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

Doctors and Dates

A tired-looking woman in a lab coat is sitting on a stool waiting for our arrival. "Hello," She looks down at the papers in her hand. "Lucy." I smile tightly and Finn corrects her. "It's Quinn, actually." She looks a little confused, but nods and gestures for me to lie on the table. Finn helps me up like a gentleman and sits down on the chair next to me. "This is going to be a little bit cold," She says, and I flinch when the gel first hits my stomach. "Are you planning on keeping the baby, or are you leaning towards adoption?" Finn squeezes my hand. "We haven't discussed anything yet." I answer quietly. She nods and looks over at the sonogram on the screen. "Would you like to know the gender of it?" I glance over at Finn. "You decide." He whispers. "Yes, please." I answer hesitantly. "If it makes any difference in the ultimate decision, it's a baby girl." Tears well up in my eyes unexpectedly and Finn wipes them away gently. "Why are you crying?" He asks softly. "I don't know. It's kind of a reflex I guess, when you get a first look at something like that." I reach up to wipe away the tear tracks on my cheeks. Finn gently kisses my cheek. "Would you like pictures of the sonogram?" The doctor asks in a bored voice, as if she witnesses a crying teenager at every appointment. I nod tearfully and Finn answers. "One for each of us, please." She leaves the room and quietly shuts the door behind her. "Look, Quinn." Finn says, pointing at the screen. "That's our baby. Our's." His facial expression is a mix of terror, sadness, excitement and longing. "I realize that, Peabrain." I laugh and kiss him. Our moment is interrupted when the doctor re-enters the room carrying the sonogram photos. She hands one to each of us and motions for us to leave. We leave the office holding hands and staring at the black and white pictures in our hands. "Just remember to hide it, Finn." I say suddenly. "Don't let your mom find it. Shove it somewhere she'll never look." He looks a little uneasy. "What's the matter, Finn?" He steps in front of me to open my car door. "Why can't I just tell her? It'll make everything easier. You can talk to her about... Girl stuff, and she can tell us what to do." He suggests meekly. "Did you already tell her? Are you trying to cover it up now?" He shakes his heed vigorously. "No it's not that. I just think that telling an adult could really help this." I look down at my seat as he climbs in on his side. "I kinda, um, inadvertently told Miss Pillsbury." I say and scratch my head. "Oh." He looks confused. "It's a very long story that doesn't even matter because she's sworn to secrecy." That seems to be good enough for him and he starts to pull out of the parking lot. "It's totally your choice, Quinn, but I think telling your parents would be a good idea." The thought is so ridiculous to me that a small chuckle escapes my lips. "Wait, you're serious?" I say quizzically, turning to face him. He nods, glancing over at me before turning back to the road. "Yeah! Even if they don't like it, what's the worst they could do?" I glare at him. "You know how religious my parents are! If they found out about this they would disown me or burn me like a witch!" He leans over slightly and kisses my cheek to calm me down. "Breathe, Quinn. It was just a suggestion." I turn to face out my window, staring at the cars flashing by ours. After a while, we pull into my driveway. Finn rolls to a stop and gives me a quick peck on the lips before I rise from my seat. "Bye, Babe. See you on Monday." He says, waving goodbye. I smile as I slam the car door and jog towards the front door. The car stays idling in the driveway until I unlock the door and slip inside. My mom is sitting on the couch when I walk in, and I quickly shove the sonogram picture in my backpack. "Hi, sweetie! How was your day?" She says perkily, setting down her book. "Good, Mom. I have homework, though, so I need to go upstairs." I climb the stairs quickly, closing my bedroom door behind me. I toss my backpack on the bed and pull out the sonogram again. I grab a tack from my desk and push aside my hanging clothes in the closet to reveal the blank wall. I stick the tack in the drywall and cover the precious photo with the clothes once again. When I'm satisfied that no one will ever see it, I pull out my textbooks and start studying.
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2 WEEKS LATER

