half-growled. “I tried her phone twice and got voicemail both times.”
“I’ll try in a little while and call you back.”
“Thank you.”
Quinn dropped Beth off first and nervously bit her lip as she looked in the rear-view mirror at Noah who was bouncing excitedly in his seat.
“Rachel’s coming, right?” he asked. “She said she would come.”
“I…haven’t heard from her this morning, sweetie.”
“But she said she would come!”
“I know she did,” Quinn sighed. She parked in front of Noah’s school and the boy stayed in his seat. “Noah, you have to go to school.”
“I told everyone she was coming!”
“I know baby, I know you did. I’m going to try to find out where she is.”
“I’m not going if she’s not gonna be here!”
“Noah you have to go, please get out of the van.”
Quinn’s phone started vibrating and she fumbled with it as she recognized the Berrys number. Cars behind her started honking and she growled and threw the van into drive and drove to one of the parking lots. By the time she’d done so she had missed the call and she quickly hit redial.
“I’m so sorry,” she said when Leroy picked up. “Carpool lane is intense. Did you talk to her?”
“No and I called the airport where she said she was landing and they said they weren’t allowed to give me any information even though I knew the code she gave me.”
“That’s asinine! Has…has there been anything on the news? Can you look it up online?” Jasper started crying, Noah was growling and Quinn was getting agitated. “Mr. Berry, I’m sorry, can I call you back in a little bit? I’m a little pressed for time right now.”
“Sure, sweetie. I’ll let you know if I hear anything before you call me.”
“Thank you.”
Quinn dropped her phone in her purse and got out of the van and to Jasper’s seat where he was screaming. She felt his legs but could find no cramp.
“What do you need, Jasper?”
The boy only cried harder and so Quinn unbuckled him from his car seat and held him close and he calmed down a little. She felt around his seat for something that could’ve been poking him and found a block that could’ve been the culprit and tossed onto the van floor. When he finally stopped crying she settled him back in and wiped his face. By that time the bell had rung and kids were rushing into school and Noah was still sitting in the van and Quinn was officially going to be late for work.
“Noah, you need to go.”
“No, she promised!”
“I’ll write a note to your teacher but please, please go inside.”
“No!”
Quinn groaned and buckled Jasper back into his seat. Her phone started ringing and she reached between the two front seats to get to it. It was Leroy again.
“Hello?”
“I just checked the weather channel. There’s torrential downpours all over California, there have been since last night and they’re saying there’s flash flood warnings everywhere, no planes are leaving the ground from LAX.”
“She’s not at LAX, though! It’s a private plane!”
“I know, sweetie, but they said no planes at all. That probably means the smaller airports, too. I called the airport back and got absolutely nothing. Power has been knocked out all over the city.”
“Oh God…what if they took off and…”
“No, no, don’t think like that Quinn. We would’ve known by now anyways. Listen, just go to work and keep your phone with you. I’ll call you if I hear anything else.”
“Thank you,” Quinn sighed before she hung up. “Noah…”
“She promised,” the young boy sniffled. “She promised me!”
“Baby, I know. But her dad said that it’s been raining all night in Los Angeles and that means planes can’t take off which means she probably got stuck there. Noah, I’m so sorry but it’s nothing she could help. Maybe she’ll get here before the day is over?”
Noah’s lower lip trembled a bit and Quinn grabbed a tissue and reached over to dab the tears off of his cheek. He finally took a deep breath and grabbed his backpack and jumped out of his side of the van. Quinn shut the other door and walked around to meet him in a hug. She reached back into the van and pulled a pad of paper and a pen out of her purse and quickly scribbled a note to excuse him for being late and another to his teacher explaining Rachel’s situation. Noah took both notes and walked slowly into the school building with his head hung low. Quinn sighed and shut his door then got back into the van. She tried Rachel’s cell phone again but with no results. She called in to her boss and told him she’d be late then tried Rachel again. Still voicemail.
Halfway from the Hudson house to Pick-n-Save, Quinn turned on the radio to any news station she could find and when the words “Los Angeles”, “private”, “plane”, and “unable to locate” went out of the speakers and into her ears she slammed on her brakes and momentarily thanked whatever god was listening that there was no one behind her. She pulled off to the side of the road and turned up the radio.
