A.N: Just another Fabrevans idea that's mulled in my head for a couple days- just a one shot this time though!
Carry Me Away
Over the years, there had been a lot of time where Sam had carried her. Of course, when they got married, he carried her over the threshold of their apartment. Even with all the tulle and lace from her dress, he managed to do it. When she had a miscarriage two years later, he literally carried her into the hospital. When their son had been born, and she hurt too much to walk after her cesarean, he carried her up the stairs of their home and into bed. It happened a lot when they needed to make it from one end of the house to another when they wanted to make love. And it almost always happened when they danced together. Because, the first time he carried her anywhere, it was while they were dancing.
The accident during their senior year was horrific. For a moment, they weren't sure she was going to make it. She had a massive head injury, and he had broken her back from the way she had been bent over the console of her car when the ambulance crew finally got to her.
But by some miracle- Quinn is still convinced that it was only by the grace of God that she survived that crash- she didn't die. And an even bigger miracle was that the nerve damage in her back was reparable. It involved surgery (a metal rod put in her back to keep her spine aligned so that it could heal) and a lot of physical therapy-but a year after the accident, she had learned how to walk again.
She had managed pretty well. She had given up on feeling sorry for herself back when she got accepted into Yale- she wasn't going to fall into that pattern again. But, it was still sad. Yale was postponed. She wasn't going to ever be a cheerleader again. Any shot at leaving Lima at the point was gone. Even if she wasn't going back to that dark place that consumed her before, it was still a hard pill to swallow.
Prom was especially hard. She no longer had the obsession with becoming Prom Queen- but she wanted to dance. She wanted to have fun with her friends. She almost didn't go, not wanting to know what it would feel like when a slow song would come on, knowing that she wouldn't be able to dance with anyone- at least not the same way as she used to.
Artie was the one that convinced her. After the accident, he had helped her learn how to maneuver the wheel chair she was confined in. They became good friends, bonding in the fact that they both had to do things differently. So when prom came around and she tearfully told him that she wasn't going, He promptly told her that she was going to put on her dancing shoes and go to the prom. He was going to make sure that she had a good time.
And she did- she really, really did. All of the boys from Glee made sure they saved a dance for her. Mike got goofy and did a pop-and-lock routine as she sat and laughed, moving her arms. Kurt and Blaine took each of her hands and pulled her so that she could spin circles in her chair. Puck tried to-playfully- grind up on her, in the same Puckerman fashion that she expected. Rory had been sweet and given her a flower as he did the robot in front of her, an american dance move that he quite enjoyed. Even Finn- who did end up marrying Rachel the day of the accident- decided to get on his knees and sway her chair back and forth.
She held so much love for all of the boys in the Glee club that night, it hurt her chest. She never felt more proud to be a part of a group who cared so much.
However, no one touched her quite like Sam did that night. The last song of the evening, the last slow song, Quinn was pretty certain that she had exhausted all of her dance partners. She was sitting at the table that she had chosen with Santana and Brittany, drinking some water when she saw a hand appear in front of her. She looked up and saw Sam standing there, with the same adorable smile that he always had. The one that looked crooked, but sweet.
"Care to dance?" He asked her. She smiled and nodded, placing her hand in his. His smile grew and he moved closer, she assumed to push her chair out to the floor. But she was surprised when she felt the breaks be put on her chair and suddenly Sam's arms were around her. One under her arms and around her back, the other under her legs. Her dress was thin, and silky- not poofy like the one before, so he didn't have to fight with layers of fabric. So when he lifted her out of her chair, she was held right against his chest, and she instinctively looped her arms around his neck.
"Sam...what are you doing?" she asked, her voice cracking.
"I'm dancing with you." he replied. As he carried her to the center of the dance floor, the crowd parted like the red sea. She didn't notice, only because she couldn't stop looking at the boy who was carrying her.
"You don't have to do this..." she whispered, looking into the deep green of her dress, blinking back tears. But his grip on her tightened as Sam slowly started swaying back and forth.
"I just want to be close to you, Quinn..." he whispered back, slowly making circles as if they were dancing a waltz. As if she could actually walk on her feet. Unable to really put to words how she felt just then, she just buried her face into his neck, sniffing as she heard him sing the song into her ear.
Hmmmm ... Hmmmm ... Hmmmm ... Hmmm ...
When I look into your eyes
It's like watching the night sky
Or a beautiful sunrise
There's so much they hold
And just like them old stars
I see that you've come so far
To be right where you are
How old is your soul?
I won't give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I'm giving you all my love
I'm still looking up
And when you're needing your space
To do some navigating
I'll be here patiently waiting
To see what you find
'Cause even the stars they burn
Some even fall to the earth
We've got a lot to learn
God knows we're worth it
No, I won't give up
I don't wanna be someone who walks away so easily
I'm here to stay and make the difference that I can make
Our differences they do a lot to teach us how to use
The tools and gifts we got yeah, we got a lot at stake
And in the end, you're still my friend at least we did intend
For us to work we didn't break, we didn't burn
We had to learn how to bend without the world caving in
I had to learn what I've got, and what I'm not
And who I am
I won't give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I'm giving you all my love
I'm still looking up
Still looking up.
I won't give up on us (no I'm not giving up)
God knows I'm tough enough (I am tough, I am loved)
We've got a lot to learn (we're alive, we are loved)
God knows we're worth it (and we're worth it)
I won't give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I'm giving you all my love
I'm still looking up
She listened to every word. Not oblivious to the fact that the voice over the speakers was the same that sang their first duet together. Just like then she could hear the feelings in Sam's voice. Up until then, she had given up on him ever returning to her. She felt that she messed up too much for him to trust her.
The song ended, and they stayed like that for a bit. Even as the gym started clearing out, she stayed in his arms, holding on to him as if she would never let go again- his grip on her very much the same.
Later that night they would sit in his car talking. She had ridden in with Artie, but Sam volunteered to just fold up her wheelchair into the back of his truck and take her home. It was clear to everyone that they had things to clear out.
That night, when she asked why- why he danced liked that with her, why he sang that song to her- he explained that after everything, he finally saw the girl he fell in love with in the beginning. He thought he lost her, but realized that she was just hiding. But she wasn't hiding anymore and he knew that he needed to be with her again. And this time he wasn't going to give up on them.
Many more tears were shed that night, from the both of them as they reunited. After that night, Sam rarely left her side. He went to every physical therapy appointment, he carried her across the stage at graduation. He postponed going to school so that he could help take care of her. He was there when she took her first steps out of the wheelchair. He was there for more surgeries to repair her back, and when it came time for her to go to Yale finally, he followed her. It was two years later for them, but they both were going to school. That song from their prom night later became their wedding song, which for the first half Sam carried her for.
Years later when Quinn would explain to her children about why she loved their father so, she used the typical explanations. He was her rock, he took care of her, he loved her more than anything, loved their children more than anything. But when it really came down to it, their kids knew differently. This was because, during their most intimate times, whether they knew the kids were watching or not- they would see their father gather their mother in his arms- like they had seen in the picture (Someone had taken a photo of that dance at prom, which was proudly displayed on their mantle next to their wedding pictures) and carry her away. Carrying her away from her problems, carrying her into a life of happiness. Just like he always had.