I pull on my Cheerio's uniform and I notice that it's fitting a little snugger than it used to. I try to push the thought that one day it may be too small to the back of my mind, but it nags me as I try to slip quietly down the stairs. My phone screen reads 5:45am and I wince at the early hour. I creep silently to the kitchen to grab a banana for later, but I stub my toe on a stool. I grab my foot and hop around in silent agony, not wanting make any noise to disturb my parents. When I recover from the pain, I reach for the fruit basket on the counter, and accidentally send an apple flying across the countertop. The fruit hitting the floor makes a seemingly huge sound, and I freeze as a light turns on upstairs. "Quinn?" My father calls out. "Uh, yeah Dad?" I answer meekly. "What are you doing?" I scramble to come up with an explanation. "Well... it's a long story." The sound of heavy feet attempting to make light steps echoes through the quiet home. My dad's silhouette appears in the doorway. He squints at the clock on the microwave and lets out a defeated sigh. "I've got time." He says, settling into a chair and turning to face me. I sit down next to him and fiddle with the zipper on my backpack. "So, there's a conditioning practice for Cheerio's this morning at 7, and Finn wanted to take me out for breakfast. So I told him about practice, and he suggested that we go out for coffee and food before. We agreed to meet at the Lima Bean at 6:15, so I woke up a little early, then I forgot that I have a Spanish test today, so I figured that I'd go early so I could study a little before our breakfast date. I was just grabbing a banana to eat on the way, and I knocked an apple off the counter. It made a loud noise and I'm guessing that's what woke you up." I explain, not once looking at him. "Hmmm." My father looks back up at the clock. "You'd better leave now, if you want to make it on time." I kiss his cheek and rush out the door, pausing only to grab my shoes. I drive as fast as I can, pulling into the parking lot after only 15 minutes of driving. Finn is sitting at a table by the window, the table self-proclaimed as "ours". He is staring at his phone, with two mugs and a croissant sitting on the table. My phone buzzes in my pocket.

You almost here? -F

Look outside the window ;) -Q

I stand on the other side of the glass, waiting for him to look at me. He looks up, confused as always, and grins when his eyes land on me. I quickly head inside and sit down across from him. "Hey, babe." He says, still smiling. "Hi, I'm sorry that I'm late." He shakes his head. "You're not late, I got here early." I take a sip of my hot chocolate. "Thanks for getting this, by the way. It's cute that you know my drink order." I giggle as I put a little bit of whipped cream on his nose. He scrunches his face up, and reaches up to wipe it off. "We've been dating for about a year now, we've come here about 1000 times. I think I'd know your drink order." He smiles lovingly at me, and I feel my stomach flip. My hand automatically goes to my mouth and I rush to the bathroom. "Are you alright, Quinn?" I hear Finn call behind me. I finally reach the sink and vomit. I puke a few times, then I look weakly at the mirror. I slowly rinse my mouth out and wash off my face. I check my hair for any traces of the sick and scrub my hands. A knock sounds on the door, and a voice calls my name. "Quinn? Are you alright?" I exit the washroom and Finn's arms are extended to wrap me in a hug as soon as I appear. "Yeah, I'm fine." I murmur, sinking in to his flannel shirt. He looks surprised to see me so weak, usually I'm tough as nails. He leads me back to our table and pushes my mug towards me. "Drink." He says, ripping off a piece of the pastry in between us. I wearily take a sip, and after a while, I start to get some strength back. "Do you want me to drive you home?" Finn asks sympathetically. I shake my head lightly. "I can't go home. I have Cheerio's practice and a Spanish test today. Then, after school, I'm going to the mall with Santana and Brittany." Finn's eyes soften. "Quinn, you need to lighten up on the planning a little. You need to rest. For the baby." His voice is almost a whisper when he says the last word. I shift uncomfortably in my seat and avoid his gaze. "If I do that, people are going to wonder what's up." He sits back in his chair, looking defeated. "You can't keep this up forever, Quinn. You'll have to give up eventually." Finn rises from his chair and puts his hand out for me. "Ready, princess?" I smile a little and accept his hand.