Could I ever believe such a perfect surprise?
-All the things she said by T.A.T.U
December-Part three
"...and that was when the doctor burst in and yelled at us for not making sure that she had had her medication. He refused to explain to us what was wrong...we still don't."
Mr Johnson checked over his notes and glanced back up at Rachel. In a horribly monotone type voice he explained.
"The woman that you knew as Jan. Birth name: Sophie Nadolski had a brain tumor which caused her to fall into shock after so long without her medication. The medication she was on kept the pain away and also kept the seizures to a minimum however they could not hold up forever. This doctor of hers is a genius...I had never seen anything like the treatment he had her on."
"Me neither," she said. "He seemed a little insane though...how obsessed he was with her...I guess that comes from being a parent, right?"
He nodded. "Indeed it does, it does. I should know I have three of my own and if my daughter was dying I would do whatever it would take to keep her going...though this is a bit extreme."
"It was," she said.
"What happened after that?"
"After that he shoved a needle into her arm. She stopped, fell limp and he seemed pleased about it. He said he was sorry for snapping out on us. He refused to tell us much but handed us over to a pair of servants to help us. They called a helicopter to bring Santana to the hospital. Of course we all demanded to go as well. He never even suggested sending Jan...Oh I mean Sophie to the hospital as well. I guess he just doesn't trust many people with her."
Mr Johnson scribbled down a few more notes.
She continued talking.
"Well you know the rest from there. We were taken to the nearest hospital in New Jersey and Santana was given treatment. Parents were called, school was called and...Some things were explained."
"What kind of things?"
"Like Sophie's father is the doctor and how she had managed to get so many people under her control. It's insane, I think. She offered all of them a lot of money...like enough to land themselves on the billionaire list. She made that money by selling stories to the press so going to a school with kids that have very important parents...helped out with that. She gathered enough information to buy out so many people. It was like she had her own secret society or something. I never thought that was even possible to be honest."
"Oh trust me, Miss Berry it is very possible. We deal with this kind of thing, unfortunately very often. I am glad that you girls managed to figure this all out...Who knows what would've happened if you hadn't."
Rachel knew, but some things were meant to be left secrets.
"Miss Berry I just have one question and then you can go. Do you know, why?"
"Why what?"
"Why she did all of this? What was her motive?"
Rachel gnawed on her lip.
"No, sir I don't have the faintest idea."
"Are you certain?"
"Absolutely," she lied.
"Thank-You Miss Berry for your information on this case, we will let you know if anything else is needed."
He scribbled down a few more notes as she said her goodbyes and left. Outside the office, a blonde girl sat on a very uncomfortable waiting room chair. She had just finished her interview with Mr Johnson but had promised to wait for Rachel despite her arguments. She looked over to her and smiled.
"Come on, I hear that visiting hours are starting up soon."
She stood and held out her hand. Rachel accepted and they walked down together.
"Quinn...Are you okay? With everything that is happening now?"
She stopped and turned to her.
"If anything I feel horrible...It is all my fault."
"No it is not! I will tell you as many times as possible in order to get that through your thick blonde skull. You could not have stopped this. How could you have known that she would keep a grudge for this long? I mean, god one kiss when you were twelve and suddenly-"
"It was her first kiss. Girls like Sophie are very obsessive with those types of things." She sighed. "If anything that kiss was an experiment and I feel horrible for taking that away from her."
Rachel grabbed both of her hands and stared her straight in the eye.
"If anything, Quinn I feel bad that your first kiss was with a raging psychopath."
Quinn had to smile. She had to laugh.
"Don't forget your first kiss that actually counts was with-"
"You," they chimed in unison.
"We will be alright, Rachel...won't we?"
"Yes, I think we will."
Hours passed, while most of the time was spent next to Santana's hospital bed or pacing the hallways.
That was when the parents began to arrive.
Rachel's dads came first. Quinn's earlier thought of them not caring about their daughter because of their lack of spending money sent her way was dashed. The second Leroy and Hiram entered the building, Rachel's face lit up and she ran into their arms. She was lifted off the ground as if she had changed back into a six year old again.
She eagerly chatted with them, promptly forgetting Quinn's existence.
That was okay. She needed it. So she just wandered off by herself for a while and watched as more concerned parents began to show.
Tina was chatting away with her dad in Chinese. It looked as though they hadn't chatted in a while, Quinn wondered why but she didn't ask. It was obvious how uncomfortable her father looked however chose to ignore it for once.
"I'm proud of you Tina," he said after he was given the chance to speak again.
She just stood there shell-shocked for a moment before she threw her arms around him. He looked so adorably confused for that first second that Quinn had to hide her giggle. He wrapped his arms around her and patted her on the back, still uncomfortable but adjusting to anyway.
It was a start, Quinn could see it already.
A few hours later and everyone's parents/siblings were counted for except for Quinn's. She had not expected anything.
Even after she had called her mother- she had gone straight to the answering machine- and left a message. She did not expect her to show up for her. After all the things she had done...she didn't deserve her help. So she wandered back into the waiting room and hovered outside of conversations, occasionally offering a comment here and there.
