Pairing: Quinn/OC
Rating: T (For language)
Spoilers: The entire series (duh) especially for "On My Way" (because that's what this story is based on)… there are also spoilers for my own story "It's Only Wednesday", so if you want to read that one first, that's cool. If not, you should get this jist of what my OC's backstory is.
Disclaimers: I only own my own character, Wally. Mr. Murphy owns everybody else.
AN: So I'm not dead! Who would've thunk? Well, I wasn't really writing anything for a long while, but then I saw "On My Way" and my muse picked up again. Of course I threw in my OC to this one because I love him even though everybody else hates Glee OCs, so I was a bit nervous about posting this, but I hope you enjoy it and don't tear me to shreds over it in the reviews…
I also didn't really foresee anything that happened in Season three happening in my story, so I tried my best to get it to all work out…
It's going to be a two-shot, so here's part one for ya. Enjoy.
Wally Weaver had felt pain. It is nothing new to him. After almost nine years of being beat on by his drunk of a father, he learned how to hide his pain and how to become so numb to it all that it almost didn't hurt.
There's been an accident. Four words that shattered his life eleven years ago when his mother died and four words he thought he'd never have to hear again. The pain of his mother's death was so dull at this point, he barely felt it.
But when Will Schuster came running into the courthouse, out of breath, cell phone in hand, sputtering out those four words, all the pain Wally thought he had buried came rushing back.
It's Quinn.
Quinn Fabray. The golden-haired beauty that was the keeper of Wally's heart and soul, the girl who saved his life, from his father and from himself. She brought out all those feelings that had been bottled up inside of him for so long and told him that maybe it was ok to hurt a bit, to be a bit broken. Everybody needed fixing and Miss Quinn Fabray was the perfect person to fix Mr. Walter Weaver.
Wally is out of the courthouse and into his car before Schue can say anything else, turning the engine over and over, trying to get the stupid piece of junk started. "C'mon, Lucille, please… Please…" Tears are rolling down his cheeks as his fist comes down on the dashboard. Somebody is knocking on his window; It's Puck, holding up the keys to his truck. In the blink of an eye, Wally is speeding through the streets of Lima, Ohio, gas pedal to the floor and then some.
It felt like time was passing by so slowly. Wally can almost hear Gary Jules singing in the background.
Judy Fabray is already there; She may have been a cruddy mom to Quinn for a sizable chunk of her life, but she had taken Wally in without any questions and loved Quinn more than anything now, and that was all that mattered. Wally hugs her and she sobs into his shoulder. He tries to comfort her, but his own voice is breaking, and tears are rolling down his nose and onto Judy's shirt.
Quinn's car had been hit on the driver's side by a car two times the size of her bug. A woman who had been out for a walk somehow managed to pull her of the twisted wreckage out and gave her CPR until the ambulance arrived. Wally hugs the woman (who had rode in the ambulance with Quinn) and thanks her over and over and over.
The doctor Wally manages to grab says that Quinn is going to be in surgery for a while; her leg is shattered, her ribs are broken and the shards caused some internal bleeding, the glass and metal had cut her to ribbons, and she has a concussion.
As the Glee clubbers begin to come to the hospital's waiting room, all of them still in full wedding attire, Wally wonders if this was how Quinn had felt about a year ago, no knowing if he was ok or not.
It was the not knowing that was the worst.
Rachel comes into the waiting room, her makeup running down her cheeks, hugging Wally, telling him it was all her fault, that if she hadn't been so pushy and texted Quinn while she was driving, none of this would have happened. Wally just hugs her back and tells her it isn't.
In the deepest, darkest part of Wally's heart he isn't so sure about that.
The jacket comes off first. Then the tie is loosened. Then that comes off too. He sits for a bit, then paces around, then sits again, then paces around some more, rinse, lather, repeat.
The seconds drag on for what seem like years.
