Our Life Together

4

Quinn entered her room and laid Beth down. She put the TV on and put the remote on the nightstand. "Try and relax, B. Don't touch that lip. I'll be right inside if you need me."

Beth nodded.

Quinn kissed Beth's forehead before getting up and leaving the room. She closed the door behind her and returned to the living room, where Noah was waiting.

"We should sit down." Quinn said softly.

Noah sat down on the couch and Quinn joined him.

"This isn't how I wanted you to meet her." Quinn frowned. "But I was ready for you to meet her, which is a big deal for me because I don't like sharing her with my boyfriends unless it's serious."

Noah furrowed his eyebrow.

"Which this is." Quinn continued. "At least to me because I really like you."

Noah nodded. "I really like you, too, Quinn. And I think it's really sweet how protective of her you are."

"She's a really good kid." Quinn stated. "You'll see."

"Well, now I wanna know all about her." Noah said with a small smile as he took Quinn's hand. "And look, I would never try to replace her dad or anything, but-"

"Well, her dad's not around." Quinn informed Noah. "He left when she was a baby, but he was barely around before that anyway."

Noah frowned. "When you said you had a young daughter, I didn't realize you were raising her completely on your own."

"I've had help from my mom and Finn and Santana and the others." Quinn said.

"Still." Noah said softly. "That's gotta be hard."

"She's a good kid." Quinn replied.

"I just meant 'cause, like, my mom basically raised me and my sister on her own, which I know wasn't easy." Noah clarified. "But from the piece I saw of her today, she seems like a good kid. You've been doing a great job."

"I've always tried my best." Quinn shrugged.

"Looks like it." Noah noted.

Quinn nodded. "I wanna tell you about her, and I want you to get to know her. If you want to."

"Yeah." Noah said. "Whatever you wanna tell me is fine."

Quinn bit her lip and nodded slowly. "I got pregnant in my sophomore year and had Beth that June."

Noah nodded.

"Her father was never really involved, so Beth doesn't remember him." Quinn explained. "It's just been me and her. And her grandma and aunts and uncles."

"What about your sister?" Noah asked.

"When I got pregnant, Finn told my parents and my dad kicked me out, and when my sister found out, she decided she didn't want anything to do with me." Quinn explained. "I haven't talked to my dad or my sister since, but my mom eventually came around and helped me with Beth when she was born."

"Why did Finn tell them?" Noah wondered.

"I was dating him at the time and he... he thought she was his." Quinn informed Noah. "And when he found out she wasn't, we broke up, and I moved in with Beth's godmother's family until she was born. Her father isn't in her life anymore and he's never gonna come back."

Noah nodded as he took everything in.

"That doesn't mean I'm asking you to be a dad to her. I'm not." Quinn said. "But when you're ready, I want you to have some sort of relationship with her. It doesn't have to be now, but at some point."

"Yeah, I'd like that." Noah replied as he pulled Quinn into his arms and held her. "And thank you for telling me."