Our Life Together

51

The girls returned inside and headed to their dressing rooms. Quinn entered her dressing room with a smile on her face.

"You were so good, Mommy!" Beth exclaimed.

"Thank you, B." Quinn smiled as she picked Beth up. She kissed her cheeks and held her tightly. "I love you."

"Love you." Beth echoed.

Quinn held onto Beth as her mother hugged her.

"I'm so proud of you, Quinny. You looked and sounded beautiful up there." Judy said.

"Thank you." Quinn replied. "Thank you for being here and for coming to the show."

Quinn greeted and thanked her other friends for coming, keeping Beth on her hip.

"We should get out of here." Quinn noted. "I wanna go home and call Noah."

"Yeah, let's go home, Mommy." Beth agreed as she rested her head on Quinn's shoulder.

Quinn, Judy, and Beth took a car home with Rachel and Finn. Rachel had insisted, but hadn't told Finn or Judy why.

"Thanks for dropping us off." Quinn said. "You didn't have to."

"Get some sleep." Rachel nodded. "See you on Tuesday."

"See you then." Quinn nodded as she headed inside with Judy and Beth, who was in Judy's arms.

When they got to the apartment door, they found Noah sitting in the hallway.

Noah grinned and stood up when he saw Quinn.

Quinn hurried over and crashed into Noah's chest, giving him a big hug.

"I missed you, too." Noah laughed lightly.

"What are you doing here?" Quinn asked when they parted.

"I'm free until Tuesday so I figured I'd come surprise you." Noah stated. "I was gonna come to the show, but my flight got delayed so I just landed."

Quinn smiled as she lightly kissed Noah. "I'm so glad you're here."

"Me, too." Noah nodded as he looked at Judy and Beth. "Hi, Mrs. Fabray. Hi, Beth. She must be exhausted."

"Hi, Noah." Judy responded as she looked at Quinn. "I'm gonna go tuck her in."

Everyone went inside and said goodnight to each other.

Quinn and Noah settled in in their bedroom, cuddling and holding each other.

"Noah, I need to talk to you about something." Quinn said.

"Anything." Noah told Quinn.

Quinn sat up and grabbed her phone. "You can start by reading this."

"What?" Noah asked.

"Just read it." Quinn requested.

Noah took the phone and sat up while he started reading through the Twitter thread.

Quinn watched as Noah furrowed his eyebrow when he got more into it.

"You can't listen to what people say about you online." Noah told Quinn as he put her phone down.

"It's not just that." Quinn shook her head. "There was a guy at the show tonight."

"What guy?" Noah wondered.

"Just a guy, but he looked like Beth's father." Quinn replied.

Noah looked at Quinn.

"I know it wasn't him, but at first glance, I thought it was, and it got me thinking." Quinn noted. "What if he comes back?"

"He won't." Noah swore.

"It'll be easy to find me now." Quinn pointed out. "My name's on the marquee."

"He can't hurt you or Beth." Noah promised. "Not while I'm around."

"What if he comes back and tries to get custody of her?" Quinn asked.

"He can't, Quinn." Noah said. "He's been absent her whole life. He can't just come in and try to take her."

"I know you must think I'm crazy-"

"I don't think you're crazy." Noah cut Quinn off. "You're a good mom, and you're scared."

"I'm terrified." Quinn admitting, exhaling.

"He's not gonna come anywhere near you or Beth. I'll make sure of it." Noah swore.

Quinn nodded. "You know he didn't even put his name on the birth certificate."

"He didn't?" Noah asked.

"He didn't feel like it." Quinn answered.

"So put mine." Noah suggested.

"What?" Quinn asked.

"I love you and Beth." Noah said. "And if it'll make you feel better or safe or whatever, just put my name on it. I know I'm not her dad, but I'd do anything to protect her. And you."

"I love you, too." Quinn said softly.

"Think about it." Noah advised Quinn as he kissed her cheek. "And get some sleep. Everyone's safe. I promise."