Chapter 2: Waking up revisited

RPOV

While I was reading one of the articles in Teen Vogue to Quinn, like I had done the last few days every morning when I dropped by, I thought I saw her stir a bit. I always held her hand while I was reading to her, I felt more connected to her that way. When I felt her fingers twitch, I immediately dropped the magazine and held her hand tighter. Did she just move?

"Quinn?" I called to her. I so desperately wanted her to respond, to show any sign of consciousness. There had been little to no change the last few days and it was all very much being patient to see how long it took for Quinn to wake up. The doctors were optimistic though, no life support was needed and there didn't seem to be any sign of brain damage, so I chose to be every bit as optimistic as I could be. If she got out of this just with a broken arm and a fair few bruises, luck was definitely on their side. "Quinn, are you awake? Please Quinn, open your eyes."

I could see her body responding to my voice, she was starting to wake up. I put my other hand on her cheek, hoping it would get her to open her eyes. How I longed to be able to stare in those beautiful hazel eyes of hers. I was very capable of putting emotions in my eyes while I was performing, I knew it was important to feel every single thing that I was singing over my entire body. But I had noticed that Quinn was quite expressive in her eyes as well. I had mostly seen anger and frustration coming out of them towards me, during our many encounters, but as we started to become more friendly towards each other I had seen many other emotions being displayed.

I could see her struggling to open her eyes, she only opened them briefly, probably bothered by the light. I couldn't help my excitement.

"Quinn? Oh thank god, you're awake! We've been so worried about you!"

It took a while for Quinn to respond. At first I thought she hadn't heard me, that maybe she was dreaming or her body stirred for some other reason, or maybe even that I had imagined it, but then she said my name. Her voice sounded hoarse and crunchy, nothing like the beautiful tone I was used to. But it didn't matter what her voice sounded like, she had said my name! She was waking up! Never before had the sound of my name brought up so many emotions in me. I felt tears come to my eyes, both from happiness and sadness.

"What happened? Where am I?" She asked. Her eyes were open now and she looked right into mine.

"You're in the hospital, Quinn. You were in a car accident 5 days ago. A pickup truck slammed into you and your car went tumbling. It really is a miracle you're still alive, let alone not have head trauma. I'm so glad you're okay Quinn, I would've never forgiven myself if you had been more gravely injured. Not that I'm diminishing the injuries that you do have, I'm just really glad you're okay." I explained to her. I found myself saying way too much way too soon after someone wakes up from a 5 day comatose condition after a serious car accident. But it was just how I dealt with things. It then occurred to me that she was staring at me. I couldn't tell why she was looking at me the way she was, but I had never before been so relieved to see her smiling at me. Just the fact that she was smiling, meant so much already.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

I saw her struggling to come up with a reason, maybe she hadn't realized how she had been smirking at me. I saw her lips move and it seemed like she was trying to say something, but there weren't any sounds coming out. I immediately let go of her hand and grabbed the glass of water sitting on her bedside table, I figured her throat must be pretty dry at the moment. After all, she hadn't been able to speak for 5 whole days. That thought seemed rather strange to me, but then again the thought of not speaking for 5 whole minutes seemed impossible to me.

"Here you go." I said as I held the glass of water in front of her, making sure she was able to zip from the straw. Quinn was obviously really thirsty, before long half the glass was empty. Or from a more optimistic standpoint, the glass was left half full. "Better?" I asked. She nodded at me and was again able to form words. "Yes, thank you." She said as she smiled at me. I more than happily returned the favor and a warmth spread over my body at the action. Her voice sounded a lot better already, she seemed to be getting rid of the haze that had hung over her when she woke. I saw her looking around, probably taking in the room a bit. Most be weird waking up in a hospital room, but it's a lot better than not waking up at all. I quickly pushed that thought aside, there was no room for negativity right now.

I saw her eyes scan my hand. The hand that just minutes before had had hers in it. I smiled at the thought. I didn't know why I had needed that contact every time I talked to her, it just seemed like the right thing to do.