“Again, a small plane that took off from Los Angeles at about one o’clock this morning has been reported missing. Our sources were unable to get the identities of those aboard the plane or its last known location but we will keep you updated as the day moves along. In sports…”
Quinn quickly opened her door and lost the apple and cup of coffee she’d had that morning. She grabbed her water bottle and rinsed the taste out of her mouth she grabbed her phone. Her finger hovered over the call button when her phone started vibrating with the Berrys number yet again. Quinn hit the button to answer but didn’t say anything.
“Quinn?”
“I…radio…”
“I just saw on the LA Times website…”
“What…what if…”
“I don’t know, Quinn.”
“What do I do?”
“I don’t know that, either.” Leroy’s voice quivered and that sent Quinn into her own tears but she attempted to sound stoic.
“I…I could come over and wait to see what we hear…”
“You’ll just sit here and worry yourself to death, honey. Go to work. I’ll call you.”
Quinn nodded. “Okay.”
Waiting. It was always waiting. Waiting for Rachel to come back. Waiting for Puck and Jasper to come back. Waiting for the helicopter. Waiting for the casket to be lowered into the ground. Waiting for Jasper to wake up. Waiting for Jasper to sit, stand, talk. Waiting for Rachel to come back. It had only been a week. Just a week. It had only been a week but there Quinn sat, still nauseous, and on the verge of panic. What would the kids do? What would she do?
The blonde composed herself enough to get to work and she immediately found her boss and he put her at a desk punching in numbers for inventory for the day so she could be near her phone and the store phone just in case. She called Rachel every half hour. Lunch rolled around and Quinn ate at the desk. Her 3:30 break rolled around and she called the Hudson house and talked to a very solemn Noah who gave soft one word answers and she instructed Beth to keep an eye on him. She talked to Leroy again and neither of them had heard anything. She left work at five and drove to the Hudson house and picked up the kids. Noah was still quiet. Quinn tried to stay strong.
Once at home she settled the three kids at the kitchen table and tried Rachel’s phone again and again with nothing but her voicemail. Noah asked her if she’d talked to Rachel yet and Quinn just smiled and said that the brunette’s phone probably didn’t have battery but they’d hear from her soon. She didn’t miss that Beth looked up at her absolutely terrified.
Dinner was quiet and awkward. Quinn knew that Beth knew and that Noah probably had a feeling but was holding his tongue. Jasper even noticed the tension and was unusually quiet for himself the last week. He’d been non-stop babbling happily ever since he first looked at Rachel.
As Quinn was taking the plates to the sink her phone started buzzing and she ran to it and looked at the screen. An unfamiliar number flashed on it and she furrowed her eyebrows as she stared at it.
“Hello?” she answered.
There was static on the other end and the line went dead. Quinn dropped her phone on the countertop, gripped the edge of the sink, and tried desperately not to cry in front of her kids.
Chapter 9
Major Characters/Pairings: Quinn Fabray-Puckerman, Beth Puckerman, Noah Puckerman, Jr., Jasper Puckerman, Rachel Berry, Finn Hudson/OC, Mentions past: Quinn/Puck, Rachel/Puck, Rachel/Quinn
Minor Characters/Pairings: Mike/OC, Matt/OC, Artie/Tina, Rachel's dads Mentions: Brittany/Santana, Mercedes/OC, Kurt/OC
Rating: PG-13
Length: 45,200+
Summary: AU beginning after 'Funk'. Rachel got the hell out of Lima, Ohio immediately after graduation, breaking Quinn's heart in the process, and never looked back. Now, ten years later, she's back and Quinn is the one to show her the aftermath and the pieces of what she left behind - all the while trying desperately not to fall back in love with her ex-girlfriend.
Warnings: Pre-story character death discussed in detail.