It's been three hours. Wally is sitting down now, his leg bouncing nervously. He begins humming, without even realizing it. It's only by the time he reaches the second verse that he realizes what he's humming. 'Lovers In Japan'. The first song he and Quinn sang together. It was during that song that Wally made the decision that he was going to marry Quinn Fabray. He had taken half of his earnings that night and stashed it away in his guitar case. It was his "Put A Ring On It" fund (because he was a closeted Beyonce fan). He was going to get Judy's blessing as soon as he had enough money for a nice ring and propose after graduation.
They were both going to NYU that fall, enrolled in the pre-law program. They were both going to NYU. No accident was going to change that. Quinn's a fighter, she'll pull through. Wally just had to keep telling himself that.
When they were in New York for Nationals last year, she confessed how she thought about marrying him, having kids together, growing old together… It makes Wally smile, even if for a second.
They both just had to get through today, and then that dream could become a reality.
It's been almost five hours. Wally can feel his eyelids drooping a bit. He would nod off for a second, but images of a bloody and mangled Quinn would assault him and he would jerk back awake.
Somebody sits down next to him and a hand is rubbing his back. "If you want to sleep for a bit…" Wally looks up and Kurt is giving him a small smile, even though his eyes are red from crying; he, like every other member of the glee club, had gone home to change out of their wedding attire and get some food. Wally and Judy had been the only ones who had stayed the whole time.
Wally can only shake his head. "I can't…" He croaks out. He knows he must look awful, but he's looked worse so he doesn't really care.
Kurt sighs. "Blaine is out getting some food. Do you want him to bring you a change of clothes?"
Wally looks down at his white dress shirt; it is stained with tears and makeup from just about every girl in glee club, plus Judy, plus Mrs. Hudson-Hummel, plus Ms. Pillsbury, plus Kurt. "It doesn't matter."
Kurt nods, slowly stands up, and walks away; the kid from Seattle, the one who was tough as nails and could probably kick Puck's ass sounded so… dead. It killed Kurt to see his friend hurting so much. It killed him even more though when he thought about how Quinn had almost actually died.
Blaine brings Wally a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. He changes at the speed of sound and is back before anyone notices he's gone.
Six hours. Wally grabs another doctor who happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. When the poor guy says he doesn't know anything about a Quinn Fabray, Wally almost throws the guy through a wall. Finn calms him down and asks politely if the man can find out about Quinn's status.
Ten minutes later, he's back with the news that they stopped the internal bleeding, reconstructed her ribs, gotten all of the major wounds stitched up, and are working on reconstructing her leg. Wally mumbles his thanks and goes back to pacing.
He's humming 'Love Reign O'er Me' now. They came up with the idea last year and proposed it to the club. Schue along with everybody else loved it, calling it "The ace in their sleeve at Regionals," which it was. It was such a powerful thing, every time they sang that song together. The way her hazel eyes sparkled every time she would sing a line to him. To him. Only to him.
Part of him still doesn't understand why they worked so well together. The good Christian girl with the level head on her shoulders dating the gritty, grungy boy who had run away from his Seattle home. Sure, they fought, they kissed, they made out, they made up, just like any other couple but it just seemed to work so much better than any other relationship the two had been in prior.
Maybe it was because they went deeper than other relationships did. They had both opened themselves up so much to the other, they knew each other better than they knew themselves. They could read each other like books.
On paper, she shouldn't want him. But she does. She tells him all the time. She tells him so much that Wally had begun to believe it.
She could have any man she wants. But she chose him.
Six hours. No wait, seven (The clock is getting fuzzy). Most of the people in the waiting room are fast asleep. Except Schue. Ms. Pillsbury is asleep on his shoulder, but he's sitting right across from Wally, his brown eyes fixed on him.
Wally knows Schue wants him to say something. "It's taking too long." He whispers. "It shouldn't be taking this long."
Schue sighs a bit. "I know. But they're taking their time, making sure they don't make any mistakes."
"What if she can't walk again?" Wally theorizes. "She wants to rejoin the Cheerios, but what if she can't?" Fresh tears spring to Wally's eyes. "She wants to go out to these jazz clubs we heard about in New York… What if she can't dance again? And what about being able to sing with her at Nationals?"
