An authors note...You guys are fabulous as always. Thank you so very much for all of the wonderful reviews, and always appreciated favorite/alerts. This has truly been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life...which is why I am so saddened to announce that this will be the last chapter of this story. I put off posting until now because today is the six month anniversary of this story and I thought it would be the proper day to end it...plus it gave me some extra time to work on this chapter. Hope it was worth the wait.

Disclaimer-Glee is the property of FOX, the creators and the writers.

Lean on Me

It was Tuesday, and the Glee clubbers were still over the moon about their second place win at Nationals. Sure, the outcome may have been a little different if Vocal Adrenaline hadn't been disqualified before the competition for deceptive tactics...after it was learned that their director intentionally and continuously had several of her students failed so that they could continue to participate. Turns out, the age requirement caps out at nineteen, and five of the Vocal Adrenaline singers were over twenty.

How they came to claim the honor wasn't really what mattered here. New Directions from McKinley high school in Lima Ohio, would be forever know as the first runner up at the 2010 show choir national championships...that's second...in the nation.

Quinn was convinced that it was all because Artie sang lead, and held no reservations when expressing that opinion. Ever the humble one, Artie tried to dismiss her insistence and hide his blush of embarrassment every single time she mentioned it. Which was a little too frequently for his liking.

"But we are totally going to win next year," Quinn declared as they entered the house through the garage entrance.

Artie rolled his eyes a little, but could help getting caught up in her excitement over the conversation that she'd started on the ride home from the grocery store. "Oh yeah, and how can you be so sure of that?" he challenged, smiling up at her.

Quinn threw her head over her shoulder just like he knew she would and smirked. "Easy. For one, Mr. Schue wants to keep rehearsals going throughout the summer as often as we can all get together. That alone will make us so much better. And since you won us this years title for us, hands down, you're a shoe-in for male lead next year. With those odds, there is no way we could loose."

Artie sheepishly lowered his head and watched her toe out of her shoes. "Quinn, Mr. Schuester never said anything about making me the lead permanently," he returned, then glanced up pointedly, "I knew that going in, and it's okay," and gave a small, indifferent shrug as he added, "I'm glad I was at least given that chance just once."

A pang of sadness hit Quinn when she realized what Artie meant by that. Most people would have never taken a kid in a wheelchair seriously as a performer. But luckily for them, Mr. Schuester was different. "He'd be stupid for not keeping it that way though," she added with a slightly dismissive tone, hoping to cover up any lingering emotions. "You deserve it way more than anyone else in the club."

Artie knew there was really no point in arguing with her when she was so obviously set in her ways, but even before he could try to form any type of response to that, his mothers voice called out from beyond the kitchen. "Artie...Quinn?"

Quinn threw a pointed smirk over her shoulder at Artie, as she sauntered through the mud room on her way into the kitchen. "Sorry it took so long Alicia. They didn't have the exact one you were looking for, so we had to go two stores. Then I lost track of Artie for a few minutes...finally found him salivating in the middle of the frozen novelty aisle." She let out a small giggle, stopping only to place the plastic bag she was carrying on the center island, and continued on her way. "I took pity on him because, well, tomorrow is his birthday and they did have his favorite flavor and it was on sale...but a part of me still feels guilty for contributing to his obvious addiction to..."

"...ice cream."

Her bright smile shattered once she stepped into the family room. Alicia was already on her feet, poised to intercept her at the entrance, an apologetic expression worrying at her face. "Why are you doing here Mother?" Quinn all but demanded of the woman sitting on the couch, after first exchanging a desperate look with an equally concerned Art and Alicia.

Judy glanced up and forced a grin. "I came to see how you were doing Sweetheart," she replied innocently.

Quinn just stood there and glared. Her first instinct was to whisk Caroline from the elder Fabray's clutches, but something, maybe fear, maybe disbelief, rooted her firmly into place. "Well, you can go now because, we...are fine," she spat back, accentuating the pronoun as she shot a pointed glance in the direction of her slumbering baby girl. Judy followed her gaze. Quinn could sense Artie's presence behind her, and that somehow gave her the courage she needed to add, "Why wouldn't we be?"

