Just Let Me Try

Chapter 14

The day of Regionals, Quinn was up before Puck for the first time in weeks. As she grew closer and closer to her due date, now a mere three weeks away, Quinn became more and more tired and would frequently hit the snooze button on the alarm clock multiple times, until the last possible moment. Puck (almost) never complained if they ran late as a result of her desire to sleep longer.

That Saturday morning, Quinn didn't even need an alarm to wake her up. The last few weeks had been a complete hell for her, in terms of finding a way to get comfortable enough to fall asleep and stay asleep. On more than one occasion, Puck had been sent to the couch while Quinn lay across the entire bed, surrounding herself with pillows. Waking up that morning with an ache in her lower back wasn't surprising for Quinn and she assumed that it was due, in large part, to an odd sleeping position. She was standing at the sink, brushing her teeth, when Puck trudged into the bathroom and kissed her on the cheek.

"You're up early," he observed, grabbing his own toothbrush.

"Yeah," she replied simply after rinsing her mouth, wincing as she straightened up.

"You OK, babe?"

"Just a little sorer that usual, I guess. We've been practicing hard all week."

"Are you sure you're up for this today?"

"Of course, I'm pregnant, not an invalid."

"I know that. I just don't want you pushing yourself too hard."

"I'm not backing out," Quinn said firmly. "I've worked just as hard as everyone else. Who would stand in my place? Jacob? Who would get my solo? Santana? I don't think so. I'll be fine."

"Alright," Puck conceded, although he was still slightly worried.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Quinn stood on the stage behind the curtain with the rest of the team, anxiously waiting for the performance to start. She swayed back and forth a bit in a vain attempt to relieve the growing pain in her back. When this is all over, she thought. I'm lying in bed until Monday morning. She was thankful in that moment for her years of growing up a Fabray. Her family had taught her to mask her true feelings. The Fabrays did not get angry or sad and they most certainly did not complain about pain. Quinn plastered a smile on her face and waited for the music to begin.

Soon enough, she could hear Finn and Rachel start Faithfully. Glancing to her right, she smiled at Puck who, in turn, held out his hand to her. Quinn placed her smaller hand into his larger one and he squeezed it tightly, mouthing I love you before letting go as the curtain was raised. Quinn found that if she focused most of her attention on her dance steps, she could momentarily displace the pain she felt with every step. Luckily, Mr. Schue had choreographed her to move around as little as possible while everyone else romped around the stage during Any Way You Want It/ Lovin', Touchin', Squeezing.

By the time the group began Don't Stop Believin' the crowd was on their feet and Quinn was quickly losing steam. When she met Puck in the middle of the stage for their part of the song she was hit with a sharper pain than before and gripped him tighter than she meant to. He looked worried, but her forced smile placated him for the time being and the pain eventually went away. The cheer of the crowd and the energy and excitement from the rest of the team was enough of a distraction to allow Quinn to practically skip with the club backstage when she heard a familiar voice call her name.

"Quinnie."

"Mom?" she said in disbelief as she stopped to face her mother. "What are you doing here? Is Dad OK?"

"I came to hear you sing," Judy Fabray replied. "You were wonderful."

Quinn looked back through the open door to their dressing room, desperately searching for Puck, but he was engaged in excitedly high-fiving Finn and the other guys.