-Chapter 8-
Quinn got to the Berry house right at two-thirty Sunday afternoon, half an hour before the scheduled time. The remainder of the week had been uneventful, yet almost exciting at the same time. Thursday night Rachel came over for dinner, as promised. It was nothing extravagant, just the macaroni and cheese and hot dogs that Quinn had promised Noah on Monday. Rachel insisted it was the best she’d tasted, despite the fact that it came from a box. She came to the house again on Friday night with boxes of Chinese take-out and Noah curled his nose at it but Quinn made him try some and he insisted they have it as much as possible after he sampled everything. Saturday, Quinn made sure Rachel came into the store at 3:30 so she could spend her break helping her shop for the meat. She pulled out her employee discount card even though she knew Rachel didn’t need it. But it was a gesture to thank the brunette just for being there and Rachel smiled and accepted it.
Long story short, things were going smoothly. Noah and Beth had behaved and Rachel was Jasper’s new best friend and a new word, “book,” was used regularly in Rachel’s presence. It had been less than a week but Quinn saw the attachments forming between her children and Rachel and she could only continue praying that Rachel stayed true to her word. She had to trust her.
Rachel answered the door happily and led the four Puckermans through the house. Rachel’s dads, Leroy and Hiram, jumped up from their seats in the living room to greet Quinn and she introduced Beth, Noah, and Jasper to them. Quinn had seen the men quite a few times around town but it was always a polite nod and a smile. They’d come to Puck’s funeral but there wasn’t really time for formal introductions.
After a little conversation Rachel led everyone to the big back yard. There was a long table set up off to one side with plenty of chairs and a small inflatable bouncy-house set up in another corner and Beth and Noah both gasped and tore through the back yard to get to it. Quinn groaned.
“Really, Rachel? A bouncy house?”
“Well there will be other children aside from Beth and Noah and I thought they might want to be kept occupied. I’ve also hired a well qualified child care provider to keep an eye on them as well as a very good chef to handle the grill. I contemplated a bartender but with children being around I decided against it.”
“And here I thought we planned a simple barbeque.” Quinn smiled and nudged the brunette.
“My parties are never simple, Quinn. I’m Rachel Berry. I was nominated for an Oscar. If my party was anything less than spectacular then my reputation would be completely ruined.”
“Drama queen.”
“It’s part of my charm, remember?”
“If you hired a live band…”
“Of course I didn’t hire a live band! That would be a little too over the top. I hired a DJ.”
The doorbell rang and Quinn was left on the patio laughing and trying to hold onto Jasper. After Rachel showed the chef the kitchen and the grill Quinn left Jasper in her care to go to the van to get his stroller. It had been his birthday gift from all of the extended family when he was three, Tina and Artie had orchestrated it and it was an absolute lifesaver for Quinn. It would hold him until he was at least six or seven…but Quinn prayed every night she would be able to sell it before the end of the year because it wouldn’t be needed. She took it up around the side of the house and Rachel carefully put him down in it and strapped him in.
“He really likes you,” Quinn said.
“I’m a likeable person, of course he likes me.”
“And again, so modest.”
Rachel turned around and stuck her tongue out at Quinn and the blonde giggled.
By three-fifteen everyone that Rachel had invited was there and the DJ was set up and playing a carefully selected playlist that Rachel had given him. There were a total of five kids in the bouncy house (the two Puckermans, Emily Chang, and Thomas & Tucker Rutherford) and Finn kept trying to sneak in but the child-care provider threw him out since he would’ve pushed the weight limit way over. Mike had his second daughter, Grace, on his hip and Artie had his and Tina’s adopted daughter, Jae, on his lap wheeling her around the patio.
Rachel made a speech before they all started eating, Quinn had to pull her down after about three minutes because Finn was across from her practically drooling over the steak that was on his plate. Halfway through the meal Rachel excused herself when her phone started ringing, everyone looked at Quinn questioningly and the blonde shrugged. Noah took that moment to tug on her sleeve and tell her he had to go to the bathroom so she told Beth to watch Jasper and Quinn led Noah through the house to where she remembered the half-bathroom on the first floor was.
“What are you talking about!?” Quinn heard Rachel shriek from the nearby den. Curiosity got the best of her and she tiptoed to the slightly opened door.
“The HRC charity event in LA, Rachel! You’re on the program to sing! How could you forget about this?!” came from the speaker of Rachel’s phone.