Judy visibly flinched at the harshness of her daughters words. It took her a moment to dare look up and when she did, she found Quinn exhibiting an kind of self-confidence she didn't know the young lady had. All the Fabray women she'd ever known had been submissive, almost to a fault. Herself and eldest daughter Avery, included.

Not Quinn though.

Judy almost managed a smile at that. "That's wonderful to hear Darling," she finally choked out, after first clearing the lingering emotion from her throat. Mrs. Fabray quickly glanced back down at Caroline, and a small but genuine smile began to surface. "Our last meeting was so brief, I never got a chance to hold her."

"She was born five weeks premature," Quinn explained as she briskly walked over and scooped her daughter into the protective cocoon of her arms,"so she really isn't supposed to be around too many strangers."

It may have bee the truth, but that statement hit like a punch in the stomach. Judy knew she was a stranger to her grandchild, something she had come over to the Abrams to rectify. But it quickly dawned on her that maybe she was, in some ways, now a stranger to Quinn as well.

Ignoring the sting, Judy rose to her feet and sobered enough to ask, "Five weeks is early, is everything...okay?"

Quinn let out a rueful laugh. "You mean, is she defective?" A look of horror crossed Judy's face and Quinn momentarily wondered if maybe she had crossed some kind of line with that comment, but didn't really care either way. "No Mother. Aside from being half Puckerman, she appears to be perfectly normal...not exhibiting any ill effects from her premature birth."

"You must be very relieved then." Mrs. Fabray let out her own small sigh and smiled, all the while, trying to avoid looking in the direction of the young man in the wheelchair, perched near her daughter.

Quinn couldn't help but notice the subtle exchange, and her glare intensified. She pulled Caroline a little closer to her chest while taking the few steps needed to stand next to Artie. So close in fact, her hip was nearly touching his shoulder. "She's my daughter, I will always love her no matter what," Quinn emphasized pointedly.

Judy swallowed hard and gave a solemn nod, her gaze briefly skirting over her daughter before settling on the floor. "Maybe I shouldn't have come," she muttered, stooping down to grab the bag at her feet. Turning to Alicia and Art, Judy held out her hand and thanked them for having her, then reached into her purse to pull out a slip of paper. "Please accept this and my deepest gratitude."

"Thank you Mrs. Fabray, but I cannot accept this." Bewildered, Alicia looked down at the check being offered to her and shook her head. Sure, an extra five thousand dollars in the bank would always be welcome, because even if they weren't in any financial need, they still had three growing children accruing some hefty bills; one in sports, one in the arts, and the third in both, as well as certain aspects of Artie's ongoing care that weren't fully covered by either of their combined health insurances. For some reason, though, this just felt wrong. "I'm sorry...I won't."

"Is that why you came here..." Quinn spat as she snatched the paper from her mothers hand. She glanced down at the large summed check and let out a grunt of disgust, "...to buy them off?"

"Of course not Sweetheart," Judy countered emphatically. "This was just a simple gesture of appreciation...a small compensation for all of the sacrifices they've..."

"God Mother, you are so unbelievable," Quinn scoffed incredulously, even though she'd spent many sleepless nights praying she'd somehow, someday, find a way to repay the Abrams for everything they've done for her and Caroline. Furious, she turned to Artie. "Would you mind?" she implored, motioning to Caroline.

"Not at all," he returned genuinely and promptly held his hands out for the baby.

After completing the exchange, Quinn then walked up to her mother. "You think that you can just come riding up here on your high horse, after everything is all said and done, say a few nice things, then write your guilt away in the form of a check. This isn't like church Mother."

"Quinnie, that's not what I'm trying to do at all," Judy countered defensively, but Quinn was quicker.

"No? You're not trying to make yourself feel better?"

"No Darling." Mrs. Fabray was crying now. "Daddy and I hadn't realized how much we missed you until we saw you the other day. We care about you so much Sweetheart...and we just want you to come back home to us..." she paused to glance over at Caroline, whom Artie was currently guarding with his life, "...the both of you, as soon as possible."