She kept her opinion to herself however. She just tried to keep her mind off of her mother during those few hours. They would have to go back to school soon and she needed to focus on how much homework she was bound to have missed in that time.
Hours later, she slept on a couch in the waiting room. Her bag lay at her feet [Rachel's dads had gathered their things from the hotel before coming to the hospital] and her phone buried under many piles of clothing, buzzed.
She shifted in her sleep but did not hear it. Even as a few more calls came in, she did not answer her mother's calls.
Across the ocean, her mother was dressed in a black veil as she tried once again to reach her. She called over and over again. She never stopped but after a while a tear began to drip down her cheek. This time she let it fall.
She had lost her husband already. She would not lose her daughter.
But with every call, she felt her resolve slip away. All of her responsibilities slipped away. So after trying for countless times, she dialed a different number.
"Hello, I will need one ticket to Ohio, America. First class if available and also a window seat, if possible. Though I am not picky about this trip-"
"How soon will you need-"
"Now, I need it now. As soon as I can possibly get a ticket-"
"You will be leaving in two days, your highness."
"Thank-you," she said. "Just thank-you-"
Life soon fell back into place. The girls were sent back to school. Santana in a wheelchair that Brittany pushed around everywhere, she seemed very amused by the idea. Santana was not at first but after a while she agreed and claimed that she made it look sexy. Strangely enough she did not mind Britt pushing her around sometimes though on more than one occasion she would have her stand on her foot rest and she would push her around.
Quinn had never seen two people more happy. She was the most pleased when she saw Santana publicly call Brittany her girlfriend as if it was not that big of a deal. But it was a big deal and she could see it in every move those two made around each other.
Santana had come a long way and she was proud of her for it.
As for Tina, she still felt guilty. She tried to apologise on every given opportunity. She never seemed to be able to forgive herself for everything that she has done. Quinn still had not fully forgiven her and found it difficult to tell her things even though she knew that she did not have any connections with Sophie, not anymore.
Sophie was currently in a holding cell pending a trial in a few months. She had no contact anywhere with anyone now. And for that they were all grateful.
And for Quinn, she was still getting used to having almost everything she had ever wanted. She had the girl in pink now, her conquest was over and she had never been happier.
She could hold her girl in her arms all night and not have to worry about her being snatched away again. She was happy, something that she hadn't been in a long time and she hoped that the feeling would stay. Forever, however cliché that might sound.
It December 18th, the last day before Christmas holidays and the school campus was in frenzy as was expected before a major holiday. Quinn walked back to her dorm room alone. She carried her books tight to her jacket.
She was covered up in three different layers of sweaters with her jacket on overtop. She wore a hat over her ears and a pair of woolen mittens. And yet she was still shivering. She really needed to invest in a real winter coat.
As she walked back she became aware of the fact that there was someone behind her. As she went on she could hear footsteps coming up behind her. She considered texting Rachel to come walk with her when-
"Quinn," the voice called out.
She froze, her hands started shaking of their own accord for a reason that had nothing to do with the cold.
She turned slowly and nearly dropped her books.
"I'm so sorry that I did not get to the hospital...flights are so hard to get out and I ended up in New Jersey first and-"
The books dropped and her arms were suddenly around her mother. She hugged her close vaguely recalling the last time she had hugged her...the memory was fuzzy and it was long before she had turned rebellious.
She pulled back.
"I am just so glad to see you."
"Me too, Quinn. Really, I am. I'm not just saying that I mean that. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I should not have forced you to come here, it was wrong and...After everything you have been through I feel awful for making you-"
"Don't worry...I don't see it as a negative...anymore at least. I have really good friends now and also a girlfriend...a real one not some random hook-up. I real living and breathing person who loves me just as much as I love her and it is amazing...so no I do not blame you...I should be thanking you...if anything."
"I am so glad to hear you say that...I thought...I thought you would hate me."
"I couldn't," she replied.
"Can I meet this girlfriend of yours?" She asked, with a smile.
The issue was that her mother never smiled. She was not entirely sure how to smile. She opened her mouth too wide and showed far too many teeth. At the moment, it was the most beautiful smile that she had ever seen.
"Of course, you can."
She gathered up her now damp books and led her mother back to her dorm. She had the strangest feeling deep inside of her, like anything could happen. She could be however or whatever she wanted and there would be no more restrictions.
Sure, her mother and her would still disagree. They would still get into arguments because of how similar they are and yet how different. Their ambition may be for very separate topics but it was still there. Quinn may not enjoy most of the things her mother finds important [Set in stone type important] however she hates most of the things that she loves.
So in general, they were human.
A petty fight between mother and daughter was something that happened every single day, in every single country and in every single language in the world.
They were no different than all of those women.
Though the royalty status leaves less arguments about money...
The end
Author's note-
Thank-you. Thank-you for reading and accepting my horribly late updates [I promise that I will do better next time]. Thank-you for adding this to your favorites and alerts and for leaving reviews. This story has gotten more attention than I had ever expected it to and for that: Thanks [Even though I have said the word 'thank-you' way too many times in this farewell].