“Ashley, I did not sign up to do that.”
“The agency did. Rachel if you blow this off there will be some serious backlash. People will think you don’t support…”
“Don’t support! I have two gay dads! The world knows this! Why should I have to show up to something I didn’t even know I was attending until two minutes ago?!”
“Don’t yell at me, I’m just the messenger.”
“I can’t, Ashley! It’s Tuesday night, I have to be in Lima on Wednesday. I have to be here, it’s important.”
“So I’ll get you a private plane to pick you up as soon as the dinner is done and get you back to Cowtown USA. What the hell could be so important, anyway?”
“Career day at one of the elementary schools.”
Quinn smiled a little and looked back behind her as Noah got out of the bathroom. She quietly shooed him to go back to the back yard and he shrugged and took off. Quinn turned her attention back to the voices. She felt kind of bad for eavesdropping but…she couldn’t help it.
“That’s not on your calendar. How much are you getting paid for that? You can’t schedule these things without…”
“I’m not getting paid anything. I’m doing it for the son of a friend of mine.”
Rachel dropped down into one of the chairs and put her phone on the desk and Quinn tried to pull away but she couldn’t.
“Since when do you care about kids? Wait, is this the friend they spotted you with? I’ve been getting phone calls about that! The tabloids are…”
“Ashley, if I tell you that I’ll go to the dinner will you please shut up? Call Tony, he’s the only one I want flying my plane. There’s a small airport just outside of Lima, tell him to be there at ten on Tuesday morning and I swear to God, Ashley, I swear I will fire every single person I can if that plane isn’t up and running by the time I get to the airport on Tuesday night after dinner, do you hear me? You will be fired, Tony will never work again, even the bag boy will be fired. Got it?”
“Got it.”
“I do not want to fly out of LAX, find something smaller so I can get out of there when I want to.”
“Will do.”
“Have Chuck pick out potential dresses and I’ll pick one out when I get there. I’ve got to go. I’ll call you when I’m on my way.”
Rachel hit a button on her phone and leaned forward to rub her temples. Trying to look like she hadn’t just overheard the conversation, Quinn knocked on the doorframe. Rachel quietly told her to come in and Quinn stepped inside.
“Everything okay?”
“I have to go back to LA Tuesday night but I swear I’ll be here on Wednesday. I’ll be tired and look like I’ve been hit by a bus but I’ll be there Wednesday morning. I’m so sorry…I swear no one told me that I had to be there for this stupid charity event. I’ll go, sign a prop check, sign some autographs, kiss some babies, and then I’ll be right back here to get a few hours of sleep before I go to Noah’s school.”
“It’s fine, Rachel,” Quinn said with a sincere smile. “If you say you’ll be there then you’ll be there. I-I trust you.”
Rachel nodded and grabbed her phone and Quinn led the way back out to the party where Rachel apologized for her absence. Dessert was some chocolate thing that Quinn had never heard of that the chef had prepared while they were eating. He set it on fire and Noah was absolutely mesmerized.
The Puckermans stayed at the Berry house to help clean up after everyone left and Quinn, Rachel, Beth, and Noah played a game of Sorry while Rachel’s dads played with Jasper and read to him after he repeated “book” at least a dozen times. Rachel enveloped Quinn in a tight hug when they left and invited the Puckermans back for dinner Monday night and but Quinn made her promise not to hire a chef and to let her help do the cooking.
Rachel kept her promise and she and Quinn made dinner together that night while the kids and the fathers Berry kept occupied in the living room. Quinn smiled over at the brunette as she carefully checked the chicken that was in the oven. She and Rachel had done this several hundred times before and somehow, after ten years, they re-established their familiar rhythm quite quickly of silently knowing who was going to do what and the other was ready for it. It wasn’t awkward and they didn’t once bump into one another and it was just very…natural. Despite trusting Rachel, Quinn kept thoughts that she could get used to this (again) shoved very, very far in the back of her mind.
Tuesday at lunch Quinn checked her phone to find a voicemail from Rachel that she’d landed safe and sound in Los Angeles and would have her phone with her wherever she went. Quinn immediately called her back and Rachel answered brightly on the first ring.