Quinn felt as though she'd been hit with a thousand pound wrecking ball. This couldn't be happening. "No," she gasped, tears streaming from her eyes. She looked pleadingly to the Abrams, and sobbed, "Th-that's a lie. You don't love me, you...I can't go back there...I can't..."

Afraid she might drop, Alicia rushed to Quinn's side and embraced the trembling girl. "It's okay Sweetie...everything is going to be okay," she assured her in a soothing tone, all while sharing an anxious glance with her husband.

Art walked over and wrapped his arms around both women. "Don't worry Quinn," he started, giving her shoulders a squeeze before placing a comforting kiss to the top of her head, "we will never make you do anything you don't want to do." His gaze fixing on the elder Fabray, Art then announced, "I think you should be going now."

...

Despite the intense drama from the night before, and the fact that it fell on a Wednesday this year, Quinn was determined not to let anything ruin Artie's birthday.

She had casually mentioned her desire to "have a little something for Artie with our friends from Glee" to Alicia a few Wednesdays back while the two of them were preparing dinner together...only to have the woman to break down right in front of her and go on about how wonderful that would be since he hadn't had a 'kids' party since his eighth birthday. When Quinn asked why, an emotional Alicia proceeded to tell her how Artie announced, just a few weeks before his ninth birthday, that it would probably be hard for her to host a party after just having a baby. And even after insisting otherwise, stating that it really wouldn't be any trouble since they were "still going to have a family party", she was yet again met with a determined resistance. Chalking it up to her caring, compassionate boy being concerned for her, she reluctantly agreed. But as the years went by the excuses continued, each one lamer than the next...until at twelve Artie declared he was "officially too old for that kind of stuff". Only Alicia knew it was really because he felt no one would have come anyway.

So, after drying her own tears, Quinn set out to make that entire week special, starting with Wednesday...though what she had in mind probably wouldn't even touch what his parents had planned for him later that evening.

"Ah Quinn," Artie called out to the obviously distracted blond.

"What?" she gasped as she snapped out of her reverie and slowed her car to a stop.

"You almost passed the house up," he returned with a small chuckle.

"Oh yeah, sorry..." Stuttering in apology and threw her thumb over her shoulder, "the van was...," then cut herself off as she got out to retrieve Artie's chair from her trunk.

Artie twisted his head around to look in the direction she had motioned. "Cool, it's back."

"No pool today?," Alicia asked anxiously as she met them at the base of the driveway.

"Nah. Mark said he'd take it easy on me today because it's my birthday," he quipped playfully, grinning up at her before pivoting around her to head up the drive.

The way Quinn and his mother rushed up to walk beside him was curious, but no more of a surprise than having Abbey suddenly pop her head out of the vans passenger side window as he passed. "Hi!"

"Hi?" Artie returned, starring suspiciously at his beaming sister.

"Done with physio already?," his dad asked, grinning as he came around from the drivers side of the vehicle.

"Yeah," Artie intoned warily as he explained, "I didn't have enough energy to swim after my session...the sugar buzz I had only lasted about halfway through." He glanced over at Quinn, who gave him an 'I told you so' look. Just because she'd baked two dozen cupcakes last night, didn't mean he had to eat two of them at lunch and another before glee rehearsal. "And now I'm starving."

"I didn't have a chance to start dinner yet," Alicia claimed, and it would have sounded almost apologetic if it weren't for the smirk playing at her lips.

"Why don't we go out then?" Art suggested next.

"But Andy has practice 'til seven," Artie reminded them as he gave an indifferent shrug. "We can always celebrate this weekend. I'm fine just order a pizza or something."

"So? We can go without him," Abbey said insistently as she crawled out from the window and into her fathers arms.

"Abbigayle, be nice," Alicia whispered warningly, even it was common knowledge that Andy would never willingly miss a baseball practice for anything...least of all, his big brothers birthday. "But she does have a point..." she turned to her eldest and smiled, "today is your birthday and if it's pizza you want, then it's pizza you shall have."

"And I'm sure Andy wouldn't mind us going, as long as we bring something back for him," Quinn interjected, desperately trying to hold her excitement at bay for a little while longer. This was just working out too perfectly.