Schue looks like he wants to get up and comfort Wally, but he remembers Emma is asleep on him, so he doesn't. "She'll dance again. With you. On stage. At Nationals. And next fall, you two will go to one of those clubs and she'll be dancing her heart out. I can see it." Schue bites his lip. "She may not be able to rejoin the Cheerios, but she'll walk across the stage to get her diploma, I can promise you that." Schue smiles a bit. "She's alive, and that's all that really matters."
Wally can't help but smile at Schue's optimism; he also smiles because he can see the two of them dancing to the sounds of swing, this huge smile on Quinn's face, the one that makes Wally smile too.
And he is right; She's alive and that is what matters.
It has been seven hours, twenty-three minutes, and forty-seven seconds since Quinn Fabray's red VW bug was T-boned by a gray Ford truck when her surgeon comes out into the waiting room. People start to wake up and are anxious to hear what he has to say.
"She has made it out of surgery and is doing just fine. She's asleep, so we'll be taking the minimum number of visitors." The doctor announces. "Mrs. Fabray?"
Judy nods and starts to walk away with him when she stops. "Can Wally come too?" She asks. The doctor bites his lip a bit. "Please, she means the world to him." The doctor finally nods and Wally has to control himself to make sure he doesn't sprint down the hall to see her.
The hospital is white and smells like rubbing alcohol and Wally can't help but flash back to when he was here a year earlier. His hand unconsciously rubs the scar on his neck. They reach Quinn's room and the doctor has his hand on the doorknob, laying down ground rules; stuff like be quiet, blah, blah, blah. Wally's not listening, he just wants the doctor to open the damn door.
When he does and Wally sees the figure on the bed, it takes every ounce of his will power not to break down right then and there.
He walks over silently and gently strokes her hair; it's a bit matted with sweat and blood (that makes Wally's stomach churn), but beautiful none-the-less. Tears roll down his nose and onto her pillow as he takes in the full extent of what happened to her.
Her left leg is suspended from the ceiling and is probably full of pins and rods to keep every bone fragment in place. There are a few cuts and bandages on her face, and Wally can only imagine what is under the hospital gown; there must be staples holding together the flesh they had to cut to make sure the shards of her broken ribs didn't shred her organs, probably like the ones running up and down her leg. There are IVs in her arms and an oxygen tube in her nose.
He slowly takes her right hand and kisses her knuckles; there's and IV sticking out of her wrist.
On the other side of the bed, Judy is sniffling loudly. Wally doesn't let go of Quinn's hand as he pulls up a chair next to the bed.
"Go home Judy, get cleaned up, take a nap." He says quietly, seeing on her face how painful it is for her to see this. "I'll stay with her."
Judy can only nod and she quickly leaves the room; Wally hears her sobbing in the hallway. He brings Quinn's knuckles to his lips again as the tears flow freely, but silently, now.
He doesn't notice it, but he's humming 'The Wind Cries Mary'.
Ten minutes later Santana walks in. She's been Quinn's oldest friend, her biggest rival. Wally never really understood their relationship. Either way though, he's glad she's here.
They don't speak for a bit, until Santana finally breaks the silence. "I didn't trust you at first." She admits. "I thought you were just some creep trying to get into her pants…" She runs her hand though Quinn's hair. "But I see the way you look at her and—" Santana chokes on her words as tears roll down her cheeks. "You better fucking treat her right!" She hisses. "This had better not change anything, because if it does, I will hurt you."
He doesn't respond for a second. If Quinn didn't leave him after what happened last year, he sure as hell won't be leaving her now.
"I want to marry her." It's the first time he's said it out loud; it feels strange, but amazing at the same time.
Santana's head shoots up so fast, she might have given herself whiplash. "The fuck, Weaver?"
He just nods. "I'm saving up for a ring."
"When were you planning on doing this?"
"After graduation."
"Have you told anybody else?" Wally shakes his head. "Not even Judy?" Another shake. The Latina sighs and looks down at her friend's motionless body. "I won't say anything, I swear… Just… Just treat her right. She's special." She squeezes her friend's hand; it doesn't squeeze back.
Santana tells him that she's the last visitor for the evening and that everybody will come back in the morning. She bids him good night, even though they both know it won't.
The doctor comes back in and Wally asks the loaded question.