“Hey!”
“How was your flight?” Quinn asked with half a mouthful of sandwich since she hadn’t anticipated Rachel to pick up so quickly.
“Wonderful. Tony is an amazing pilot, he’s the only one I’ll let fly me if I take a private plane. I’m currently trying to figure out which dress I want to wear for tonight.”
“Is there anything green? You always looked good in green.”
“Hold on.”
Quinn waited while she listened to Rachel ask the stylist and the brunette shrieked.
“Oh my gosh, Quinn, he found the perfect green dress! It’s amazing. I’ll send you a picture tonight. Chuck, I want this one. Anyways, how has your day been?”
“Good, I suppose. As interesting as stocking produce can be. If you’re in the market for some more fennel we got a new shipment.” Quinn smirked and took another bite of her sandwich.
“I’m still not sure what to do with the fennel I have. I need to look it up and find out. What exactly is the shelf life for it?”
There were shuffling sounds and murmured whispers on the other end of the line and Quinn waited for them to stop before she gave her response. “I have no idea. Do you need me to let you go?”
“Oh, no, it’s fine! Chuck has to shorten the dress a little so I’ve got nothing to do for a bit. So what exactly should I be talking about at career day tomorrow? Do you think they would appreciate my awards? I could have someone go to my house and get them for me.”
“Rachel, they’re nine-year-olds. The boys want blood and the girls want princesses.”
“Hmmm…you know, I think I can pull that off. I know several people in prop departments and I’m sure someone owes me a favor. I’ll see what I can come up with.”
“Rachel, I don’t think you have to…”
“Nonsense! I’m Rachel Berry. I won an Emmy. I don’t just go into career day empty handed.”
Quinn laughed so hard that part of her Diet Coke shot out of her nose and she choked and sputtered and dropped her phone while she groaned in pain from the burning in her nasal cavity while still laughing.
“Quinn!? Quinn are you okay!?” came the small voice from Quinn’s phone.
“Oh…God. Hold on…just hold on!”
Quinn quickly cleaned up part of her mess and wiped the liquid off of her phone and blew her nose a few times to try and get rid of the burning.
“Quinn, what happened?!”
“Sorry…I kind of spit Diet Coke out of my nose,” she answered. She kept trying to clean where the carbonated beverage had sprayed to while listening to Rachel.
“Are you okay? What happened? Did someone say something?”
“No, don’t worry about it,” Quinn chuckled.
“You were laughing at me, weren’t you!?”
“Possibly.”
“You have a knack for laughing at inappropriate times, Quinn.”
“That was pretty appropriate.”
“Me winning an Emmy is hysterical enough for you to shoot Diet Coke out your nose?”
“Take it as a compliment, Rachel. You’re a great unintentional comedienne!”
Rachel grumbled and Quinn giggled.
“Winning an Emmy is very serious.”
“Sure thing, Rach. I’ve got to finish my lunch and call over to see how Jasper’s doing. Call me tomorrow morning and let me know you made it in okay?”
“I will. Have a good rest of the day and night, Quinn.”
“You too. Talk to you later.”
Quinn finished her lunch still giggling.
Rachel sent Quinn a picture on her phone of her in her dress at the HRC event that night. Quinn let out a quiet gasp and she felt her face redden. She pretended not to notice the flutter in her heart or the way her mouth went dry at the sight of Rachel in the long green dress with a neckline that plunged to her waist. Quinn couldn’t take her eyes off the picture but she finally pried herself away when the clock struck eleven and she finished cleaning the kitchen and went to bed.
Quinn woke to the sound of her phone alarm and she looked at the screen to see no missed calls or texts. She got Beth up so the girl could take her shower and the blonde got Jasper out of bed and took him to her bathroom to get him his bath. She checked her phone again, nothing. After Jasper’s bath she settled him in his chair at the kitchen table while she pulled out the bowls and cereal and as soon as she heard Beth get out of the bathroom she woke Noah and he took his shower while Quinn had an apple and checked her phone again. When Noah was finished with his shower Quinn took her own then while Beth and Noah finished getting ready she checked to make sure Noah had everything in his backpack and she stretched Jasper. Finally, at 7:15 she scrolled through her contacts and hit “call” at Rachel’s number. It went straight to voicemail.