"Sounds like a plan." Art made the satisfied declaration, then turned to his wife. "I don't feel much like driving...how about you Alicia."

"Not really," she replied nonchalantly. "Quinn?"

"No thanks."

Abbey giggled as she snatched the keys from her fathers hand and shimmied down to the ground. "I think Artie should drive."

Artie regarded the sweet little girl standing in front of him, dangling a set of keys in his face and smiled as he politely refreshed her memory, "But I can't drive Abbey."

"Sure you can, you got your license two weeks ago," she countered pointedly.

Artie's smiled reflexively widened even though something in his chest clenched tightly. "I know Abbs, but none of the cars we have are equipped with..." He trailed off once everybody broke out into simultaneous grins. Wrinkling his forehead in confusion, he then glanced up questioningly at his parents.

"Where do you think the vans been for the past five days, Ace?" Art asked teasingly.

"Getting new brakes," Artie answered incredulously. They said they were taking it to Mr. Hummel to get...wait a minute...

Artie locked eyes with his mother, who could only manage a watery smile and a small nod. This was all the confirmation he needed to know exactly what type of brakes they were referring to, and his jaw fell open in disbelief. "Mom?"

"Happy Birthday Sweetie," she choked out before her emotions got the best of her. Artie couldn't believe it, this was so much more than he could have ever asked for. Sure they had bounced around the idea of him eventually getting a vehicle after he'd got his license, but this...this was...

"Sorry it's about a year over due," Alicia managed to whisper a few seconds later. Artie had no idea he was squeezing his mother that tight until her words came out like a strangled gasp. He backed away slightly and glanced up at her with the most graciously sincere expression.

"No Mom, it's..." Artie trailed off, unable to continue. He held her gaze a few seconds longer, until his vision became obscured, and he was forced to shove his fingers under his glasses to wipe at the moisture pooling in his eyes. It didn't take long for him to forget his excitement and become extremely self-conscious over the fact that Quinn was there to witness this very open display of emotion. However, all that was thrown out the window when he hesitantly glanced up to see the genuine look of happiness she had for him on her own tear-streaked face.

"Art, show him," Alicia insisted, relishing in the way her sons face lit up as he watched the van door open and lower the ramp to reveal the newly installed, top-of-the-line hand controls.

"Okay so, Burt Hummel has this mechanic friend who's kind of an expert when it comes to adaptive driving," Mr. Abrams started out explaining as he lead Artie into the van, "The best in the state I think..."

As father and son left to bond over 'car stuff', Quinn reflexively glanced over at Alicia. To say this must be a bittersweet moment for her was an understatement, and the torn expression she was wearing, only confirmed that.

Quinn stepped over and placed a comforting arm around Alicia's shoulders. "Looks like we pulled it off," she whispered triumphantly as she gave a small squeeze. It was nice to finally be the one to do the comforting.

Alicia nodded silently and swallowed hard, but returned Quinn's smile with one of her own. "I don't know if I've even seen him so happy," she sniffled in return. On second thought, maybe she had...that first time he held his baby sister, then again as Caroline was being born...though Alicia thought it best to keep that to herself.

Quinn had just turned to pull Alicia into a warm hug, when the tender gesture was prematurely spoiled by the ringing of the house heard over the baby monitor still clipped to Alicia's front pocket. So they shared a chuckle instead.

"I'll get it," Abbey eagerly offered, and ran inside to see who was calling.

Artie had just transferred to the drivers seat, and was checking over the swivel mechanism, when a flushed looking Abbey came jogging out of the house with the phone in her hand. "Mommy, it's coach Ian."

She handed it to Alicia who proceed to nod, cringe worriedly and say, "Okay, sure. We'll meet you there."

Mr. Abrams, who was very familiar with that tone, immediately stuck his head out of the opened side door of the van. "What is it Leesha?"

"Andy," she replied shakily, as she handed the reciever over to Quinn. "He took a line drive to the face. They're taking him to the emergency room. They think his nose might be broken."

