Let Me Hold You
Chapter 11
While practicing their Regionals routine a couple weeks after Valentine's Day, Finn and Rachel announced to the group that they would be getting married as soon as their performance was over that day. They wanted everyone to "save the date" to be present at the courthouse to witness their nuptials. The bridesmaids' dresses were pink, Rachel had her dress picked out, Finn had his tux rented…they said they didn't want to waste anymore time not being man and wife and decided to tie the knot that Saturday afternoon in mid March. Finn made some speech about living every day as if it were your last; Sam kind of tuned him out.
Somehow, Sam came to terms with Quinn not going to an Ivy League school and with her decision to go to the University of Cincinnati to pursue a teaching degree. The thought of her being a mere 4 hours away helped, but he still thought she should be going to a more prestigious school. He still had no idea what he was going to do after his senior year. Artie's parents had contacted them recently and told Artie that his father's tour would last at least 3 years total except for the time they'd be home through the summer. They were going to contact Sam's parents to make sure it was okay that Sam stayed with Artie through their senior year. He considered applying to the University of Cincinnati but felt a community college in Cincinnati would be more likely for him.
Since the New Directions had won Sectionals, they had "home court advantage" again and Regionals were to be held at McKinley High. The awards ceremony was set to happen around 3-ish so Finn and Rachel's wedding ceremony was set to begin around 4. Her two dads had pulled some strings and paid a judge to marry them on that Saturday, even though the courthouse was technically closed on Saturdays.
So, as the Regionals competition approached, things got a little crazy with everyone having a competition costume plus fancy duds to wear to the wedding. Not to mention actually having to rehearse their songs and performance in the days leading up to Regionals. Rachel, her typical type A self, was completely focused on both Regionals and her wedding to Finn, not letting anything get in her way. Finn pretty much followed her around, doing things as she asked. Quinn offered to help Rachel in any way possible, since that's what a bridesmaid did, and Rachel asked her to choose flowers, something pink and pretty, something for the girls and something for the boys to wear on their suits. Quinn did just that; she went to a flower shop and ordered a bouquet for Rachel consisting of different hues of pink flowers and smaller bouquets for the girls and pink sweetheart rose boutonnieres for the boys and Finn. Before finalizing the order, she texted a picture of the flowers to Rachel who approved. Even though she had originally been against the idea of Finn and Rachel getting married so young, the excitement building up to the wedding was infectious.
A couple days before Regionals/Finn and Rachel's wedding, the girls had a final dress fitting. Quinn actually liked her bridesmaid dress and thought the other girls looked equally as pretty. Rachel, though, looked gorgeous in her wedding gown. Actually trying on their dresses and seeing how pretty they all looked together caused a few tears to fall. Once they were changed back into their street clothes, Quinn pulled Rachel aside.
"I know I was a bitch about this wedding to begin with but I'm very happy for you and Finn. I've never seen you look so happy before, even on stage believe it or not, and I've changed my mind…this is the right thing for you two to do," Quinn said to her. She hugged her quickly. "I'm honored to be a part of your special day."
Rachel smiled at her. "That means so much to me, Quinn. I'm happy that you'll be there to share this with us."
"Tell me about your honeymoon plans…" Quinn said, picking up Rachel's hand as they walked to their cars, giggling.
At her Bug, Quinn put her black dress bag on the backseat and drove home. At her house, she took the dress to her bedroom and hung it on the back of her bathroom door. She then went to Artie's to hang out with Sam and Artie for awhile.
xxxxx
"Dinner smells delicious, Sam," she said after knocking and hearing Artie yell for her to come in. She said hi to Artie and found Sam in the kitchen.
"Thanks…I'm just trying something new. Chicken fajitas…" he said to her, flipping various things in hot skillets.
"Can I help?" she asked him. Walking up behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist.
"If you wanna get out the cheese and sour cream and guacamole and chips…that'd be cool," he replied, smiling at her. "How was the dress fitting thing?"
She kissed his shoulder before she started pulling items out of the refrigerator.
"It went okay...Rachel looked really pretty in her gown."
"I bet I know someone else who looked really pretty," he said, winking at her.
"I do like the pink dress…not sure when I'll ever wear it again, though," she said, laughing.
"It's hard to believe they're actually getting married Saturday. Sounds like they're ready though," Sam said. He called for Artie to come to the kitchen, that supper was ready. They prepared their plates and sat down to eat.
"Is Sugar excited about Saturday?" Quinn asked Artie. They were still dating pretty seriously.
"In her own way," Artie replied, chuckling. "I think this whole Finchel wedding thing is giving the other girls wedding fever."
"Now, Artie, don't generalize…I don't have wedding fever!" Quinn said, laughing yet blushing. She knew the other girls, Sugar included, were caught up in the romantic aspect of the upcoming nuptials.