“Rachel Berry’s phone, I can’t take your call right now but please leave a message and I’ll get back to you.” Beep.
“Rachel, it’s Quinn…you said you’d call…and you haven’t…and it kind of scares me that your phone didn’t even ring. Call me.”
Quinn sighed and quickly finished getting ready. She tried again. Voicemail again. She quickly flipped through the phone book before they left and put the Berrys number into her phone and she called it after she strapped Jasper into his car seat.
“Hello?” a sleepy deep voice answered.
“Mr. Berry? Leroy?”
“Who’s calling?”
“It’s Quinn. Have you heard from Rachel?”
“I’m not sure, hold on and let me go check her room.”
Quinn pressed her phone between her shoulder and her ear as she cautiously drove down the road and waited for Rachel’s dad to give her an answer.
“She’s not in her room. She said she would be back late last night, didn’t she?”
“She did,” Quinn half-growled. “I tried her phone twice and got voicemail both times.”
“I’ll try in a little while and call you back.”
“Thank you.”
Quinn dropped Beth off first and nervously bit her lip as she looked in the rear-view mirror at Noah who was bouncing excitedly in his seat.
“Rachel’s coming, right?” he asked. “She said she would come.”
“I…haven’t heard from her this morning, sweetie.”
“But she said she would come!”
“I know she did,” Quinn sighed. She parked in front of Noah’s school and the boy stayed in his seat. “Noah, you have to go to school.”
“I told everyone she was coming!”
“I know baby, I know you did. I’m going to try to find out where she is.”
“I’m not going if she’s not gonna be here!”
“Noah you have to go, please get out of the van.”
Quinn’s phone started vibrating and she fumbled with it as she recognized the Berrys number. Cars behind her started honking and she growled and threw the van into drive and drove to one of the parking lots. By the time she’d done so she had missed the call and she quickly hit redial.
“I’m so sorry,” she said when Leroy picked up. “Carpool lane is intense. Did you talk to her?”
“No and I called the airport where she said she was landing and they said they weren’t allowed to give me any information even though I knew the code she gave me.”
“That’s asinine! Has…has there been anything on the news? Can you look it up online?” Jasper started crying, Noah was growling and Quinn was getting agitated. “Mr. Berry, I’m sorry, can I call you back in a little bit? I’m a little pressed for time right now.”
“Sure, sweetie. I’ll let you know if I hear anything before you call me.”
“Thank you.”
Quinn dropped her phone in her purse and got out of the van and to Jasper’s seat where he was screaming. She felt his legs but could find no cramp.
“What do you need, Jasper?”
The boy only cried harder and so Quinn unbuckled him from his car seat and held him close and he calmed down a little. She felt around his seat for something that could’ve been poking him and found a block that could’ve been the culprit and tossed onto the van floor. When he finally stopped crying she settled him back in and wiped his face. By that time the bell had rung and kids were rushing into school and Noah was still sitting in the van and Quinn was officially going to be late for work.
“Noah, you need to go.”
“No, she promised!”
“I’ll write a note to your teacher but please, please go inside.”
“No!”
Quinn groaned and buckled Jasper back into his seat. Her phone started ringing and she reached between the two front seats to get to it. It was Leroy again.
“Hello?”
“I just checked the weather channel. There’s torrential downpours all over California, there have been since last night and they’re saying there’s flash flood warnings everywhere, no planes are leaving the ground from LAX.”
“She’s not at LAX, though! It’s a private plane!”
“I know, sweetie, but they said no planes at all. That probably means the smaller airports, too. I called the airport back and got absolutely nothing. Power has been knocked out all over the city.”
“Oh God…what if they took off and…”
“No, no, don’t think like that Quinn. We would’ve known by now anyways. Listen, just go to work and keep your phone with you. I’ll call you if I hear anything else.”
“Thank you,” Quinn sighed before she hung up. “Noah…”
“She promised,” the young boy sniffled. “She promised me!”