"Will she be able to walk again?"
The doctor nods. "After a lot of PT, she should be back to walking in at least a few months. Once her leg completely heals in about a year or so, maybe less, the rods will have to be removed and there will have to be more PT, but she'll be able to walk and run and do whatever normally in at least a few months to a year." Wally nods and turns back to Quinn, ignoring the doctor until he leaves.
She'll be able to walk and run and do whatever normally in at least a few months to a year… Wally couldn't help but smile at this; She'll be dancing and taking New York by storm in now time.
He sits by her bedside, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. He's now humming 'Warning Sign'. He always listens to A Rush Of Blood To The Head whenever he's sad; Quinn can usually hear it through the walls, and unless it's about them and they haven't kissed and made up yet, she'll barge into his room and make him tell her what's bugging him. The album is on repeat in his head.
He's been like that for an hour when he stops. "I'm going to take you to Seattle." He says it out of the blue. "Show you where I grew up."
"I'm also going to take you out to Los Angeles. Because you are my L.A. Woman."
"I'm going to find a record, cassette, CD player combo that'll fit in our bedroom in our apartment in New York."
"I'm going to make sure our house is always stocked with your favourite tea."
"I'm going to dance with you at a jazz club when we get to New York."
"I'm going to write you a song."
She can't hear him. He knows she can't. But Wally means every word. He grabs a napkin and a pen off the bedside table and begins writing them down, adding more to the list. He never lets go of her hand.
2:11 in the morning when Quinn stirs. She is groggy and Wally hears her groan and attempt to say something. He squeezes her hand and smiles. "Quinn?"
She mumbles something completely inaudible, because she's so drugged up right now. "Baby, go back to sleep…" Her eyelids droop again, and she tries so hard to focus on Wally.
She only notices two things before she slips into darkness; his eyes are red from crying and he's wearing a Dalton Academy shirt.
Judy comes back around three in the morning and sets up shop in a corner of Quinn's room. The smile on Judy's face when Quinn wakes up at 4:27 is worth the lack of sleep.
The next day is a paradox. It drags on but passes by faster than Wally could have imagined. Quinn's in and out of it all day, so hopped up on the morphine what little words she is able to speak are slurred and are mainly just his name, her mom's name, and low groans.
Visiting hours open and people start swinging by. Rachel and Finn are first to arrive, right when visiting hours start at nine. Schue and Emma show up next, then Puck. They all bring flowers. He doesn't even get jealous when Puck kisses her forehead.
Shelby comes with Beth for a little bit. Quinn wakes up at 11:41 and her eyes light up for a second when she sees her baby before she passes out again.
He imagines Quinn lying in a different hospital bed, holding a tiny baby, smiling, laughing, crying. He's right there next to her. When she leaves and Judy goes to get some more coffee, Wally adds 'I want to be the father of your children' to his napkin list.
Russell Fabray marches into the hospital room at twelve sharp. Wally looks at him and even though they have never met, they both know exactly who the other is. Wally gently puts Quinn's hand down and stands up. And that moment is when Judy decides to walk back into the room.
"Let's leave." Wally says quietly as Judy's mouth open and closes like a fish's.
The three of them walk out and into the hallway. "You have no right to be here!" Judy hisses.
"I have every right to be here!" Russell shoots back.
"Not after what you did to her!"
"She's my daughter!"
Wally watches them both got at each other, silently at first, but then he clears his throat; They both stop arguing and look at him. "Both of you," he says, his dark eyes intense. "Leave. Work this out someplace else. Not here."
Russell's mouth is now opening and closing like a fish's. Judy turns and motions for Russell to follow; Wally returns to his post by Quinn's side and waits. Eight minutes later Russell and Judy come back in. Russell sits down and holds Quinn's other hand. Part of Wally is happy that Quinn doesn't wake up when he's there, and a weight is lifted off of both his and Judy's shoulders when he leaves.
He hasn't left the hospital in almost twelve hours. He's barely eaten, hasn't showered, hasn't changed, hasn't slept in almost a day.
Kurt and Blaine are the only two in the room with him (well, the only conscience two), and Kurt is begging him to go home for a bit.