"This is true, Artman, Quinn has not once hinted that she's expecting me to pop any questions," Sam added, laughing as well.
She gave Sam a sly glance and a smirk. "He'll know when the time is right."
He winked at her.
xxxxx
On Friday after school, the Glee Club ran through a dress rehearsal several times before calling it a night. Sam and Artie picked up fast food, and Quinn and Sugar met them at Artie's after rehearsal for supper. It had been a busy day with school, then dress rehearsal, and constant reminders from Rachel about the wedding and reception after the competition.
After eating, they retired to their separate rooms for the evening. Exhausted beyond belief, Sam set his alarm for the next morning, and he and Quinn fell sound asleep. The alarm sounded at 5:30 a.m., and they groggily pulled themselves awake and took a hot shower together. They had to be at the school by 7, so there was little time for fooling around but still they enjoyed some kissing and giggling and groping under the hot spray of water. After their shower, Sam helped Artie while Quinn and Sugar whipped up a quick and easy breakfast. Time slipped away from them, and suddenly they were rushing for the door at 6:55.
"Do you have my bowtie?" Sam asked.
"In your bag...I need to find my shoes!" Quinn said, hunting around his bedroom from where they dropped stuff the night before. "Found them!"
"Don't you need this?" he asked her, holding up a pink ribbon.
"Yes! Do you have my black dress bag?" she asked, hurriedly stuffing the pink ribbon in her bag of stuff but not noticing it fell to the floor.
"I think so..." he mumbled. He held up two black dress bags, their competition outfits. "Got 'em!"
She stood in the middle of his room, one hand on her hip and the other hand up to her chin, thinking. "I guess that's everything..."
They got to the school only a few minutes late. Everything was already chaotic, preparing for the visiting show choirs who would be arriving by 9. The kids were running around getting into their costumes, doing hair and makeup, warming up their voices and muscles while the band was tuning up and the stage crew was adjusting lights and sets. Even though Finn and Rachel were still planning on going through with their wedding following the award announcements, there was an unspoken agreement that there was to be no wedding talk before their performance that day so everyone was in the zone. The energy was electric in the auditorium.
At 9, the other choirs began arriving with the competition set to begin at 10 a.m. New Directions had drawn sixth out of ten choirs, so at 10 a.m. they took their seats in the auditorium to begin watching the five choirs before them. Sam and Quinn sat together, their fingers interlocked, nervously watching the other show choirs.
As the choir before them took the stage, the New Directions quietly filed backstage so they'd be ready to go on next.
"Nervous?" Sam asked her, holding both her hands, feeling a slight tremble.
"No...you?" she replied, smiling.
"Nope...I'm ready for this. We'll win and go to Nationals and then explore New York...I can't wait..." he said, pecking her forehead. "I love you, Quinn. Break a leg out there."
She giggled. "Merde!"
He looked confused. "What?"
She smiled slyly. "I'll explain later...it's about our turn."
He held her hand until they went on stage to start their performance.
The first song was a mashup of I Believe I Can Fly/Fly, where Sam and Quinn got to dance with each other. Judging by the applause, it was a solid performance. The girls from the Troubletones then performed What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger) and received a standing ovation. The third song was Here's To Us, with Rachel performing the solo. The boys sang from the balconies and again they received a standing ovation. Finishing their performance was always a great relief to them all, a weight off their shoulders, but they all were excited about their show and hoped it was received well by the judges. After calming down back stage, they returned to their seats in the audience to watch the last few choirs perform.
After all the choirs had performed, the top three were announced and asked to come to the stage. The Dalton Warblers and New Directions made the top three. Sam took Quinn's hand and went with the others back to the stage. They waited nervously for the announcement of first and second places; those two would go on to the national competition in Chicago. The choir from Columbus took third place, leaving only New Directions and the Warblers on stage. First place was finally announced…New Directions was the winner. The trophy was another large one; they shook hands and congratulated the Warblers who they would see again in Chicago. They took their celebration back to the choir room.
Everyone was excited and talking at once…about how great Rachel sounded, how great the Troubletones sounded, how the nerves got to some of them and they missed a cue or a step in the choreography. Mr. Schuester arrived with the trophy and they all cheered again. He gave them the judges' critiques of their performance. Rachel was totally entranced in what Mr. Schue was saying until an incessant poking at her shoulder tore her attention away from him. Finn whispered in her ear, and her face lit up.
"Mr. Schue, if I may, I have one hour to get to the courthouse to get married. Is it okay if I'm…" She looked at Finn and the rest of the room. "…we're dismissed?"
Mr. Schue laughed and told them to get to the courthouse on time. The room erupted again in frenzied talking and moving as the kids went this way and that to get ready to head to the courthouse. Sam took Quinn by the hand and followed Artie and Sugar to his car.
