Hey Faberry fans!
Thanks for the great response to the first chapter of this new story; I'm really glad you're all on board. This one's a little on the short side, but what can I say- it's just a little scene. The plus side to the shorter scenes is, of course, that I can write them more frequently. Enjoy! This one is extra-gooey-sweet :)
Snapshots: People Who Need People
December 2015
…
"Okay, here we go little star…I've got all kinds of goodies here to make you feel better," Quinn hummed soothingly, sitting down on the edge of the bed with the heavily-laden tray she'd just carried in from the kitchen.
"I don't deserve to feel better," Rachel whined from under the blanket, her voice muffled behind the heavy down comforter. "I'm letting all my fans down…ruining their Christmas vacations…I should suffer…" Her croaky voice trailed off into a bout of rattling, congested coughing, and Quinn pulled the blankets down and gently rubbed her girlfriend's shaking back until her wheezy breathing calmed down again.
"Shh, baby, I'm here…I know you feel really awful right now, but I promise, you're gonna be back on that stage getting standing ovations before you know it," Quinn cooed, stroking a sweat-dampened lock of dark hair back from Rachel's face. "And until then, you will not beat yourself up, do you hear me? You haven't missed a single show since the previews, that's over 600 performances. You're allowed to take a few sick days, okay? That's why God invented understudies. Now sit up and take your meds, hmm? Then we'll get you nice and comfy for some quality cuddle time. C'mon…"
Quinn slipped her arm behind Rachel's shoulders and pulled her up into a half-sitting position against the pillows; Rachel grumbled and whined a little, but didn't fight the movement. Whether this was because she actually wanted to let Quinn help her, or simply because she was too weak to resist, the blonde girl wasn't sure; but she figured it didn't really matter at this point. She was going to take care of her girlfriend, whether she liked it or not.
"Are you missing class?" Rachel sniffled wearily, rubbing her eyes and blinking woozily. "Don't want you getting behind 'cause of me…you've got finals this week…"
"Shh, I'm not missing anything I can't reschedule. It's all taken care of already, so don't argue with me, okay? If I was the one with pneumonia, you'd cancel the Tonys to stay home with me, and you know it. So just relax, and let me help you…" Quinn's voice was soft and soothing; but Rachel just shook her head weakly, and started to cry.
"It's my fault, I should have listened to you before. You t-told me to take time off when I s-started feeling sick, but I was too stubborn…" Tears streamed down Rachel's fever-flushed cheeks, and her jagged crying brought on another painful, rattling coughing fit, doubling her over in her nest of blankets.
"Breathe, honey," Quinn murmured, bending over to rub Rachel's back until the awful, raspy sound receded. "It's okay Rach, you're gonna be okay…shh, please don't cry…you're just making it worse. I'm right here, starlight. I'm not going anywhere. I've got you...shh…" Quinn helped a breathless Rachel sit back weakly against the pillows after her coughing fit passed, then turned to the heavily laden tray on the bedside table.
"Now, the doctor did say these meds might be a little hard on your tummy, so you need to eat something before we can dope you up. I know you haven't had much of an appetite lately, but you have to eat something or you're just gonna barf it all up anyway. I wasn't sure what you'd go for, so I brought a few options. If you want something cold, we've got some of your favorite coconut-raspberry sorbet from Zabar's; and if you want something hot, I got some udon noodle soup from Zen Palate. And if all else fails, I've got your favorite Irish steel-cut oatmeal with soymilk and honey." Rachel sniffled wearily and rubbed her eyes as Quinn enumerated her culinary options. Then, with a soft sigh of resignation, the dark-haired girl stuck her lower lip out in a cranky pout and pointed to the oatmeal.
"Yay, we have a sale," Quinn teased softly, picking up the gently steaming bowl and propping it on Rachel's stomach. The little diva reluctantly took the spoon, and poked it around the bowl for a minute before taking a bite.