"Here," Artie offered upon hearing the news, and seeing the concerned looks on his parents faces. He moved to transfer back to his chair. "We'll go with you."

"No, you guys stay here," Art countered, stopping Artie before he'd completed the maneuver. "You shouldn't have to spend your birthday in the emergency room."

Alicia couldn't agree more. They'd already had to do that once, on Artie's eleventh birthday, only that time he was the patient. "And you know how much Abbey hates hospitals." He gave an indecisive shrug, still torn between going with his parents or staying home with the girls. Yes, it was his birthday, and no, he didn't want to spend it in the emergency room...but Andy was still his brother, and as awful as he could be sometimes, Artie really did love him. "Please," Alicia added, her voice taking on a slightly panicky tone at having to wait for a definitive answer.

"Okay," Artie finally relented. He'd seen far too much of anxious, worried Mom to know it was better not to argue with her when she was like that.

"Thank you," she whispered, climbing into the van to give him a hug. "I'm so sorry about dinner Sweetie."

"It's okay Mom," he consoled dismissively. And it was. "Just...," Artie started once they began to break apart. He caught her gaze and flashed her an encouraging smile, "...don't worry, he'll be fine."

A little more at ease, Alicia exited the van and scooped Abbey up into her arms before turning to give Quinn a hug goodbye.

"This enough for something to eat?" Art asked, handing Artie two twenty dollar bills.

"Sure," he grinned, not at all surprised by the generous gesture. "I have some of my own too."

Art nodded and wordlessly pulled another bill out of his pocket. He tossed it into Artie's lap, then leaned in to give his son a quick squeeze. "You guys have a good night", he advised, glancing back over his shoulder, on his way to his car. "We'll keep you in touch."

"Thanks Dad," Artie called out, even though he suspected his father was probably out of ear shot.

Quinn waved the Abrams off, then turned back to Artie and sighed. "I guess we'd better get inside and order that pizza," she suggested, almost apologetically.

Considering his options, Artie glanced over to where his chair was sitting, to the steering wheel, then down at the sixty dollars still sitting in his lap and grinned wickedly. "Are you kidding me?" he countered, blue eyes dancing brightly as he turned the drivers seat forward and shoved the key into the ignition. "We are so going out."

...

It didn't take much arm twisting from either girl to convince Artie that they should probably go for actual food, before treating themselves to dessert.

It really didn't matter where they went first...as long as he got to drive.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Abbey whispered across the table to her brother.

"So go," he replied even softer, a ghost of a blush coloring his cheeks.

"But Mom usually goes with me," she announced sheepishly, causing Artie's eyes to widen in alarm.

Smiling at his reaction, Quinn quickly offered. "I'll go with you Abbey. I have to wash my hands anyway."

With the girls gone, Artie figured it was safe to sneak another piece of pizza. He had just gotten the corner into his mouth when a matronly voice called out.

"How old?"

Artie quickly glanced over at the friendly stranger smiling at him. Taken by surprise, he was reflexively about to brag that he turned seventeen today, when he remembered that he wasn't completely alone at the table. He swallowed the last of his bite and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Oh um four weeks," Artie replied, smiling as he looked down at Caroline, comfortably lounging in her car seat on the chair next to him.

The older woman, about the age of his grandmother, smiled as she stared at the baby. "Such a mild mannered disposition...and so content. I haven't heard a peep out of her the entire time," she commented, motioning three tables over to where a younger woman was still trying to calm her very unhappy infant.

"Well, you wouldn't be saying that if you heard her about an hour ago," he quipped playfully, then nodded in the direction of the crying, "she sounded a lot like that."

The lady let out a small laugh and shrugged. "Well either way, you have a very beautiful daughter."

"Oh no...um, she's not...

"Thank you," Quinn cut in before Artie could finish stammering, and smiled politely at the woman as she walked away.

"You could have just said thank you, you know." Her casualness caused him to look up in surprise. "I find it's simpler that trying to explain the situation," she added, pausing a moment to smile at the blush that was quickly spreading across Artie's cheeks. Quinn gave a small shrug, "At least she was nice and didn't condemn you for being a teen-aged parent."