He squeezes Quinn's hand and smiles down at her. "I am home." He says clichély.
Blaine says he saw this coming and gives Wally another change of clothes. He finally leaves Quinn's side and goes to find the hospital's showers. On his way back, freshly showered and changed, he spies a vending machine and his stomach growls in protest. He ends up buying a chocolate bar and a bottle of water.
At 9:01 Quinn's eyes flutter open. "Wa…lly…?" Her head rolls over to look at him. Judy is fast asleep, so Wally gets closer to her and leans in so he can hear her weak voice.
"Quinn, I'm here…" He whispers and brings her hand to his face. Her fingers graze his cheek weakly. He expects her to drift off again, but she doesn't.
"Water…" She chokes out. Wally grabs the Styrofoam cup of water off her bedside table and brings it to her lips. She sucks down the first cup and Wally uses his bottle of water to refill it. She drinks two more cups.
"How are you feeling?" He asks. Quinn can only let out another moan. "It's ok, I'm here…" He kisses the inside of her wrist. When he does their eyes lock and Wally can swear he sees Quinn smile before her eyes close again.
Over the next week the doctors slowly wane Quinn off the morphine. Each day, she wakes up more and more aware of her surroundings and able to speak more. Each day it hurt a little more.
On the seventh night Quinn's body is fully aware of exactly what happened to it, which is a bad thing. She wakes up completely blinded by the tears of pains that are spilling out of her eyes. Next to her Wally is sleeping on a cot, holding her hand; She squeezes it and sobs. This makes her chest and ribs and whole body feel like it's on fire.
Wally wakes up to Quinn's crying. He sits up still a bit groggy from sleep but squeezes her hand back. "Quinn?"
She sniffles and tries to stop crying but she can't; the tears just keep coming. It kills him to see her hurting like this. "It hurts…" She moans.
Wally stands up, and slowly crawls into her bed; she moves over a bit and it hurts so much, but then Wally is next to her, holding her close peppering her face with kisses. Her tears slow down and she can't help but smile.
"I must smell." She laughs a bit, and her body shakes and it hurts, but he's there with her and he's laughing and kissing her cuts and bruises and somehow that makes it hurt less.
He runs a hand through her sweaty, matted hair. "You smell beautiful."
"Liar." She croaks.
"Never…" Her cups her chin in his hand and tips her head up so their lips can meet in a tender kiss. "Go to bed, baby…"
Quinn sighs into his mouth. "Sing to me…"
He kisses her again and sings softly to her. "Come on skinny love just last a year…" He croons in her ear. "Pour a little salt and we'll never win…"
He has this magical ability to put her to sleep with just his voice. By the first chorus she's out like a light. Judy comes back to the hospital to find her daughter fast asleep, curled up next to a sleeping Wally Weaver. She can't help but smile.
The next morning, Wally wakes up before Quinn; the sunlight illuminates her face and she looks like an angel, even though her glorious skin is marred by bruises and cuts. Making as little movement as possible, Wally pulls the napkin and his pen out of his pocket and writes another thing on his list.
'I want to wake up next to you every morning for the rest of my life.'
The next day she takes her first shower. It hurts every time the hot water hits a line of stitches or staples. And there are a lot of them.
"Will they ever go away?" Quinn asks the nurse who is helping her, even though she knows what the answer will be. The nurse shakes her head sadly. At this, Quinn starts to sob.
That night Wally is back in her bed, one hand running through her now soft golden locks and the other running up and down her side lightly; he can feel that line of staples under the hospital gown. "They won't go away." She says quietly.
Her takes her hand and places it on his shoulder; Quinn feels the lumpy scars under his shirt. "Neither will mine."
Quinn can't help but smile; Wally misses that smile. "You know," He says. "You're so pretty when you smile."
Quinn blushes. "That's not true…"
"You're right… You're as beautiful as the sky is blue." Her smile widens and Wally's suspicions are confirmed.
PT is awful. Every day Quinn would be wheeled back to her room, frustrated and angry, even though all she does is tiny movements with her legs and practice moving from her bed to the wheelchair. Wally would be sitting on his cot, doing homework and as soon as their eyes met, he just knew how angry and frustrated she was.
