Hey Fantastic people. So I know I said it might be a while, but inspiration has a funny way of sneaking up on me so I went with it. Anyways, here it is!
Supported by Quinn and Kurt, Rachel made her way back to the triage bay where she was placed in a room and given a basic check before being handed a gown and told the doctor would be in shortly.
"Quinn," Rachel said, "Help me please."
Quinn nodded, helping her friend change while Kurt held her clothes. She and Kurt had quickly moved past any awkwardness in about the 10th grade when he started sleeping over at her house. Heck, she sent him to the store to buy pads and tampons on a regular basis and would complain to him about any girl problem she was dealing with.
Rachel laid down on the bed, Kurt letting her rest on his lap and Quinn sitting down in the chair next to the bed. Rachel could barely keep her eyes open with the dehydration and exhaustion from her sleepless night.
A few minutes later, a doctor walked in, pulling the chart out of the file holder in the hall.
"Hello Miss Berry," the doctor said, not looking up from the chart, "I'm Dr. Janet van de Graaf. What have we here? Vomiting, diarrhea, exhaustion, nausea, cramping, fever. Sounds like you have the stomach virus that's going around."
"Yeah," Rachel said, Kurt helping her sit up before getting off the table, "It was going around the theater and I think I picked it up."
"Oh my goodness," the doctor said, looking up from the chart, " You are the Rachel Berry. I have taken all of my nieces to see Funny Girl. They literally sing your songs all the time."
"Yeah great," Kurt said, impatient evident in his tone, "But right now Rachel is just a normal patient who is really sick and needs you to be her doctor and not a fan."
"Right," Dr. Freedman said, "Sorry. Now, let me take a look."
The doctor looked in Rachel's mouth, ears, eyes and nose, listened to her heart and lungs, took her temperature, and had her lie down and did an external stomach exam. As the doctor pressed on Rachel's stomach, Rachel felt a familiar feeling and the doctor quickly grabbed a emesis basin as Rachel dry heaved.
"Well," Dr. van de Graaf said, handing Rachel a tissue as she managed to get herself sitting, "I want to run some blood work, but based on your symptoms and the exam, I would say you definitely have the stomach virus that is going around. I want to get you on an electrolyte drip to replenish some of the stuff your body lost from how sick you have been. I will send a nurse in to get the blood and start the IV. I also will have her start an acetaminophen drip to get that fever of yours under control. It is 103.3 right now which is much too high. Don't worry, Ms. Berry, we will have you back on stage singing and dancing soon."
"Thanks," Rachel said, offering a weak smile as the doctor left.
"Do you ever hate it?" Quinn asked, referring to the attention the doctor gave Rachel.
"I did," Rachel said, "Not so much anymore. Just got used to it I guess, or as much as I could."
Quinn nodded, trying to wrap her head around what her friend dealt with on a daily basis. About ten minutes later, Rachel was almost asleep when the nurse walked in.
"Rachel Berry?" the nurse asked, waking the sleeping star.
"Yeah," Rachel said, voice scratchy and low.
"I just need to get some blood and then I'm going to start you on an IV. Hopefully, if we pull the fever down and get you rehydrated, you can be out of here in about two hours," the nurse said, smiling at Rachel.
"I'll be right back," Kurt said, getting up and leaving the room. He had issues with blood and was using that as an excuse to call Blaine and let him know how it was going.
"I'll try to be quick," the nurse said, seeing Rachel's apprehension.
Rachel had a big fear of needles ever since she got blood poisoning from a shot when she was a kid. It hadn't spread through her body, but the experience had been traumatizing and her fear stemmed from that.
Quinn saw Rachel's fear and went to her friend's side, grabbing Rachel's hand. The nurse put the needle in and moved it around before pulling it back out.
"Sorry," she said, "You're really dehydrated and that makes this hard. I'll try to be quick."
After another prick and a little coaxing, the blood began to flow. After that, the nurse hooked the IV up to Rachel's hand, getting that in one shot.
"Just call if you need anything," the nurse said. Rachel nodded, tears pooling in her bloodshot eyes.
"Rach," Quinn said, "I know it hurt but it's over."
"No," Rachel said, "I feel bad for ruining your week and everyone else's. You guys should just leave me here. I can get a cab back myself."
"No way," Quinn said, "You were there for me after the accident and any other time I ever needed you. Plus, I came to New York to see my friends and while this isn't quite what I had in mind, I still want to hang out with you."
"Thanks," Rachel said, closing her eyes, "I hope you don't find this rude, but I'm really tired."
"I understand," Quinn said, getting up, "I'm gonna go find Kurt and see how he's doing."
Rachel nodded, already almost asleep. While the nurse had been setting Rachel up with the IV, Kurt had called Blaine. Tina, Mike, Artie, Mercedes, and a surprise Sam had all made it safely. He was going to take them to Central Park and then to a few other places.
Santana was still running a fever and was still throwing up about every hour, but she was doing a little better. Dani was still taking care of her so Snix had yet to make an appearance. Kurt filled Blaine in on Rachel and had just hung up when Quinn walked up.
"Hey," he said, "How is she?"
"She's sleeping," Quinn said, "I don't think I have ever seen anyone that sick before."
"Rachel almost never gets sick," Kurt explained, "But when she does, it is always really bad. She got the flu when we first moved here and I kid you not, she slept for 36 hours and had a fever for almost a week. It was miserable."
"Yikes," Quinn said, "Did everyone else make it in safely?"
"Yeah," Kurt said, "And Sam came up too. Blaine was taking them out to a few places. You could probably go meet them if you wanted. I can take care of Rach."
"That's alright," Quinn said, "I have been hanging out with most of them in Lima the whole summer. Only you three, Sam and Mercedes moved out of town officially. Everyone else still comes home in the summer."
Kurt nodded as they started heading back to Rachel's room.
"Thanks Quinn," Kurt said, "I know this means a lot to Rachel. The past few months have been tough on her, on all of us, and it's good for her to know she's not alone."
Quinn nodded, knowing exactly what he was talking about. Since losing Fin, Rachel had been writing her more and confiding in her. Losing Fin hadn't been a walk in the park for her either. She had realized after his passing that she had been destroying her life and had changed everything about herself, wanting to be the girl he had always treated her like she was.
She had dumped her college professor boyfriend and had focused on herself and her studies. She had also learned to create friendships again instead of just being a complete backstabber.
As they walked back into Rachel's room, Quinn smiled, thinking of how much this friendship meant to her. Rachel and Kurt had seen her through everything in her life and she was eternally grateful for them. She and Kurt sat down next to Rachel's bed, chatting quietly, not wanting to wake her after the long few days she had had.
Hope you liked it. Can Anyone spot the pairing I decided to throw in as a surprise? Anyone catch the musical reference? Let me know if you have answers to either of these and if you liked this chapter. Hopefully more to come soon!
