People are yelling in her ears when consciousness finally rolls around. Well, it seems like they're yelling. Everything is loud. Everything is annoying. She feels a pull on her hand, a pain in her back. She takes a deep breath and opens her eyes.
Her mother, a nurse, and her sister are in the room. They're talking about her, her condition. They're worried. Her mother is crying. Frannie rubs her back soothingly.
"It may not be permanent," the doctor tells them.
Quinn closes her eyes, wills this all to be a dream.
Would there be this much pain in a dream?
"You can fix her, right? I mean, there are loads of surgeries and medicines. You can fix this. You can make her better." Her sister is practically shouting.
The doctor sighs. "Well."
Quinn coughs. Her mother turns.
"Oh, Quinn. Oh, baby. Can you hear me?" She kneels by her bed, sweeps her hair from her forehead.
"Mom," Quinn croaks. "Water."
Mrs. Fabray nods, grabs the Styrofoam cup from the tray by Quinn's bed. She holds the straw to her daughter's dry lips, watches as she takes several long drinks before leaning back against her pillow, closing her eyes again.
"Car wreck?" Quinn guesses. She remembers some, but it's mostly blurry. She remembers the pink dress and texting Rachel and—Wait. Rachel. Rachel's…wedding. Rachel and Finn were going to get married.
Quinn's eyes widen. She tries to sit up, but she's in so much pain. She opens her mouth to ask questions, but she can't form the words. Her brain is clouded. She fleetingly figures it must be the pain medication they're giving her, but she has to know.
"Rachel," she sputters. "Rachel and Finn… did they…?"
Her mother's eyebrows furrow. She looks over her shoulder at Frannie who's been watching with an anxious gaze.
"You were on your way to Rachel and Finn's wedding. You ran a stop sign, Quinn. A truck hit you on the driver's side," her mother explains in a gentle voice.
"I need to see Rachel," Quinn says firmly, her voice lowered with seriousness.
Her mother frowns. "You need to rest Quinn. You have a lot of healing to do."
Quinn doesn't get the chance to argue. A nurse comes in, gives her some more medication, and she's out like a light.
When she wakes again, they tell her about her spine. It may not be permanent, but why lie? Her luck has never been good. She cries, but nothing dramatic. It's one more thing that is taken from her, another part of her life she has no control over.
Any time someone opens the door, she can hear Rachel's voice from the waiting room. They aren't letting anyone but Quinn's family in the room for a while, they say. But Quinn wants to see them: Rachel and Puck and Mercedes and Artie and Brittany and Santana.
Finally they let the others come in the room. Brittany cries and gives her stuffed animals. Santana holds her hand. Artie gives her flowers. Puck kisses her forehead. Mercedes prays with her.
Rachel comes in last, always wanting to have the last word, be the most dramatic. Quinn can tell she's been crying, but she stopped. She sits beside her bed, looks at the machines and tubes, the wires in her hands.
"You have a rare blood type," Rachel comments.
Quinn smiles. "I do."
Rachel looks at her hands. "I thought you'd died."
"I didn't."
"I know."
A silence falls over them. Quinn takes a deep breath. "Did you get married?"
Rachel shakes her head slowly.
Quinn suppresses a smile. "I'm sorry. I know you really wanted to get married."
Rachel chuckles quietly. "No, I didn't. I just really thought I loved him."
"Past tense?"
Rachel nods. "Past tense."
When Quinn is allowed to leave the hospital, she starts using her wheelchair. Things are difficult, and she cries a lot, but she has to start accepting how things are. Artie starts tagging along with her and Rachel. She likes Artie even though he hurt Brittany last year. Rachel jokes she doesn't feel so short anymore.
After a few weeks, a miracle happens: she feels her legs. She takes physical therapy and relearns how to walk. Rachel is there. Puck brings Beth to see her. Artie gives her flowers, and Quinn kisses him on the cheek, and when she looks at Rachel, Quinn can see her blushing, and she's tries not to hope it's from jealousy. With a cane and renewed hope, Quinn prepares herself for Yale and for a new life.
Rachel goes with her to the airport. She sobs in the terminal, Quinn wrapped in her arms.
"I'm going to miss you," Rachel says.
Quinn smiles, wipes her tears. "We'll only be two hours away, Rach. Nothing is going to stop me from visiting you in New York."
"Promise?"
Quinn takes a breath and does the one thing she's wanted to do for months: kiss Rachel Berry. Rachel's lips are soft and surprised, but she kisses back, and when Quinn pulls away, Rachel leans in again, and Quinn completely forgets the sea of people around them and the fact that her mother is a few feet away. She kisses Rachel Berry because she loves Rachel Berry and maybe a few months ago she never would have admitted it. But, a few months ago, she never would have imagined nearly losing her either.
And even though she came out of that coma weeks ago, now, with Rachel in her arms, telling her she's going to miss her, she finally feels awake.