"You're not wearing your ring?" She suddenly says, the tone between that of a statement and a question.

I hadn't really expected for that to come around so soon. How could her mind go to my wedding so soon after waking up. But then I realized it was my wedding she was headed to, if it hadn't been for my wedding, neither of us would be sitting here right now.

Again I pushed the negativity away from me. I should be focusing on keeping Quinn's return to the conscious as pleasant and comfortable as possible, so I explained why there was no ring on my finger, yet.

"The wedding has been postponed." I took a moment to continue, I needed to explain this right. "When you didn't show, I had this weird feeling inside. I was standing there looking at Finn, with all our friends and family surrounding us and I couldn't help but think something had happened to you. It was the strangest and most terrifying feeling I had ever had. I convinced Finn that we should wait because I really wanted you to be there and I got my dads to drive up the road you were supposed to be on."

The emotions started to rise up inside me again. Thinking back to the feeling that had come over me that moment, was truly terrifying. There was no right way to explain it, none of my friends had understood my reaction. They probably thought I was just being my usual dramatic self. But I knew something was wrong. I took a deep breath and decided to continue with the story, but Quinn seemed to already understand how the rest of the story would go.

"You found me?" She asked me. I could see from her facial expression that she didn't like asking the question.

I braced myself and answered her question as best I could, but I felt the emotions boiling inside me and I had trouble formulating the words.

"Yes." I told her. "I saw your car from afar and I knew my feelings had been right." I paused, tears were clouding my eyesight. Thinking back to those moments, made me gasp for breath every time. I knew that no matter what point in my life I'd be or how many new memories I gathered, I would never forget the scene that I had come across that day. "When I .. You .. It looked pretty bad. The doctors said that you might've bled to dead if we hadn't found you so fast."

The tears were now falling from my eyes. I felt terrible. I shouldn't be crying. I should be keeping it together, supporting Quinn in every way possible. Crying in front of her, getting emotional over how I had found her on the side of the road, was not gonna help either of us.

"I'm sorry," I said, trying to make myself coherent through the tears that just wouldn't stop falling. "I don't mean to get all emotional on you, I'm just really happy that you're okay." As I said the words, I felt in my heart how much truth was in them. It's funny how it takes experiences like this to really look at what you have and what you want in your life. Maybe people should realize more often that life isn't something that should be taken for granted, it can be taken away from you so easily.

This was one of the reasons that I'd said yes to Finn. I felt so loved and understood when I was with him, I didn't think it was possible to find someone that would understand me better than he did. I know many of my friends thought it silly and irrational to even consider marrying your high school sweetheart before graduation, but when you know you love someone and you know they love you back, you should go for it and not think about the consequences. A little spontaneity never killed anyone, or on second thought, in this case, it almost did.

"You don't have to apologize, Rachel. Not at all." Quinn then said. I could see tears form in her eyes as well. She reached for my hand and I gladly held it like I had before and looked her in the eye.

"Where's Finn?" She suddenly asks. I needed a few seconds to recall where he had gone. Seeing Quinn open her eyes and talking to her, has had such an impact on my thoughts and feelings that I almost forgot that he was in the hospital as well. Then I remembered …

"He's gone to get some coffee. He's not very good with hospitals. He felt a bit awkward standing in the same room as you, while you were unconscious. He seemed afraid to say anything, worried you might overhear or something." I said, rolling my eyes in the process. I didn't really mind him not being here, he really wasn't much use in situations like this. Sure, he could give an inspirational speech every now and then, but when it came down to actual feelings and dealing with more important issues, he didn't seem as confident. I guess he has a lot of flaws, but so do I. I truly think that we fulfill each other. We're a great team and I know that being with Finn for the rest of my life, is something that will make me happy.

"Sounds like Finn." Quinn says, while grinning at her.

It felt nice to be able to share something like that with Quinn. We've been fighting over him for so long, but it looks like we'll finally be able to look at it as a common ground.

Speak of the devil I thought to myself, as I heard someone knock at the door and Finn entered the room.