"This sucks." She growls, glaring at her leg that was being hoisted into its harness again.
"It'll only get better." Quinn can't help but believe him.
When Quinn's released from the hospital, Wally wheels her out to Mercedes' car. Quinn didn't realize just how nervous she is until Wally is lifting her into the backseat. Wally gets in after her and Mercedes starts the car.
It is as soon as Mercedes puts the car in drive that Quinn begins shaking uncontrollably. Wally holds her as she cries and shakes; she hears his heart thump against his chest and it calms her down a bit, but it's not enough. Mercedes is going ten miles per hour and she comes to a complete stop at every intersection, but it does nothing for Quinn. All the blonde can think about are those horrifying few seconds when her car was hit before she lost consciousness.
They get to the Fabray household and Wally lifts her out of the car and into the wheelchair. She is still crying and she lamely apologizes to Mercedes for being so scared. Mercedes just smiles and hugs her friend, telling her she never needs to apologize for that.
That night Quinn is lying in her bed, her whole body aching and hurting so much that she can't sleep. She doesn't want to wake up Judy so she texts Wally, even though he's only a few feet away in the next room.
Come here.
Two minutes later he stumbles into her room asking what's up, what does she need, his voice still thick with sleep. She simply pats the space on the bed next to her. He smiles this dopey smile and crawls into bed with her. She fits into his body like the perfect puzzle piece.
"How are you feeling?" Wally asks, nuzzling her hair.
"There's a bit of pain… But the medication is kicking in…" Her hand finds his. "I… I want you to see them…"
Wally's eyes widened a bit. "Uh, are you sure about that? I mean you don't have to if you don't want to—"
"I'm sure…" She smiles sweetly up at him. "I trust you and…" She guides his hand up to her side. "You're going to have to see them eventually…" She hooks his fingers under the hem of her shirt. "Go ahead." She tugs his wrist up a bit; her shirt follows.
He rolls it up to just under her breasts, respecting her boundaries; His eyes rake over the line of staples that run down her left side. "Oh my God, Quinn…" He reaches out with tentative fingers, but stops just before they touch her skin.
She nods. "Just be gentle…" His fingers are cold and calloused but they feel so good against her marred skin. Quinn knows Wally loves her, but sometimes she can't help but think that maybe ex-HBIC Quinn Fabray doesn't deserves this much love. It takes intimate things like this to remind her that maybe she does.
Wally slides down her body and presses his lips to the patch of skin just above her naval. Quinn's body tenses and she looks down at him questioningly; Wally may be the love of her life, but he was no exception to her abstinence before marriage policy. Even if he was the exception, she didn't even think they'd be able to do anything because of her injuries.
He glances up at her and just whispers two words against her skin; "Trust me."
"I do." Quinn nods as his lips move across her stomach, coming in contact with smaller cuts, kissing each one. Finally he reaches the line of staples, his lips brush across it, and Quinn shivers. He showers it with kisses and Quinn lets out a low moan. In that moment, Quinn has never felt so loved.
With one final kiss to the wound, Wally straightens back up, so their noses are almost touching. Her lips are parted and she's breathing deeply. "I hope—" He starts to whisper when Quinn puts a finger to his lips, shushing him.
She hooks her fingers on his collar and tugs it down to reveal the scars on his shoulder. She pushes herself up as best she can; the meds are in full effect and Quinn can't feel the usual pain in her side and leg.
"Can I?" She whispers against his mangled skin.
Wally swallows. "Yes…"
Quinn presses an open-mouthed kiss to his scars. She has touched them before, but this was a whole new level of intimacy. She keeps kissing them until she felt the meds really kick in and her eyelids start to droop.
"I love you." She confesses, burying her face into his neck.
Wally runs his hand through her blonde hair; her breathing is even, she is fast asleep. "I love you too."
The next morning he adds another thing to his list, which has been transferred to a piece of paper from a legal pad. 'I want to kiss your scars and show you just how much I love you'.
