7 hours and 48 minutes. That's how long it had been since they'd last seen Rachel. She had slipped unconscious not long after Brittany left the auditorium. But not before she managed to croak what could be her last words to Quinn. She had never imagined she'd be trying to figure out what she wanted her dying words to be at the tender age of 17.
"Quinn? I…I can't keep my eyes open much longer." Rachel whimpered, staring up at the blonde who's lap her lap was resting on. Her vision blurred as she attempted to focus on Quinn's face.
"Yes you can. You have to Rach." Her voice was soft and although she was only inches away, it seemed she was far, far away. It hurt the brunette to hear the desperation in her fellow singer's voice, but she didn't have the strength anymore.
"I can't. I just…I need you to tell Finn t-that I love him. And tell my dads that I love them t-too and not to let this c-control the rest of their lives-" Quinn cut her off, tears streaming down her face before she could get any farther.
"Rachel, stop! You're not going to die. You can't die." Quinn's voice was thick with tears, and she grabbed Rachel's hand tighter. She couldn't stand to sit here and watch the girl she had finally made peace with die.
"I think I am. J-just tell them. Please." The last word was barely a whisper as Rachel's eyes fluttered and then eventually closed. Quinn couldn't stop a sob from ripping through her chest and then whimpered in pain as the small movement set her gunshot wound on fire.
"Rachel Berry? Is there anyone here for a Rachel Berry?" 11 heads snapped towards the waiting room doorway at the mention of the four syllable name and the doctor who had entered seemed a bit taken back. They all stood immediately and waited anxiously for him to say the news they had been waiting for for hours.
"She's stable. Very, very weak. But stable. We gave her a blood transfusion and stitched up both the entrance and exit wounds. As she's in the ICU, we can only allow immediate family into the room as of now." The man said, glancing at the near crowd of teenagers around him. LeRoy and Hiram both stepped forward and then hesitated before pulling Finn along with them.
"Just the three of you, room 314, third floor." The surgeon said at last. The three men nodded before hurrying towards the elevator.
"She's alright. Thank God our baby girl is alright." Hiram muttered, running his hand over his head. His eyes were still filled with the tears that had started welling the moment they had heard what was happening on the news.
"I should have been there today. I pretended to have a damn cold when I should have been there for her." Finn said in frustration. He knew he wasn't going to forgive himself for this any time soon. He should have been there and he should have protected her.
"Rachel? Baby are you up?" Hiram murmured, walking into the hospital room. Never in his life had he seen his daughter so pale and…breakable. Her eyes were barely open, but they flickered to him the moment he walked in. A faint smile played at her lips and grew a bit wider as her other father and then finally Finn walked in.
"You're here." Rachel whispered hoarsely. Her family and her fiancé both came to her bedside immediately and she barely found the strength to reach up and take Finn's hand. The drugs that clouded her brain barely let her stay awake.
"Of course we are sweetie." LeRoy whispered, smoothing the girl's hair back out of her face. He bent down and kissed her on the forehead before stepping back again.
"I love you. All of you." Rachel murmured, gently squeezing Finn's hand before drifting under the influence of the painkillers in her veins.
