What if Will had been in the car instead of Quinn? Maybe AU given my lack of medical knowledge. Enjoy!
Emma always expected the roles would be reversed. In her mind it was an easy equation. She would call him from the emergency ward, the one with the red swinging doors. She'd be calm after the de-contamination shower, since Dr. Shane's intervention she'd been better at talking herself down. Still, she'd call Will at McKinley and explain calmly the bug she'd found in her office or the saliva that flung her direction from a ruthless teenager with no consideration. And of course he'd arrive. Will would come sweeping in with a kiss on the mouth that would make her blush in public. They'd dismiss the day as a minor setback and then he'd drive her home with one hand lying idling in her lap. "One day at a time, Doll Face" he would whisper before they unclipped their seatbelts.
One day at a time, Emma winced as she walked slowly through the ward. A nurse offered a half smile, but it only made things worse. This wasn't right and everyone knew it.
"I bought you some things," she said, more to the room than the man sitting in the corner of it. He wouldn't look at her today, but at least she didn't expect it anymore.
Her steps were small, her heels smacked against the tiles. Will just stared. At her shoes at the bag in her hand, but mostly at the world outside, through the glass.
"I thought we might stop by Breadstix on the way home, you must be tired of hospital food" she offered, amazed at how much hope her voice could carry.
"You don't have to do this you know" said Will, standing up stiffly, mindful of the cast on his arm, the only visible reminder of the rogue truck from two weeks ago.
The doctors, all three of them told her not to worry. They'd done their scans and waved their medical wands. We're very confident he'll wake up and at this stage there is no reason why he can't make a full recovery. The older one said. You'll be walking down the aisle before you know it, said the woman. They both smelled like sterility and sweat.
He'd asked for Terri though, and every time Emma thought about it, she could barely breath. Will spent 48 hours unconscious. Emma spent 23 on a rickety chair in the waiting room and 20 more fiddling with the fabric of his hospital linens, obsessing over his body temperature.
When he woke up he didn't just ask for Terri, he cried for her.
"My wife…"
But the Doctor knew his chart. The knowing was in his tone. It wasn't exactly a common occurrence with head injuries, but it wasn't unexpected.
"Mr. Schuester. Do you know where you are?"
"…. I'm in hospital. What-happened-is-Terri-alright?"
"Mr. Schuester, you were in an accident. It's 2012…."
And the rest of the details tumbled out slowly while Emma stood with her arms stuck to her sides.
You aren't married anymore, sir, they said to him. Don't be alarmed, it's not uncommon to have some memory loss…in a week or two, everything will seem a lot less complicated.
"It's okay, I can do it" he mumbled as she opened the car door for him. The two weeks had past but nothing seemed less complicated.
She drove her Volvo in reverse, careful not to move too quickly, he looked tense in the seat, maybe he didn't remember the collision just yet but he'd heard about it.
He'd heard other things too.
He'd heard her say "I love you" after his first day with the physiotherapist, even though he said nothing in reply.
Rachel Berry had come with yearbooks under her arm and recounted the last 4 years, of Glee and success. Will's eyes had sparkled as if she were magic.
Sue and Becky came with a half eaten box of chocolates and the tail of his shortcomings, the professional ones at least.
And Beiste came, toying with the ring on her finger and introduced herself, "I'm the new football coach. We're friends, you're a good friend Will."
A stranger, a real one, had come to explain with great professionalism, that Terri lived interstate, that it was best not to call her, that his life would come back slowly, that everyone was here to help.
He sobbed again then into his pillow. Emma held her spot in the corner and her tongue. She couldn't tell him about the love story that he'd so quickly forgotten, not when he was still in love with somebody else.
"I do remember you Emma" he turned down the radio but kept his face at the car window, it made his voice flat. "You bake cookies for the faculty meetings."
She swallowed her tears. Three years ago she lived for the Thursday afternoons when Will Schuester would smile his gratitude and take a cookie from the platter she'd spent decontaminating the night before.
"Ken Tanaka has a crush on you, you know…" he said matter-of-factly, not acknowledging the silence of his driver.
She did know. A month ago they'd argued over whether to invite him to the wedding.
He was our friend Will, Finn Hudson wouldn't be on Glee if it weren't for him.
Emma, Terri's not invited.
That's different Will and you know it.
How?
I stole you from her! I did all that I could to be near you, I completely disrespected her marriage. It's not the same as Ken.
Now Emma yearned for the slightest flicker of that passion, the vibrant way he would run his fingers through his hair in frustration. She would even forgo the apologies he'd whispered into her hair later that night, the way he'd beamed at breakfast when he smelled the chocolate chips in his favourite pancake recipe.
The new Will winced as they pulled into the drive, like he did everything, it was quiet, polite and detached. At the hospital he'd only smiled or sighed to her, as if admitting he had no idea what do to with the new guidance councillor who just wouldn't leave him alone. He asked no questions, and apart from the tears that escaped and ran down her face, or the whispers that crept from her mouth, "I love you", "it'll get better", she had no answers.
One day at a time.
Emma unclipped her seatbelt.
"Can I ask you something?". His voice was a shock in her thoughts but she nodded anyway, suddenly afraid of everything she wanted to tell him.
"Are you the reason Terri left me?"