Take it or Leave it (A Glee Quinn Fabray Story)

Shopping and Sisters

"M-Mom?" I stutter, taking in the scene in front of me. My mother is standing there, with the sonogram picture in one hand and a face as pale as a sheet. "Quinn..." She starts, but she freezes and stops. "Mom, I can explain." My eyes well up, and the tears immediately spill down my cheeks. "Quinn, come into the kitchen." She quickly turns and leaves me standing there, not bothering to see if I follow. I drop my backpack and shuffle after her, terrified of the coming situation. When I enter the room, she's already at the counter chopping onions, and she doesn't look up, even when I clear my throat. I settle into a stool and slouch over, my body language screaming 'small', 'terrified' and most of all, 'on the verge of a mental breakdown'. "Talk, Quinn. Right now." My mother says, fiercely slamming her knife against the cutting board. "I'm... I'm pregnant." I say quietly. She pauses, still not meeting my gaze. "How many weeks?" She asks the counter. "Umm, 16 or 17, I think." I mumble, glancing at her to see her reaction. What she does next is completely and utterly unexpected. She rushes around the island and wraps her arms tightly around my shoulders. "Oh my golly, Quinn. Have you been keeping it a secret this whole time?" She asks, stroking my hair as I sob into her shoulder. "Here, baby. Let's move to the living room." She helps me stand up, and leads me to the living room. "So, do you think you can answer my questions? Are you ready to be honest?" I nod, full of relief that I can finally talk about it to someone who has gone through it. "So, who have you told, sweetheart?" I squeeze a pillow in my arms, and choke out a response. "Finn, Santana, and Miss Pillsbury. I don't think Finn told anyone." She takes a deep breath and faces me. "I think it would be best if we didn't tell your father about this. And I also think that you should probably take the day off school tomorrow." She strokes my hair, looking sympathetic. I mutter a barely audible "Thank you." and hug her. "Oh, and Mom?" She looks down at me. "What?" "Umm, Finn and I still need to pay our doctor's bill." She smiles. "You already went to the doctor?" I nod. "We went on that day I came home and went straight upstairs." "And did you find out the gender?" Now it's my turn to smile. "Yeah. It's a baby girl." Her face breaks out in a huge grin. "Oh my golly gosh gee, Quinnie! This is horrible timing, but a baby girl!" She sounds like a 12 year old girl talking about her favourite celebrity. "Okay, one last question." She says, her face suddenly turning serious. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?" I avert my eyes. "Well... I didn't know how you would react, but I was gonna tell you tonight. I was gonna bring down the sonogram picture and show you. I just really don't want Dad to find out, and I wasn't sure if you would tell him or not." I can tell that my cheeks are scarlet, and my mother squeezes my leg reassuringly. "It's not preferable, that I have a pregnant 16 year old, but we'll get through it." I finally look up, and embrace her tightly. "Thank you." I whisper gratefully, my eyes watering. She lightly plants a kiss on my forehead and rises from the couch. "I have to make dinner, so let's head back into the kitchen, shall we?" We walk into the other room together, and she resumes her task of chopping up vegetables. "So, Quinnie. Have you thought of any names for her?" My mom asks eagerly. "Well, I like the name Lucy, or I also like Beth for a baby girl. Sadie is cute, maybe Jamie? Ooh, I heard about a little girl named Kaila, I like that name too, and Juliette, or Adelaide." She laughs. "Sounds like you haven't decided." I shake my head. "I'm still getting over the fact that she's really in there." She smiles. "I like Beth or Kaila. I also think Adelaide would be cute. You could call her Addy." We suddenly hear the front door open, and my brain instantly enters panic mode. My mother's face is a mask of terror, and she shoves the sonogram at me. "Stick it up your shirt and run!" She hisses and frantically chops up a carrot. "Hello Judy!" My father calls merrily, oblivious to the conversation we've just had. "Hi Quinn!" He adds as he walks into the kitchen. I rush past him, my brain not functioning correctly. "Hey Dad." I sprint up the stairs and slam my bedroom door behind me. I don't bother putting the picture back where it was, no reason to keep it hidden anymore. My dad doesn't come in my room. Instead, I place it carefully in the top drawer of my desk. Then, I stride over to my mirror and check on my makeup. It's a complete mess. I quickly take it off and re-apply. Once I'm satisfied, I head back downstairs to visit with my parents. They're sitting in the living room, each of them with a glass of wine in hand. "Quinn, come join us." My dad says, as I lean down to kiss his cheek. "As I was saying, I invited Frannie over for dinner on Sunday, and she is bringing Oliver." I try to feign excitement, but I can't stand my sister and her husband. They act like they are above everyone else, just because he works as the president of a large company. "She said that they have something to tell us." My father continued. I hear the oven beep in the kitchen. "I'll go get that." I say, greatful for an easy escape. I slip out of the living room and begin serving up dinner, as my parents continue their conversation.