The next day she goes back to school for the first time since the accident. Lucille is back up and running, and even though Wally goes five mile per hour the entire way there and comes to a full stop at every intersection, she's still too scared out of her mind to drive anywhere; Wally holds her hand, and she squeezes it and digs her nails into the back of his hand with such force that she draws blood. It takes her a full ten minutes to calm down once they reach school.
Once she's stopped hyperventilating, he wheels her into school; her head is held high, even though people are staring at the stiches on her face and the huge metal contraption encasing her entire leg.
They don't see what's underneath the baby doll dress or the cardigan. Nobody knows what kind of pain she's in right now.
When Wally wheels her into the choir room, the entire club cheers and claps and hugs her. Quinn can't help but smile.
Wally gets up in front of the club and smiles at her. "This is for the bravest woman I know," He says. "The woman I love more than anything in the whole world." Some of the girls 'aw' at this; Quinn blushes furiously. "And I want you to sing this with me." Quinn's mouth opens and closes like a fish's. It must be a Fabray thing.
"I-I don't think I can…" Quinn stutters. "I mean I… I'm not strong enough yet."
Wally shakes his head. "That's a lie if I've ever heard one." Against her will, Puck wheels her next to Wally, who has pulled up a chair. He whispers the song in her ear and she can't help but smile because it's one of her favourites.
"Ok, well, it's not going to be great…" She concedes at last; the club cheers.
Wally points to the band. "HEY!" The band begins playing, the trumpets front and center, and the club cheers when they realize what song it is.
"HEY!" The club yells. "HEY!"
Quinn starts. "I don't like walking around this old and empty house."
Wally picks up. "So hold my hand, I'll walk with you my dear."He offers her his hand.
She smiles and takes it. "The stairs creak as I sleep, it's keeping me awake."
"It's the house telling you to close your eyes."
"Some days I can't even dress myself." When she sings this line, Wally can hear the shame and weakness in her voice. He hates that she thinks that this makes her weak.
"It's killing me to see you this way." He sings and Quinn knows he means it.
Their voices join for the pre-chorus. "'Cause though the truth may vary, this ship will carry our bodies safe to shore." Wally points to the club so they can help them with the chorus.
They jump up and ever though it's an unconventional song to dance to, there's something about the trumpets that makes the entire club dance around the seated couple. "HEY! HEY! HEY!"
"There's an old voice in my head that's holding me back…" Quinn croons, quickly gaining confidence. Her alto voice melts Wally's heart.
"Well tell her that I miss our little talks…" he sings.
"Soon it will all be over, buried with our past…"
"We used to play outside, when we were young and full of life and full of love…"
"Some days I feel like I am wrong and I am right…"
"Your mind is playing tricks on you my dear…"
Their voices meld together again. "'Cause though the truth may vary, this ship will carry our bodies safe to shore."
"HEY!" The club yells as they dance.
"Don't listen to the words I say!"
"HEY!"
"The streets of Solomon sang!"
"HEY!"
"'Cause though the truth may vary, this ship will carry our bodies safe to shore."
When the instrumental begins, the two look around at their fellow Glee Clubbers and Wally can see the look of sadness in her eyes; he knows she wants to jump up and join them. He can't blame her either and his foot is tapping impatiently, but he remains on her level. He sees Santana give them a knowing smile as she dances with Brittney.
The music slows for the break. "You're gone, gone, gone away, I watched you disappear… All that's left is the ghost of you…" They sing quietly. "And we're torn, torn, torn, apart, there's nothing we can do… Just let me go, we'll meet again soon."
"Now wait, wait, wait for me, please hang around!" Wally is pleading with her when he sings this, and it makes her heart swell for some reason; maybe it's because he still wants her even though she's broken. "I see you when I fall asleep!"
The sound of trumpets and drums fills the choir room again. "HEY!"
"Don't listen to the words I say!"
"HEY!"
"The streets of Solomon sang!"
"HEY!"
"'Cause though the truth may vary, this ship will carry our bodies safe to shore." Quinn looks up at her friends as they begin the final chorus; they're all smiling back at her and her heart swells again. "Don't listen to the words I say!" She puts as much passion into the last chorus as her broken body can manage.