"Well I'm not a teen-aged parent," Artie countered, his tone heavy, and slightly disappointed sounding. "And I can't take credit for something that's not mine." He glanced back at Caroline and smiled, "especially not something that's as beautiful as her."

Quinn's chest clenched and the table fell into an uncomfortable silence after that...but only for a few short minutes.

"Do you have any quarters?" Abbey asked hopefully.

"For what Squirt?" Artie queried, playing dumb.

The little girl broke out into a huge grin and giggled at her brother. "The arcade games, Silly."

Artie exaggeratedly rolled his eyes as he reached around and stuck his hand into the side pocket of his backpack, thankful he remembered to grab the stash of coins his parents keep in the drivers side cup holder before exiting the van.

Abbey looked expectantly over at Quinn, but she could only contribute her measly three to Artie's twenty or so.

"Have fun...,"Artie called after her, "...and stay where I can see you."

Quinn had to smile. Artie was so unbelievably amazing with kids. At first she'd thought it was just because he had grown up with a baby sister who was nine years younger. But the way he was with Caroline...

"Is it wrong to wish she wasn't Puck's?"

The words came out faster than Quinn had anticipated. And it wasn't even the question she'd intended on asking him.

"I don't think so," Artie rationalized, smiling down at the baby beside him. "I mean you and Finn were a couple for what...almost two years? It's only logical that you would want him to the father of your child."

"Finn? Oh God no, he's a complete idiot," she gasped incredulously, capping it off with a tiny giggle. "I mean he's a great guy and everything. It's just...he'd probably need an instruction manual to change a diaper. And did you forget his choice in baby names?"

Artie let out a soft chuckle, followed by a noncommittal shrug as he continued to gently run his finger over Caroline's pudgy knee. "Can you hand me her blanket?" he asked abruptly, a second later, "She feels a little cold."

Quinn nodded and passed the soft covering over the table, her smile widening the entire time. "I was thinking more along the lines of a father-figure like Mr. Schue," she revealed, timidly returning to the previous subject. Artie finished tucking the blanket around Caroline and glanced up curiously. He was well aware of the plot Mrs. Schuester and her sister came up with to pass the baby off as Mr. Schue's, though he never held any of that against Quinn. "Or your dad," she beamed a beat later, then leaned forward on the table and added in all honesty, "or even you..."

Artie's reaction to her compliment didn't have the effect Quinn thought it would. Instead of that coy blush followed by a satisfied smirk she was expecting, he lowered his head self-consciously and sighed, "You mean me without the chair."

"What?" Quinn gasped, caught off guard. That wasn't what she meant at all. "No Artie. You...just the way you are," she clarified, but he still didn't look convinced. "Look...," she back-peddled nervously, "...there's something I've been meaning to ask you for a while, and I've been putting it off because I really wasn't sure I was going to go through with it. But now I'm am and I'd...", Quinn paused to make sure she had his attention, then smiled hopefully at him, "...I'd really like you to be Caroline's godfather."

Again, his response wasn't at all what she'd expected and her smile faltered. "I'm honored Quinn, really...I'm just not sure I'm the right candidate for that position."

"Geeze Artie, it's not like I'm nominating you for president," she returned, pointedly following his gaze to were it was resting on his lap, "though I feel the need to remind you that one of our greatest presidents to date, was himself, in a wheelchair." Artie cracked a smile but didn't look up. "And I'm sure your relationship with Caroline won't be all that different from the one you have with Abbey."

At the mention of her name, Artie glanced over to where his little sister was intently studying the contents of the crane game.

"It makes no difference to her that you can't run around and kick a ball, because you still managed to teach her how to play soccer. And she doesn't care that you can't bike ride together, because you guys can still have races. You're there for her whenever, wherever...and that's what I want for Caroline."

Artie switched his focus back to the almost dozing baby next to him, so Quinn took the opportunity to do the same.

"I see how you are with her Artie. Just be the way she looks at you, I know she recognizes who you are. I love how she tries to smile at you when you're talking or singing to her. And how she clings your shirt when you're holding her. You make her feel safe and cared about...just like you make me feel."

