Rachel paced the corridors of the hospital. Her wedding dress was no longer white. It had Quinn's blood on it.
All the excitement from her day had drained away. She looked around the waiting room. Finn was sitting on the couch, his hands on his face. Santana had her arm around Brittany, comforting her while also wiping away the tears streaming down her face. The rest of the Glee club sat silently, looks of disbelief on their faces. The last time they were here for Quinn was when she was having the baby. That was such a happy occasion, and it seemed like a lifetime ago.
Rachel felt the panic rise up inside her. She was mad at everyone for just sitting there, not saying anything, not doing anything. But mostly, she was mad at herself for telling Quinn to hurry to the wedding. The guilt was becoming unbearable and she could no longer hold herself up anymore. Rachel backed into a wall and slid down. She lets the tears stream out.
Finn lifted his head and rushed over to Rachel. He knelt down and put his hand on Rachel's shoulder.
"She's going to be O.K Rachel." He said, in a soothing voice.
Rachel pushed his hand away and wiped her tears.
"What if she's not O.K Finn? What do we do then?" Rachel yelled back. Her anger took Finn by surprise. His expression changed back into worry and he sat down next to Rachel.
Rachel hadn't realised how much Quinn meant to her until this moment. She had always liked the head cheerio, even when Quinn was mean to her all those years ago. After Quinn joined the glee club, they had started becoming friends. Recently, Rachel was starting to feel more. Those feelings scared her. She knew that she loved Finn, and she hoped that marrying him would make feelings for Quinn go away.
Rachel never got a chance to tell Quinn any of this. Partly because she was afraid Quinn would be horrified, and partly because she wondering if Quinn felt the same way. What would Rachel do? How would she tell Finn? But now she couldn't even see Quinn. The doctors said Quinn's condition was critical. She was somewhere, behind those hospital doors, and no one knew what was going to happen next.
After what seemed like hours, a doctor walked out from behind the operation room doors. He was wearing scrubs and his eyes looked tired. Rachel looked up at him; he was also covered in Quinn's blood.
"Are you all here for Quinn Fabray?" He said, sounding as tired as he looked.
There was a murmur of "yes" and a few nods from the Glee club.
"I can't tell you much, just that she is now in a stable condition. She isn't awake yet, and there is no telling how long she will be in this condition. I would advise that she doesn't have visitors just yet, maybe just family?"
The doctor scanned the room, looking for a family member.
Rachel stood up. She felt woozy from lack of sleep, guilt, and worry. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She tried again.
"Quinn's family can't be contacted, we've left messages. But…but she's very important to me. Can I see her?"
The doctor looked down at Rachel, wearing a blood stained wedding dress. He often tried not to feel too much for his patients, it would take a huge toll on him, but there was something about this girl, standing in front of him, pleading to see a friend who nearly died on her wedding day.
"Of course." The doctor nodded and led Rachel towards the doors.
Rachel knew what it felt like to be nervous. She had performed in front of hundreds of people plenty of times. But this was a whole new type of nervous. Her stomach was in knots, and she felt like passing out. She followed the doctor down the hallway; half hoping the hallway would keep going. They finally stopped in front of room 419. Rachel could feel her heart beating loudly. She looked at the doctor and wondered if he could hear her heartbeat too.
The doctor rubbed his eyes, looked at his watched, then opened the door slowly. He held the door open for Rachel.
Rachel held her breath. Nothing could have prepared her to for the state Quinn was in. Quinn was lying in the hospital bed, eyes closed, with one leg in a cast. There were various drips in her arm and she had lots of scratches on her arms and face. The doctor left the room, leaving Rachel alone with the unconscious Quinn.
Rachel walked up to the bed slowly. Quinn was breathing very heavily. Despite all the pain Quinn must have been in, she looked peaceful. Rachel thought about the last time they talked. Quinn had decided to support Rachel's marriage to Finn. They had hugged, and Rachel felt warmth that she had never felt with anyone else before, not even Finn.
The room was quiet, with the occasional sounds of the machines beeping. Rachel reached out her hand and stroked Quinn's open palm. Her hands were soft, but her marred with the occasional scratch from the car accident. Rachel couldn't hold the tears in any longer. She put her head on Quinn's arm and started to cry.
The door opened suddenly and Rachel lifted her head up to see that it was Judy Fabray, Quinn's mother. Judy rushed in, tears streaming down her face. Two doctors followed and Judy started asking them questions. Rachel felt like she was in the way so she backed out of the room, not taking her eyes off Quinn.