Sam got Artie into the passenger seat and Sugar slipped into the back seat but Quinn stood outside his car, her face scrunched up in thought.
"Hey Sam? I thought you said you got my black dress bag?" she asked him.
"Um, yeah, mine and your's…did I forget something?"
"No, no, I think I did…oh no!" she said, thumping the palm of her hand against her forehead. "I think my bridesmaid's dress is at my house!"
"Oh!" A look of surprise crossed Sam's face, then relief. "I'll just drop you off at your car and I'll get the three of us to the courthouse while you run home and change. I'll tell Finn and Rach you're on your way."
She threw her arms around him. "I think that'll work, Sam! I'll just hurry." She jumped into the backseat with Sugar, both of them giggling about her forgetting her dress in all the excitement.
The mood was light on the way to Artie's house where Quinn's car was. Sugar was changing there so Quinn was sure she had time to run to her house, then get to the courthouse.
"Just tell Rachel not to worry…it won't take me anytime at all…" she told Sam, kissing him a lingering kiss on the lips. "I'll be there soon."
"'Kay…be careful, Q, I love you," he said to her, shutting her car door and watching her pull away from Artie's driveway.
xxxxx
Quinn did rush home and quickly changed into her bridesmaid's dress. Looking in her mirror, she suddenly realized that she didn't have the pink ribbon in her hair but the black and red one from their competition.
"Damn!" she muttered, going through all her hair accessories trying to find something similar to the pink ribbon Rachel wanted the girls to wear. She remembered asking Sam about the pink ribbon so she knew it was either at Artie's or mixed into their competition stuff and she thought that stuff was in a duffel bag in Sam's trunk. She continued searching for a pink ribbon when her phone vibrated.
Will you be here soon? was the text from Rachel. It was 3:45…the wedding would start in 15 minutes.
Leaving right now! Quinn texted back, still searching for a pink ribbon. She finally pulled one out that resembled the other one and quickly changed the black and red ribbon with the pink ribbon. She quickly freshened up her makeup and perfume and touched the Sam's heart necklace. She grabbed her clutch and phone and ran out the door.
xxxxx
At the courthouse, Sam unloaded Artie, and along with Sugar they found the judge's offices where the wedding ceremony would take place. All the other guys were there, including Rachel's two dads and Burt Hummel, and all the other girls were there, including Carole Hudson-Hummel…except for Quinn. Finn looked nervous; Rachel was pacing the room, asking Finn for the time nearly every minute. At 3:55, she texted Quinn again.
Are you close by? I need you here!
Quinn's phone buzzed on the seat next to her. She picked it up, glancing at the message and groaning. The time on the clock in her car read 3:56.
Shit shit shit she thought.
She started punching the letters out while watching the road.
On
"Sam, are you sure she said she'd be right here?" Rachel asked him.
"Yeah, she just needed to pick up her dress," he replied.
my
"Maybe we should go ahead and get started…" Finn said to her.
"No, I'm waiting on Quinn," Rachel said, firmly.
way
She glanced up at the intersection; she had the right-of-way; the other traffic had to stop. She pushed the accelerator just a bit more and hit send on her phone.
xxxxx
"Okay, okay…" Rachel said, looking at her phone, smiling. "Quinn just said she's on her way…whew…we can get started as soon as she gets here then."
There was a sigh of relief among those in the room. The girls clustered around Rachel, telling her how beautiful she was, in her one-of-a-kind though simple wedding gown, clutching her pink bouquet that Quinn had chosen. The guys huddled together around Finn…except for Sam who wandered off to a bank of windows in the large office. The windows looked down onto the main street, and he'd have a clear shot of Quinn arriving. He stood there and watched and waited.
Minutes, then more minutes passed by, until it was 4:20. Sam was still watching at the window, now worried about Quinn. It should've only taken her 10 minutes tops to get there from her house. Rachel had texted her again with no response. Finn again suggested they go ahead and start since the judge was clearing his throat and tapping his wristwatch.
Sam heard an ambulance siren wailing, then it passed under his window, heading away from town. Then, another ambulance. Then a fire truck and a police car, all with sirens on.
Where is she? he thought, his brow furrowing. She's gonna get caught up in all these cop cars and ambulances and…
He suddenly had a very bad feeling come over him. He went to Finn and pulled him away from the guys.
"I'm gonna go check on Quinn…she would never be this late…" Sam said to him. "You and Rachel go ahead and get started. I'll check on Quinn."
"Okay, man, if you're sure…" Finn said but Sam was already running from the office to his car.
In his car, he unbuttoned his suit jacket and pulled his phone from his pocket. He sent Quinn a quick text: I'm coming for you.