“Baby, I know. But her dad said that it’s been raining all night in Los Angeles and that means planes can’t take off which means she probably got stuck there. Noah, I’m so sorry but it’s nothing she could help. Maybe she’ll get here before the day is over?”
Noah’s lower lip trembled a bit and Quinn grabbed a tissue and reached over to dab the tears off of his cheek. He finally took a deep breath and grabbed his backpack and jumped out of his side of the van. Quinn shut the other door and walked around to meet him in a hug. She reached back into the van and pulled a pad of paper and a pen out of her purse and quickly scribbled a note to excuse him for being late and another to his teacher explaining Rachel’s situation. Noah took both notes and walked slowly into the school building with his head hung low. Quinn sighed and shut his door then got back into the van. She tried Rachel’s cell phone again but with no results. She called in to her boss and told him she’d be late then tried Rachel again. Still voicemail.
Halfway from the Hudson house to Pick-n-Save, Quinn turned on the radio to any news station she could find and when the words “Los Angeles”, “private”, “plane”, and “unable to locate” went out of the speakers and into her ears she slammed on her brakes and momentarily thanked whatever god was listening that there was no one behind her. She pulled off to the side of the road and turned up the radio.
“Again, a small plane that took off from Los Angeles at about one o’clock this morning has been reported missing. Our sources were unable to get the identities of those aboard the plane or its last known location but we will keep you updated as the day moves along. In sports…”
Quinn quickly opened her door and lost the apple and cup of coffee she’d had that morning. She grabbed her water bottle and rinsed the taste out of her mouth she grabbed her phone. Her finger hovered over the call button when her phone started vibrating with the Berrys number yet again. Quinn hit the button to answer but didn’t say anything.
“Quinn?”
“I…radio…”
“I just saw on the LA Times website…”
“What…what if…”
“I don’t know, Quinn.”
“What do I do?”
“I don’t know that, either.” Leroy’s voice quivered and that sent Quinn into her own tears but she attempted to sound stoic.
“I…I could come over and wait to see what we hear…”
“You’ll just sit here and worry yourself to death, honey. Go to work. I’ll call you.”
Quinn nodded. “Okay.”
Waiting. It was always waiting. Waiting for Rachel to come back. Waiting for Puck and Jasper to come back. Waiting for the helicopter. Waiting for the casket to be lowered into the ground. Waiting for Jasper to wake up. Waiting for Jasper to sit, stand, talk. Waiting for Rachel to come back. It had only been a week. Just a week. It had only been a week but there Quinn sat, still nauseous, and on the verge of panic. What would the kids do? What would she do?
The blonde composed herself enough to get to work and she immediately found her boss and he put her at a desk punching in numbers for inventory for the day so she could be near her phone and the store phone just in case. She called Rachel every half hour. Lunch rolled around and Quinn ate at the desk. Her 3:30 break rolled around and she called the Hudson house and talked to a very solemn Noah who gave soft one word answers and she instructed Beth to keep an eye on him. She talked to Leroy again and neither of them had heard anything. She left work at five and drove to the Hudson house and picked up the kids. Noah was still quiet. Quinn tried to stay strong.
Once at home she settled the three kids at the kitchen table and tried Rachel’s phone again and again with nothing but her voicemail. Noah asked her if she’d talked to Rachel yet and Quinn just smiled and said that the brunette’s phone probably didn’t have battery but they’d hear from her soon. She didn’t miss that Beth looked up at her absolutely terrified.
Dinner was quiet and awkward. Quinn knew that Beth knew and that Noah probably had a feeling but was holding his tongue. Jasper even noticed the tension and was unusually quiet for himself the last week. He’d been non-stop babbling happily ever since he first looked at Rachel.
As Quinn was taking the plates to the sink her phone started buzzing and she ran to it and looked at the screen. An unfamiliar number flashed on it and she furrowed her eyebrows as she stared at it.
“Hello?” she answered.
There was static on the other end and the line went dead. Quinn dropped her phone on the countertop, gripped the edge of the sink, and tried desperately not to cry in front of her kids.
Chapter 9