"Artie, how are you not nervous about this?"

Artie shrugged, and glanced over at Quinn, noting her death grip on the steering wheel.

"I don't know, I'm just not. It'll be fine."

She couldn't believe how relaxed he was. He'd had mixed feelings about the whole dinner thing, but had decided that he should go, and that it would be fine. And that was that. Once Artie decided something would be ok, very rarely could anything make him believe otherwise.

"How can you possibly say that? It's my mother we're talking about here. How is it going to be fine?"

"It just is," he said, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it. Trust me."

And she did.

As they pulled into the driveway, Quinn hit the button on the remote, opening the garage door.

"There aren't any stairs into the house from the garage, so I thought that would probably work best," she said, as she drove in, careful to avoid a pile of boxes sitting up against the wall.

Artie just nodded. After his little mini speech in the car about how everything would be fine, he didn't dare let Quinn know that he was a little bit nervous. That was normal, right?

She put the car in park, shut it off, and got out to get Artie's chair out of the trunk.

It was a tight fit, getting the chair past the boxes, but they managed to get to the door relatively unscathed. A small box had landed on Quinn's head as she backed up to let him by, but it was empty, so there was no damage done.

"Mom, we're here," she called as she opened the door. She heard a small crash from the kitchen, followed by footsteps, and instantly felt like she was going to throw up. Why had she let him convince her that it would be fine?

"Mom, this is Artie. Artie, this is my mom," she said, gesturing with her hand as she introduced them.

Artie held out his hand, and said "Hi Mrs. Fabray, it's very nice to meet you."

She took his hand, shaking it gently.

"Hello...Artie. It's...nice...to...meet...you," she said, speaking incredibly slowly and deliberately.

Quinn knew this was a bad idea. And why was she talking so loudly?

"Mom, can I talk to you for a second in the kitchen?" she asked, grabbing her arm and pulling her out of the room before she could protest.

Artie was trying his hardest not to grin...it wasn't the first time something like this had happened, but he didn't expect Quinn to know that. She'd talked a bit about how her mom referred to his "condition" and how she didn't really have much experience dealing with people like him. Not that she said "people like him," but he knew that was what she meant.

Once the kitchen door was closed, Quinn turned to her mother.

"Mom, what are you doing? He can't walk...you don't need to talk to him like he might not understand you! His brains aren't in his legs!"

"Honey, what makes you think I think that?"

"Well, maybe the fact that you just took about two minutes longer than it should have to tell him it's nice to meet him? Just talk normally. PLEASE."

Judy winced slightly at this. She had tried, really, she had. She just didn't know how to talk to those people. She just wasn't sure how to be around people in his...condition. What if she said something wrong? Did something wrong? What if she accidentally offended him?

Quinn could see that her mother was slightly taken aback by her request. She probably didn't even realize how she'd approached him. She knew that people often couldn't see past his chair, but she'd never actually witnessed it quite like that. She decided she'd ask him when they were alone if people had talked to him like that before.

They made their way back to the living room, where Artie was admiring the pictures neatly lined up over the fireplace. He noticed that many of them looked like they had been modified to take someone out (probably Quinn's dad, but he wasn't about to ask). The pictures ranged from when she was little until fairly recently, and he couldn't help but think how adorable she was.

"Sorry, there was just something we had to do with the roast," Quinn said, giving Artie a look that said she'd fill him in later.

"Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes, kids, I just need to do a few more things," Judy said, leaving the room to go finish up getting the meal ready.

Artie looked amused.

"I am so sorry about that. We had a little chat, and I think the rest of the evening should be better," Quinn said, leaning over to whisper in Artie's ear.

"Quinn...it's ok. Seriously. This isn't the first time I've been talked to like that, and I'm pretty sure it won't be the last. Some people just don't understand things."

"I know, I'm just so embarrassed. I thought she'd at least let you get in the door before she started."

He grinned, and pulled her down for a hug, just as they heard Mrs. Fabray call from the kitchen that dinner was on the table.

Dinner was...interesting, but at least Judy had taken her daughter's request to heart, and was speaking in a normal volume and at a normal speed.

She kept referring to Artie's "condition," and Quinn could tell he was starting to get a bit uncomfortable. For every conversation topic that came up, she had a comment about his "condition."

Finally, grasping for something that wouldn't make her mom ask a bunch of questions, Quinn brought up the fact that Artie was going to be learning to drive.

"That's wonderful dear! Can people in your condition do that?"

Quinn closed her eyes, willing herself not to say anything to her mother.

"Um...yes. They modify cars with hand controls so that people who can't use their legs can drive them."

This seemed to be enough to keep Judy quiet, and Quinn smiled slightly at the fact that he was handling everything so well. If the situation had been reversed, she mused, she probably would have lost her cool a long time ago.

As they were finishing up dinner, there was a pause in the conversation, and Quinn was just about to say something, because she knew how Artie felt about awkward silences. Before she could say anything, Artie spoke.

"Mrs. Fabray, thank you for dinner. It was great!"

Judy smiled. "Thank you, dear. Why don't we go sit in the living room for a bit before dessert?"

Sitting in the living room. That was the part Quinn had dreaded the most. She knew it was coming, but she hoped maybe they could avoid it. Sitting in the living room was always where the "real" conversation took place.

