A/N: Quick oneshot.
Quinn likes to think that she enjoys helping and taking care of people. Don't take that a certain way, though, because she really does. But maybe if you asked her sophomore year of high school if she could see herself taking care of Rachel Berry, her girlfriend, well, she'd probably sic Santana on you.
Taking care of Rachel Berry takes a required skill. One, you must know what she likes and what she doesn't. When she is sick, she likes dry toast and honey flavored tea. When she's in a bad mood, she likes her alone time and a book. When she's happy, she likes to cuddle all day or go out. She doesn't like apricots, or tomato soup, or any kind of reptile. Two, you must be able to see through her. When Rachel Berry gets hurt, you will probably be the last to know. She sprained her wrist sophomore year of college, and by the time Quinn found out, it was healed already. So yeah, Rach is kind of a handful, but if you knew her, then you knew how to handle her.
Their relationship started out of a fluke. After her accident senior year, Quinn decided she would live her life in a new way – without regrets. Rachel had ditched Finn after everything, finally realizing she wanted her dreams more than she wanted to settle down at eighteen. Quinn knew she had to follow that little brunette with the big heart or she would lose her. So she turned Yale down, and accepted the scholarship offer from Columbia. Eventually, she got a job at a local coffee shop, where Rachel ran into one day after spilling a drink on herself. It was a complete coincidence, because the shop was on the opposite side of town from NYADA. She came in pleading for paper towels, long brunette hair running past her shoulders and bangs long gone, her shirt soaked through. Obviously, that was the first thing Quinn noticed. Those big brown eyes made contact with hers, and it all kind of fell into place from there.
Three years later, they had both graduated from their own universities, and lived together in a tiny apartment on the Upper West Side. Quinn got a job as an editor for a pretty famous publishing company, and Rachel was currently in the ensemble of a major Broadway show, and she was only moving up. They were making a meager income, but they were paying the bills.
Currently, Quinn was sitting in the waiting room of an oral surgeon, waiting for news on her girlfriend who was currently getting four teeth pulled out - or more specifically, her wisdom teeth. When Rachel came home from the dentist a couple weeks ago, complaining that she needed to get them removed, Quinn asked her why she hadn't gotten them out earlier. Quinn had gotten hers taken out junior year of high school. If it wasn't already bad enough, Rachel had a serious fear of he dentist. Another thing to add to the dislike list.
"Are you here with Miss Berry?" Quinn's head snapped up from the magazine she had been perusing. A nurse clad in scrubs was smiling at her cheerfully from the doorway, a clipboard in her hand.
"Um, yes. Is she finished?"
"Pretty much. The doctor is rinsing out her mouth a bit, so you can come back with me and we'll go over a couple things with you."
Quinn got up from her seat, grabbing her coat as well as Rachel's, and followed the nurse back to the operating rooms. When she had her wisdom teeth taken out, her mom was the one to stay home and make sure she was alright and taken care of. The drugs didn't really affect her much; she was lucid from the time she woke up. Rachel was a different story. When Quinn entered the room, the girl's eyes were glazed over as she seemed to be having a staring contest with the ceiling.
"Hi, you must be Quinn. I'm Dr. Lemmings. Rachel did very well, she's all done. There's just a few prescriptions here that she needs to fill. Also, make sure you take her home and let her sleep some of the crazy stuff off before you leave to get the prescriptions. She might be a little loopy for a bit, but it shouldn't last for more than an hour or two." He proceeded to hand her prescription papers, which Quinn took gratefully. She then went over to where Rachel was. The poor girl was so out of it.
"Hey Rach," Quinn whispered, brushing a few dark locks away from her face. "Welcome back."
Her eyes moved so slowly to make contact with Quinn's, and when they did they still weren't focused. "Quuuuiiiiinnnnn. All my teeth are gone," she slurred.
Quinn smiled at the girl affectionately. She was just too cute. "No Rach, just four."
The girl's hands immediately flew to her face, which was currently full of white gauze. Her eyes widened in panic. "My face! It's gone!"
"It's just a little numb, silly. You'll get the feeling back soon, I promise. Now let's try to get up." She took the girl's hands in hers, helping to swing her legs over the side of the chair. She stood up, and fell right into Quinn's arms. She laughed and kissed the crown of her head, rubbing her hands up and down her back. "Let's get you home."
It took her approximately twenty minutes to get Rachel settled on the couch. When they first entered the apartment, she stopped to hang their coats on the rack, and when she turned back around, Rachel was gone. She felt her panic, but then remembered their apartment was probably the smallest non-studio apartment in the city.
"Rach?" She called.
No answer.
She walked through the kitchen, finding it empty. She then headed into the bathroom, where she found the girl huddled in the bathtub. Huddled might not be the correct term.
She was lying face down in the tub.
"Rachel! What are you doing?" Quinn rushed forward, pulling on the girl's shoulders to sit her up. The brunette swatted at her in response.
"I'm sleeping, Quincy. Leave me be!"
"Rachel, this is our bathtub."
"Tomato, tomahto."
Quinn huffed as the girl slumped down again. She then came up with an idea. "Rach, the mayor just called. He needs help on a petition to ban horse carriages in the park."