"Aren't you gonna say I told you so?" The sick girl asked quietly, after swallowing a very small spoonful of her oatmeal. "You did tell me so. Weeks ago. I'd be...*sniff!*...back on stage already if I'd listened to you."
"I'm not gonna say it," Quinn murmured, shaking her head. "Because then you'll think the point was that I was right and you were wrong...and that isn't the point, babe."
"What's the point?" Rachel sighed petulantly, taking another little bite of oatmeal.
"The point is, you've got a raging fever and you can barely breathe, and I just want you to feel better. If you'd let yourself take a break three weeks ago when you just had a cold, you would be better by now. But it's not about missing two weeks on stage instead of a few days, or about me telling you what to do; or even about who was right and who was wrong. It's about knowing when you're pushing yourself too hard, that's all. You've never really had to take a break before; and I think on some level you really believed that if you took a sick day, people would think you were lazy. You're not lazy, Rachel. You're the least lazy person I've ever met. You just need to start treating your body more like you treat mine." Rachel grinned weakly at this pronouncement, and raised one eyebrow in a faint, teasing smirk.
"You want me to spend all day touching myself?" She giggled, with a weak cough.
"No, I'm not talking about sex, silly. I meant...everything else. You treat my body like it's the most precious thing in the world; if I skin my knee, you make sure it's cleaned with the gentlest soap, and disinfected with the best Ph-balanced ointment, and wrapped up in the softest organic bandages. But you treat your body like it owes you a debt of indentured servitude." Rachel sighed and looked down at her oatmeal with a weary, shamed expression in her dark eyes.
"I know," she said quietly. "It's just...a lot harder to be nice to me than it is to be nice to you."
"I know, babe," Quinn nodded, stroking her girlfriend's warm cheek. "But I'll help you...and it'll get easier. Just start with baby steps. And finish your oatmeal."
"Yes dear," Rachel grumbled sarcastically; but she had a little smirk at the corner of her mouth. Slowly, she managed to swallow the last of the oatmeal in her bowl; and Quinn smiled and kissed her forehead and doled out her antibiotics, along with the prescription cough syrup with Codeine.
"Knowing what a lightweight you are with painkillers, this stuff should send you to a verrrry happy place in the next fifteen minutes or so," Quinn teased, taking the empty bowl and putting it aside on the bedside table, next to the melted sorbet and the cold soup. "Wanna watch Funny Girl?"
"Uh-uh," Rachel sighed, yawning and rubbing her eyes. "Too tired for TV...just wanna sleep..." She slumped down against the pillows and looked up at Quinn with a heartbreaking, woozy expression in her dark eyes. "Cuddle me?"
"Aww, of course I'll cuddle you, my poor little baby," Quinn cooed, crawling under the covers and snuggling down beside her girlfriend's limp body. Rachel used her last scrap of energy to curl herself up against Quinn, half on top of her, with an arm around her waist and their legs entwined.
"Thas' better," Rachel mumbled, with another soft yawn as Quinn's fingers sifted lightly through her dark hair. "Sing something, Quinnie..." The blonde smiled quietly to herself, thinking immediately of the song she knew Rachel would most like to hear. Of course, anything from Funny Girl would probably do...but Quinn had a feeling that this one in particular would have special meaning right now, even if Rachel was too out of it to fully wrap her mind around it consciously.
People...
People who need people
Are the luckiest people in the world.
There's children needing other children
And yet letting our grown up pride
Hide all the need inside
Acting more like children, than children.
Lovers are very special people
They're the luckiest people in the world
With one person, one very special person
A feeling deep in your soul
That said you were half and now you're whole
No more hunger and thirst
But first be a person who needs people
People who need people...
Are the luckiest people
In the world.
When Quinn finished singing, Rachel's body was limp; her wheezy breathing turned soft and even in sleep. "Sweet dreams, little star," the blonde girl murmured, leaning down to kiss the sleeping girl's forehead. Then she pulled her heavy art history textbook off the bedside table and began quietly studying for the final exams she'd rescheduled.