"So, Artie, Quinn tells me the two of you are dating. Is it serious? You do know that last time she dated someone, she got pregnant...we certainly don't want that to happen again."

Quinn almost choked on the glass of water she had been drinking. She wished her eyes could shoot duct tape, so she could close her mother's mouth before the conversation went any further.

Artie went beet red. Quinn could tell he had absolutely no idea how to respond. How dare her mother say something like that? The evening had been going kind of well (better than she had hoped), and then this? She wished she could be struck by lightning, just to avoid where the conversation was headed.

Judy, apparently oblivious to the fact that the tension in the room could have been cut with a knife, continued.

"Are you able to..."

"MOM, STOP!" Quinn couldn't contain herself any longer.

"I invited Artie here to meet you, because I thought it would be nice, not so you could treat him inappropriately and grill him! The first time I met his family, they gave me nothing but warmth, and I had hoped that maybe you could do the same for him. I told you, this is not like it was before. That situation is not going to repeat itself."

Artie felt like he should leave, but he wasn't sure where to go.

She continued. "What Artie and I have here is special, and I am not going to let you ruin it for me. For either of us."

She was crying by this point, and Judy looked absolutely shocked at the outburst. Artie wondered if she really was as clueless as she appeared. How could she think that the conversation she had started would end well? Did she not expect Quinn, or SOMEONE to react like that?

He was so uncomfortable.

"I should go...," he started, but Judy stopped him, much to his surprise.

"Artie, that's not necessary. I think we need to talk about this."

He wanted to say that he thought maybe she and Quinn needed to talk about some things before bringing him into the conversation, but he just sat there. The last thing he wanted was to say anything that might make the situation worse, or even more awkward than it already was.

"Quinn, honey, you know I love you, and I'm just trying to protect you. I feel like I completely failed you last time you needed protecting, and I don't want to make that mistake again."

Quinn looked up.

"Mom, you don't need to protect me from anything. This is totally different, and I'm different now than I was then."

At this point, both of them were crying, and Artie was on the fence. On one hand, he wanted to be there to support Quinn, and on the other, he wished the floor would open up and swallow him, so he could just be gone. His family never had discussions like this, about these things, and he wasn't really sure what was supposed to happen. Not to say that they didn't have serious conversations...but nothing like this.

Judy moved over onto the couch to sit beside her daughter, wrapping her arm around her.

"I know, honey, I know," she said, leaning in closer.

The three of them sat there for a few minutes in silence, before Judy sat up, and spoke.

"Artie, Quinn, I'd like to apologize to both of you. I've just had so much trouble seeing past what happened last time, and I guess I let it get the better of me. Artie, I think part of me wanted to believe that Quinnie would be safe because she was spending time with a boy in a wheelchair, and once I realized that maybe it was more than just 'spending time,' I got nervous. Please don't be offended, but I suppose I just saw you as a safe place for her to be."

"Mrs. Fabray, I like to think that I am a safe place for Quinn to be. I'd never do anything to hurt her. I think I'm the luckiest person in the world every time I think of what we have, and I would never want to ruin that by doing something we might both regret."

Quinn took his hand, squeezing it gently. He was right...he was her safe place. And hey...when did he become so eloquent? Had he rehearsed this situation?

Judy smiled, and got up to give him a hug...something that was completely unexpected. Quinn didn't think she could ever remember seeing her mother touch one of her friends...that just wasn't something that happened.

After that, the rest of the evening went by smoothly. Artie was still feeling a bit uneasy, but Quinn and Mrs. Fabray seemed relaxed, so he decided everything must be ok.

Once it was clear that everything was fine, and that the evening had started to wind down, Artie decided it would be an appropriate time to get ready to leave.

"I should probably get home...you know...homework, and all that stuff," he said.

"Just a second. I want to go find some different shoes. I'll be right back," Quinn said, getting up and walking towards the stairs. She had had a little debate in her head about whether or not it was safe to leave them alone for a couple of minutes, and decided it should be alright.

After Quinn disappeared up the stairs, Judy turned to Artie.

"Artie, I'm sorry about this evening. Now that we've cleared the air, I'd love to have you over for dinner again. Maybe we can start over?"

He smiled.

"Thank you, Mrs. Fabray, that would be really nice. I was also thinking...maybe you and Quinn could come over to my house for dinner one night, so you could meet my parents. If you'd like to do that, I'll talk to my mom, and we can set something up."

Judy smiled. He really was a nice boy.

"I'd like that."

Quinn returned, having found a different pair of shoes because it was raining, and they got ready to leave.

As they were headed towards the door, Artie turned.

"Goodnight Mrs. Fabray. It was really great to meet you, and thanks again for dinner."

She smiled in acknowledgement.

"And, to answer the question you didn't get to finish asking...yes, I am able to do that. But that doesn't mean I will. I'm a gentleman, after all."

A/N: I would have loved to continue, but I was pretty sure Artie's little line there closed it off just right.

Sorry if some of the dialogue sounds kind of forced and/or rushed...I had some serious difficulties getting this to be what I wanted it to be. I may rewrite it at a later date, but for now...this is what you get.

I hope you enjoyed! As always, feedback is greatly appreciated.