The brunette in the tub sat up so quickly that she swayed back and forth a bit. "Save the horses!"
"C'mon, he's on the couch waiting for you."
"I'm coming, I'm coming," Rachel muttered, standing up with help from the blonde.
"Let's take a detour to the bedroom so I can get something, okay? Maybe you could change into some more comfy clothes."
"But the mayor cannot see me in anything but my best!"
Quinn guided her to the bedroom anyway, coaxing her into a pair of pajama bottoms and a long sleeved shirt. By the time they made it back out to the couch, thoughts of the mayor were long forgotten. Rachel plopped on the couch with a heavy sigh, snuggling back into the pillows. Quinn draped a blanket over her, tucking it in around her feet.
Rachel looked up at her with her infamous pout. "Feed me?"
Quinn smiled in response, ruffling her hair. "How about some soup?"
"Vegetable, pleaseeeeee and thank you, Quinnith," she said before burrowing back under the covers and promptly falling asleep. Quinn rolled her eyes, pulling the blanket up to cover the girl up a bit more, before making her way into the kitchen to start boiling water for the soup.
Fifteen minutes later, she was walking carefully back into the room, a hot bowl of soup in her hands. She looked to the couch to see Rachel still asleep, snoring loudly. She put the bowl down on the coffee table and then attempted to wake the sleeping beauty up.
"Rach, soup's ready," Quinn told her, shaking her shoulder.
"Mmphhh," was all she got in response.
"Wakey wakey, vegan eggs and fake bakey," she tried again.
This time, there was no response at all, as Rachel didn't even crack an eye open at her attempts.
"Barbara Streisand, how nice of you to visit us this fine evening!" Quinn practically shouted. She almost got whiplash from how fast Rachel sat up.
"Barbara," she whispered, eyes staring blankly at the wall.
"Sorry babe, Babs isn't here. I needed to wake you up for your soup."
Rachel turned her head to Quinn confusedly. "Where am I?"
"Our living room…"
"What year is it?"
"…2017."
Rachel placed her hands on Quinn's cheeks, squishing them together. She looked into her eyes so seriously that Quinn was concerned. "The time machine, Quinn. It worked."
"Rachel…are you high?"
"I can fix it, Q! I can save the planet this time." Her eyes searched the room until they landed on the coffee table. "Oh! Soup!"
Quinn watched in amazement as the girl dove into the soup, the conversation they'd just had seconds ago completely forgotten. Remind her not to let Rachel ever get hold of any drugs.
After she had finished the soup, the two cuddled on the couch and watched a movie until Rachel had fallen asleep again, this time more aware of her surroundings. Quinn took this opportunity to slip out of the apartment and pick up her medicine before she woke up again. She walked to the pharmacy around the corner, picked up the prescriptions, and was back in about fifteen minutes. When she got back, Rachel was sitting up on the couch, hand to her face, flipping through the channels.
"Hi baby. Mouth starting to hurt?"
"A bit," Rachel responded, her voice scratchy and hoarse all of a sudden. It was usually how she sounded before she cried. Something else Quinn came across when taking care of Rachel - she didn't handle pain well.
Quinn plopped back down beside her, putting her arm around her shoulders possessively. Rachel automatically leaned in, and Quinn placed a soft kiss to her temple. "You're in luck, because I've got some pain medication." She took the bottle, shaking out two pills and giving them to Rachel along with a water bottle.
Rachel swallowed the pills, put the bottle back down, and burst into tears.
"What's wrong?" Quinn asked, completely taken off guard with the outburst.
"I…it's just…you're taking such good care of me," she sobbed out. "You're always taking care of me, and I hardly ever get the chance to return the favor."
Quinn chuckled and pulled the girl back into her arms. "Rachel, taking care of you is one of the things I love to do."
"Really?" Rachel sniffled.
"Yes, really. When I get sick, I swear, you can do the same for me, okay?"
Rachel nodded, folding herself back into the blonde's arms. Quinn sighed happily, nuzzling the neck of her beautiful girlfriend and slipping into a peaceful slumber.
Rachel took off for the weekend, and Quinn did as well, so she could watch over the girl. By day three, Rachel face was so swollen that she refused to get out of bed.
"Rach, it's fine."
"It's not fine Quinn, I look like a hamster!" She yelled from under the blankets.
"A very cute hamster," Quinn corrected, pulling back the blanket to look at her. She was pouting miserably.
"When will it go away?"
"Give it a couple hours. By tonight, it should go down."
"I don't believe you. I think it needs something to help it."
"Oh yeah? And what would that something be?"
"Some…kisses," Rachel said, suddenly shy.
Quinn smirked and crawled onto the bed, putting her arms on either side of Rachel's head. "Some kisses, huh?" Rachel nodded. She then began to attack the girl's face with hundreds of kisses, making her squeal in laughter.
"Okay, okay, stop!" She begged.
Quinn relented, pulling back to press their lips together in a simple, chaste kiss.
"I love you," Quinn whispered.
"Not as much as me," Rachel shot back.
"Wanna bet?"
"No," Rachel answered simply, pressing their lips together again.