"Hey honey, I got you some decaf. I figured all that caffeine might be getting to you and it might be best that you got a bit more sleep tonight." He said.

He really could be sweet sometimes. I don't really like coffee all that much, I'd only been drinking it so that I could stay awake, so as not to miss any change in Quinn's conditions. But it's the thought that counts I guess. I smile at him sweetly, grateful for his understanding over the last couple of days. Not every guy would postpone his wedding just because his bride to be had a sudden feeling of anxiety. But then again anyone who knows me, knows the chance of the drama queen in me to appear every now and then. He smiled back at me fondly, which made my happiness grow even more. I saw his gaze wander to the bed and the look on his face changed to complete and utter surprise.

"Quinn, you're awake!" He lets out a little too loud to my liking. I grin to myself, unable to contain myself from rolling my eyes at the realization that it had taken him this long to realize that Quinn had her eyes open and was now sitting up in her hospital bed.

"Hey Finn." I hear Quinn whisper. Was that disappointment I heard in her voice? Maybe she didn't really like too much attention turned her way after waking up in the hospital. Just as I was about to ponder it further, Finn broke the silence that had come over them for the past minute or so.

"I'll go get the doctor, tell him you're awake."

I could tell he felt a bit awkward. He hadn't known what to do or say when Quinn was unconscious, and now that she was awake he seemed to be having the same problem. The moment he closed the door, my gaze flew back to Quinn. I was still holding her hand and felt very comfortable doing so. Her grip was a lot firmer now than it had been when she first woke up. I felt extremely grateful for that, knowing that I would no longer have to make myself be optimistic. I now had every reason to be optimistic.

When I heard her call my name, I was taken out of my thoughts. I looked up at her and found her eyes staring intently into mine.

"What is it, sweetie?" I responded. I immediately felt worried about using such a nick name for the blonde. Even though we're not enemies anymore, we weren't exactly exchanging pet names for each other either. Quinn didn't seem to mind though. Instead she moved her eyes to our intertwined hands and then moved her eyes to have them interlocked with mine again. I felt strangely nervous at the look she was giving me, and was starting to wonder if something was wrong.

"Thank you."

The amount of emotions radiating from the gorgeous blonde by my side, left me feeling breathless. Those were two words she had never thought to hear from the person that had stood out most of the past few years by tormenting me every chance she got. To now have her thank me, felt incredibly special.

"Thank you for coming to find me." She then continued. She had probably interpreted my silence as miscomprehension to why she was thanking me. "I don't know how I can ever repay you for saving my life. You've been so kind to me in the past, while I've been so cruel. You truly are an amazing person and I'm lucky to have you in my life."

I felt tears sting my face once more. In that moment, I felt so connected to Quinn. I know it shouldn't be that easy, but I knew that no matter what, I wouldn't hold her past against her anymore. High school was rough, I knew that better than anyone. Whatever her motivations had been for treating me the way she had, it was in the past. It was the rest of our lives we should be focusing on from here on out. A life in which we might actually become quite good friends.

I squeezed her hand in appreciation and found myself putting a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"And I'm really lucky to still have you in my life." I told her. I know she knows I mean it. She too must feel like we've been given a second chance. I wanted to tell her more, tell her that we should leave the past in the past and become actual friends. I wanted her to know just how much I cared about her and how truly happy I really was to be able to talk to her and look into her eyes. But I wasn't able to, since Finn had apparently found the doctor and he was now at their door.

"Quinn," He said. "It so good to see you've woken up." The blonde in question just stared at him, she of course had no idea who he was. The doctor seemed to realize this though, so he quickly introduced himself. "My name is Dr. Keller. I've been taking care of you since you were first brought in. I take it no one's told you of the injuries you've suffered because of the accident?"

I felt like such a jerk at that moment. I've been talking her ears of all this time and I hadn't even explained to her that she's had to have surgery and will probably not be cheerleading for the rest of high school.

Quinn shook her head no and looked up at the doctor in surprise. Her grip tightened a bit, as if she were readying herself for the blow that was about to come. I pinch back in reassurance and put my other hand on top of our intertwined one. I wanted to make sure she knew I was there for her and would support her in any way possible. She looked at me with gratitude and smiled before she returned her attention to the doctor.