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The next day, my clock reads 10:00 am when I wake up. I shuffle down the steps, still yawning, and my mom is sitting on the couch, reading a magazine. "Good morning, darling! What would you like for breakfast?" She asks perkily as I walk into the room. "Nothing. I feel like I'm gonna puke." She stands up and leads me into the kitchen, seating me on a stool. "So, sweetheart. I thought that we could use today to maybe go shopping for some new clothes? We should go through the clothing you already have, of course, see what fits. I know some great maternity stores that your cousin Amber shopped at when she was pregnant with Adrianna." I nod, still half asleep. "Sounds great. Can I have a glass of water?" I mumble, feeling my stomach bile threatening to climb my throat. She hands it to me, and I take little sips, but the feeling is overwhelming. I rush to the sink and puke my guts out. My mom gasps and hurries over to my side. "Oh, baby." She croons, rubbing my back and holding my hair away from my face. When I'm done, she helps me back upstairs to my bed, and lays me down gently. "Can I get you anything, sweetheart?" She asks, stroking my cheek. "I think I'm just gonna sleep for a little longer." I answer, already drifting off.
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When I wake from my nap, I try once again to get out of bed. I walk sleepily to the bathroom and turn on the shower. While I wait for the water to heat up, I sit on the closed toilet seat and try to waken myself a bit more. After a minute, the water is steamy and I strip from my clothes and hop in. The water is so refreshing and I enjoy every minute of it. I take a 15 minute shower, then quickly dress myself, not bothering to put on makeup. My mother greets me warmly when I appear downstairs again. "So talking clothes again, honey. Can we go through your dresser and closet to find what fits?" I nod, this time understanding what she's saying. "I think most of it will still fit, but not for long. I haven't grown that much yet." I mumble the last sentence and my mom ignores it. She claps excitedly and hands me a bowl of chopped up fruit. "Eat quickly, Quinnie. We have to go through your clothes and go shopping." I nod and start stuffing my face with the sweet food. I finish quickly, and gulp down a glass of water as well. "Okay, I'm done. Let's go." She quickly places my bowl and cup in the sink and follows me upstairs. Every time something is too tight, I curse under my breath and my mother looks at me disapprovingly. I'm relieved to find that my favourite dress still fits loosely, but my favourite pair of jeans don't do up anymore. When we finish, I only have about half of my clothes left, and my mom and I take several trips to the basement, carrying piles and piles of clothes. "Alrighty, Quinnie! Let's go shopping!" My mom grabs her purse and I grab mine.
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My mother and I are standing in the kitchen, chopping vegetables, when a knock sounds on the front door. "That must be Frannie and Oliver!" She hurries to open the door for our guests. I stand awkwardly off to the side as my sister kisses my dad's cheek and hugs my mother, and Oliver shakes my father's hand. "Hello! How are you?" My mother asks excitedly. My sister comes over and hugs me tightly. "I love this colour on you, Quinn!" She comments, playing with the grey fabric of my dress. "Thank you." I smile and hug her back. "I love your dress too. The pattern really makes your skin glow." She blushes and drags me by my hand into the kitchen. My mom pours 4 glasses of wine, and hands them to the legal drinkers. "Oh, no thanks, Mom. I'm trying to stay away from wine." My sister puts her glass down on the counter. My mother looks a little confused, but doesn't say anything. "How about we move to the living room, it's a bit more comfortable in there." My mom leads everyone into the other room and we sit in a circle on the couches. "So, Frannie. Your father told us that you had some news for us?" My sister glances nervously over at Oliver, who gives her a warm encouraging smile in return. "Ok, Mom, Dad, Quinn." She nods at each us in turn and takes a deep breath. "I'm pregnant!" She grins. My mom shrieks and practically jumps to her feet to hug Frannie. "Two babies!" She exclaims, and looks over at me excitedly. My face instantly flushes and she realizes what she said. She looks around at the confused looks on everyone's faces and I can basically see her brain fumbling for an excuse. "Linda!" She finally blurts out. "Linda's daughter is pregnant too!" She grins madly, trying to cover up her mistake. My dad still looks a little suspicious, but turns toward Oliver and stands up. Oliver puts his hand out for a handshake, but my father laughs and pulls him in close for a hug. "Congratulations, sweetheart." My dad kisses Frannie's cheek and she reaches up to wipe her eyes free of tears of joy. After many hugs and "Congrats" are spoken, we all sit down again and my mom continues to press Frannie for information. "How many weeks are you?" My mother gushes, grabbing my sister's hand and holding it tightly. "About 16." Frannie blushes and she and Oliver exchange a glance that can only be described as true love. I shift uncomfortably in my chair as my mother looks at me. "Isn't that amazing, Quinn? You're going to be an aunt!" She marvels. "Do you know the gender, sweetheart?" She turns back to Frannie. "It's a girl." Oliver says, and he squeezes her hand. The timer goes off on the oven, and my mother rises to her feet. "Shall we eat?" She leads us into the kitchen.