"HEY!"
"The streets of Solomon sang!"
"HEY!"
"'Cause though the truth may vary, this ship will carry our bodies safe to shore." The music slows to a lone guitar and they sing the final two lines together, eyes locked, fingers laced together. "'Cause though the truth may vary, this ship will carry our bodies safe to shore…" Somehow their faces have gotten closer."'Cause though the truth may vary, this ship will carry our bodies safe to shore…"
There is silence for a second and then their lips touch. The choir room erupts into cheering and clapping; Quinn feels her cheeks flush again and she smiles against Wally's lips. Mr. Schue is radiant; ever since Quinn's accident, the club just hasn't been the same. This was the perfect pick-me-up they all needed before Nationals in a few months. "That was amazing! And perfect for Nationals!" Quinn's face lights up when he says this. "That is, if you two want to sing it?"
The two of them nod enthusiastically. Rachel doesn't even complain about the lack of a solo. She's just happy her friend is with them and singing like a bird.
When Wally wheels her back to her spot he whispers in her ear, "See, you are strong enough." Quinn thinks that if her heart swells anymore, it might bust out of her chest.
PT is still awful but at least she's making progress ('You are strong enough' becomes her new mantra). When Wally comes by to pick Quinn up one day and almost forgets to put the car in park as he jumps out of the car when he sees Quinn standing at the door, this huge smile on her face. Well, not standing on her own, she's using a walker, but she's standing.
They hug and tears of joy are rolling down their cheeks and they're laughing. Quinn hasn't been this happy since the accident. When she was in the wheelchair it felt like she was never going to be able to walk again. But now even just being able to hobble around with a walker is amazing.
Quinn's head is held high as she limps around with her walker, Wally behind her holding her backpack. "You're the strongest person I know." Wally says as she shuffles over to her desk in English.
The smile she gives him is just one of the thousands of reasons why he loves her.
She graduates to crutches and before anybody realizes it she's walking.
It's Nationals in New York and Wally is massaging her bad leg in the green room; twenty minutes until they go on. "I'm so scared." She confesses.
"For what?" Wally laughs a bit.
"Our duet, dancing…" Quinn's hands are shaking a bit; she and Wally had been given the first solo of their set and Quinn was nervous about singing, about dancing. Well, she had been given as minimal dancing as possible; it had only been four months and she had only recovered so quickly because she was so fit and so determined in PT.
Wally brings her fingers to his lips and he hums. Her brows furrow. "Cold War." He says simply, referring to the first song she ever sang to him. "What are you fighting for?"
Quinn bites her lip and then after a second smiles. "Nationals." She says at last.
He smiles. "Then let's go get it."
They sing 'Little Talks' and the two of them receive a standing ovation. Nobody in the audience knew that the blonde lead, whose dancing is superb, should be in a wheelchair right about now. Or worse.
The New Directions exit the stage so the Troubletones can do a beautiful rendition of Florence & The Machine's 'Heartlines'. Quinn and Wally embrace backstage.
"We did it!" she shouts into his ear over the music. Wally can only hug her back because words can't describe how happy he is right at that moment.
Everyone goes back on stage for their closing number, 'Wake Up', and the entire team pours their hearts and souls into the performance. The solos are given to Finn and Rachel, but just hearing all of them sing the chorus is so powerful. The entire audience is giving them a standing ovation again.
When the judge announces the New Directions as National Champions, Quinn can't stop the tears that roll down her cheeks. She also can't hold back the smile that spreads across her face either when Schue hands her the trophy.
A week later she walks across the stage to get her diploma.
A few days after that she walks up on stage with Wally to sing 'Home' at the Glee graduation party. She almost faints when she sees Wally get down on one knee and offers her a ring and his heart.
Maybe he's biased, but Wally's convinced that as he watches Quinn walk down the aisle in a beautiful white dress, escorted by Mr. Schue, she's never looked more beautiful, scars and all. Their pain is still there, both physical and emotional, but as long as they have each other, they won't have to deal with it alone.
Well, part one… I hope you enjoyed it and please review for me! Part two will be up soon!