He explained everything to her, just as he had done when he first came to talk to us the moment he was out of surgery. Quinn had been extremely lucky. The car that had rammed into hers had made them tumble over a few times before coming to a stop. During this time Quinn had lost consciousness almost immediately because of the impact, leaving her body loose and actually preventing her from breaking more bones. Her right arm had broken during the tumble and on her left side, two of her ribs were greatly bruised because of the impact. There were a few hemorrhages that they had to operate upon, in order to stop the internal bleeding, but other than that there were only other less severe injuries. It had taken this long for her to wake up because her body had needed to recover from the grave trauma it had endured and the great amount of blood that she'd lost. All in all, with a fair amount of physical therapy and plenty of rest she should be more than okay by the time they were to graduate.

"Will I still be able to dance?" She asked the doctor once he was through with his explanation, with serious worry in her voice. The question caught me completely by surprise. I had assumed that she'd want to know whether or not she'd be able to cheerlead anytime over her senior year, instead she was obviously worried about her part in the glee club and her ability to perform songs and dance. This fact made me feel extremely proud of the change in personality she had had.

"That shouldn't be too much of a problem. Dancing is actually quite good for the loosening up the muscles. You'll have to take things slow for while though, but dancing shouldn't be too much of a problem after a fracture like this." The doctor answered happily, very content with the look of relieve he had caused his patient to obtain. Sadly, it was not long-lived. "However, gymnastics, and therefore cheerleading, is another matter."

The recently reinstated cheerleader didn't seem to have realized this before it was just mentioned. The happiness had now disappeared from her eyes and sadness had taken its place. I could only imagine how torn she must be feeling. She had been so eager to return to her former position of cheerleading captain and win them nationals, but in a flash all of that had been taken from her. The doctor seemed to realize that struggling as well and that she needed some time to process things.

"I'll give you a chance to think this over, if you have any questions or concerns, just let me know and I'll be more than happy to listen and answer as best I can." Quinn looked up to him, sadness still clear on her features and gave him a short nod and a thank you. The doctor left the room but before he close the door, he turned around. "There's a group of teenagers together with your mother and one of your teachers outside, waiting patiently to come and see you. Seems like the oversized boy that came to find me has made a few calls. I'll sent them in three at a time, if you feel up to it?" He asks.

This information seemed to put some more life into the bruised blonde by my side. "Yeah, that'll be great." She answers. Something seemed to come to her mind when she quickly added. "Can Rachel stay?" The doctor smiled at them kindly, noticing their intertwined fingers and the ease they seemed to have being in each other's company. "Of course," He answered. "I'll let them know they can come in then."

I smiled at her appreciatively. I hadn't expected that last part at all.

"Are you sure, Quinn? Wouldn't you rather have your mum or Santana?" I asked, finding it a bit odd to want me beside her.

"Of course, Rachel, I mean if you don't mind. I'd really like you to stay with me."

I sounded like she really wanted me to stay and I had no reason what so ever not to grant her that wish. Right now I couldn't be happier to know that Quinn Fabray was leaning on me like a friend and I knew that I'd try to help her recover from this at best I could.

"I would be happy to." I answered her just as the first group of three entered the room.


Okay guys, here's the second chapter. I know a lot of it is a repeat from the first chapter, but I felt the need to look at things through Rachel's eyes a bit more. As you' may or may not hae probably realized, I have no intention to have them realize their feelings towards each other just yet. They will however bond a lot over Quinn's recovery. I'm pretty sure where I want this story to go for at least another 6 chapters or so, so if you're interested so far, stay tuned ;-).

Any comments on the story so far and what you think should happen are greatly appreciated. I'm always interested to hear someone else's thoughts and I might even try to turn the story in a certain direction because of it.

I wanted to thank you all for the many alerts that I've gotten so far and the reviews that I've received. It's definitely a motivation for making my updates as fast as possible!

Until next time!

Lucy