Quinn could very well have been hallucinating seeing her daughter since she'd been thinking of her, right? The girl looked up and bit her lip.
"Ms. Fabray, can I sleep over tonight?"
Quinn was taken aback by her words. She was perplexed- how do you deny your daughter a night in your home? "Um, wait, one sec. How do you know where I live?" she knit her eyebrows down at the girl, then checked down the hallway to see if Shelby was somewhere in the hall.
"Remember? I came trick-or-treating here on Halloween. I memorized your address."
Halloween night had been...strange. Quinn had gotten no trick-or-treaters all night, and had resorted to eating the candy by herself. But then that doorbell buzzed and up came little Beth Corcoran in her fairy princess costume. Quinn had answered, clad in cat ears and pajamas (she was the cat's pajamas, get it?), and handed the girl and her friends candy. Shelby had been nowhere to be seen. There was another parent supervisor there.
Quinn placed a hand on Beth's back and ushered her inside. "Um...why do you need a place to stay?" her heart pounded in her chest- What had Shelby done that made Beth want to run away? She examined the girl mildly, checking for bruises or scars or burns...Nothing more than a scraped elbow.
"My mommy and me had a fight and then she left me with the nanny so she could go perform in her stupid show and so I snuck out the window." Beth's face crumpled with sobs. Quinn closed the door behind them and held the girl's crying face to her chest. She never thought she'd get to do this.
"It'll be okay." Quinn sighed. She held the girl back, her face pink from the sobs. She resisted the urge to reach a hand up and....dare she? She swiped a thumb across Beth's cheek, wiping away her tears. "I'm not saying you can stay the night, but let me call your mom and you can stay here until she comes to get you, alright?"
Beth pouted, but complied.