Artie's eyes snapped up to meet Quinn's and his throat suddenly went dry. Damn salty pizza. "God Quinn, you are so beautiful," he blurted out unexpectedly.

"Artie, don't. I've had a really difficult time trying to not kiss you today...and right now, you're making it almost impossible." Realizing she had just said that out loud, Quinn sprang from her seat and abruptly left the table. She only got halfway to the door when she remembered she'd left her purse...and her baby.

Returning with a blush redder than an over ripe tomato, Quinn avoided looking at Artie as she began to collect her things. She had just closed her hand around the handle of Caroline's car seat, when Artie covered it with his. "Did you forget that I'm the one who drove here?" he asked staring up at her. Quinn nodded, so he implored, "Sit, please."

At Quinn's hesitated, Artie moved Caroline off of the chair next to him, to the freshly cleared table. "Artie, I...," she started, even before she was fully seated.

"It's okay Quinn, I understand," he cut in before she could continue. "I'm just...I'm flattered." Artie was able to cover up his slight stammer with a shrug, "I've only ever had one other person want to actually kiss me...and well, you know how that turned out." His own blush intensified and he lowered his head sheepishly. "If it makes you feel any better, I've wanted to kiss you since the second grade."

Quinn let out a soft giggle. It did make her feel better...but only a little. "I'm not sure you do understand Artie," she returned honestly. "I care about you, a lot...and your family." The hitch in her voice did nothing to help her sincerity, neither did the pause that followed. "I wouldn't have even considered you and Mom for Caroline's godparents if I didn't."

"I know," Artie returned, unable to hide the slight disappointment in his voice, at what was starting to sound suspiciously like rejection. Not that he had expected anything else.

Sensing that same reason behind his response, Quinn reached out for Artie's hands. "You know this has nothing to do with Puck, or Finn...," she glanced down pointedly, "...or even your chair. This has to do with me and my incredibly mix up, screwed up life." Quinn gave his hands a quick squeeze and smiled. "I never want to do anything to hurt you Artie. I just need to take things slow right now, and figure out what's best for the both of us," she glanced over at Caroline, then back at him, "...for all of us." He nodded again, and so did she.

"Promise this won't change anything between us?"

"I Promise," Artie agreed...only he knew this would change everything.

Two weeks later...

It was the second official day of summer vacation. Artie and Quinn sat on the couch in the family room, while some obscure reality show played on the tv.

"What are we doing here Artie?"

He let out a small chuckle. "I've been asking myself that for the past forty-seven minutes."

Quinn gave his chest a light swat. "I mean us...," She glanced up to see him wrinkle his forehead in confusion and let out a frustrated sigh. "Take Wednesday after school got out, we went to the mall together."

"Yeah? Ad met up with Kurt, Tina, Mike and Mercedes."

"Then yesterday...we went to the movies," she returned pointedly.

"It was a matinee...and we took Abbey," he countered playfully.

"So what about tonight?"

Artie broke out into a wide grin. Tonight was definitely special. The two of them alone, out for Chinese.

"I'm no expert, but that kinda felt like a date."

"So much for taking it slow," he mumbled teasingly. Another swat, harder this time and Artie winced. "Did you think it was a date?"

Quinn bit her lower lip and shrugged. "Did you?" Artie gave the same shrug in reply. "Well then, maybe we should keep trying...you know, so we can figure it out exactly."

Artie pulled Quinn closer to him and placed a soft kiss to the top of her head. "Sounds like a great idea to me."

And the best part? They'd have the next three months to do just that.

ANx2...I really do feel bad that I ended up skipping over the second day of Nationals, the announcement of the winners, and the awards ceremony. I was finding all of that very difficult to write, probably because I already wrote that in the Regionals chapter. So I left it out and decided to go with the Quinn/Artie fluff instead...after the angst, of course.

ANx3...It looks as though the fates have spoken on this one, the poll results were 73% in favor of Quinn and Artie possibly ending up together. In light of this, I'd like to ask your opinion on whether or not I should continue with this storyline in the future, since I already have an Abrams family based fic lined up for this fall, and would like something else to work on in the meantime.