He then fired up his car and followed the sounds of the sirens. He took the route that he was pretty sure Quinn would've taken to get to the courthouse.
Within five minutes, he came upon the fire truck and ambulances and police cars at an intersection. He saw smoke and a smashed up truck…and then his heart nearly stopped. He pulled his car to the shoulder haphazardly, threw it into park, and ran from it to the nearest officer he could find. All he could see was the hot pink Volkswagen Bug, torn in half in the intersection, a body bag on the ground, emergency workers milling around.
A police officer stopped him from going close to the wreckage. He couldn't form words. He kept pointing at the flowing piece of pink fabric, caught on the car wreckage.
"Quinn…my…my girlfriend…Quinn!" he choked out. He was nearing hysterics.
The man gripped his shoulders. "Okay son…look at me…son! Do you know either of the drivers of these vehicles?" The officer's eyes went to the pink rose boutonniere on Sam's lapel. "Do you know the female driver?"
"What? Female? Quinn…Quinn Fabray…the pink car…oh my god…Quinn…" Sam tried again to get past the officer. He couldn't take his eyes off that piece of pink fabric whipping around in the breeze and smoke and still spinning wheel of the car. He kept trying not to look at the body bag.
"Listen to me, son, can you identify her?" the officer asked him.
Dread crossed Sam's face. "Is she…did she…?"
"She's in the ambulance; she needs to be transported immediately. They just got her out of the car," the officer said.
Sam nodded. "Can I see her?"
The officer looked at him solemnly. "Son, it's been a horrific accident. There has been a fatality. The female's injuries are grave, I'm sorry to say."
Sam swallowed and held his breath. "Take me to her."
The officer sighed and pulled his radio from his belt. He said a few words to someone, then took Sam by the arm to one of the ambulances.
Stay strong, Sam, stay strong for her…she needs you now…hold it together…he kept pep-talking himself during the walk to the ambulance. As they neared the back of the truck, he could see two feet on the end of the gurney, one pink shoe on, one pink shoe gone, and so much blood, too much blood. He tugged on the officer's arm, stopping him.
"Is she…is she awake? Can she see me?" Sam asked him, nervously.
"She's slipping in and out. Is your name Sam by any chance?"
Sam nodded.
"She was saying your name when they pulled her from the car," the man said. "Are you sure you can do this?"
Sam glanced at her feet again and back to the man. He nodded.
"Okay…we just need a positive ID, then you can follow the rig to the hospital," the officer told him.
The officer approached the back of the ambulance and said a few words to the technicians working on Quinn. One of them asked to speak to Sam first. The officer pushed Sam closer to the ambulance.
"Son, your friend has been in a very severe MVA. From what we can tell, she has multiple broken bones, lacerations, possible internal injuries, but she's conscious and asking for Sam. We're stabilizing her now before we move to the hospital. She's suffered significant injuries but those will heal; try not to see those when you talk to her, just see her."
Sam nodded numbly. He suddenly felt sick to his stomach. The guy offered him a hand and helped him up into the back of the ambulance.
He tried so hard not to stare and not to cry but it wasn't going to happen. The lights were bright in the ambulance, accentuating every bloody cut she had endured. Glass and blood were matted in her hair and in her skin. Her pink hair ribbon was still there but askew. She had been crying, tear streaks lined the dirt on her face. Her dress had been torn; he imagined that was the part he had seen still stuck to her car. She had an IV in her arm already and a tube in her nose and a cuff around an arm. She had a brace of some sort around her neck and a leg was already splinted, the dressing bloody near her ankle. There were bruises and cuts everywhere on her. He tried not to see all of them; he kept his eyes on her eyes…one of the few places on her body not injured.
"Qui-Quinn…" he whispered. "I'm here…"
Her eyes fluttered at the sound of his voice. More tears fell from her eyes but she said nothing. Her lips moved but no sound came out.
"Can you identify the victim, sir?" one of the technicians asked him.
Sam couldn't take his eyes off her. He nodded. The shiny heart necklace gave it away.
"Lucy Quinn Fabray…" he mumbled. He went on to give her address and birthday.
He found her hand lying limp on the gurney and held it in his own hand. Her hand was cool, streaked with blood. He heard one of the techs say she was stable and they were taking her to Lima Memorial. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. He watched her eyes flutter again and barely heard her say Sam before they ushered him out of the ambulance.
He stood there at the scene, not knowing what to do. He looked at her car, split into nearly two pieces. The smashed truck was being loaded onto a tow truck; the body bag had been removed. People were cleaning up the debris already. He stood there wondering what the hell happened.
"Son, are you going to the hospital?" the original officer walked up to him.
"Uh, yeah, yes sir…" Sam answered, his voice shaky.
"You can take this to your friend; it's her purse and phone that we found at the scene," the man said. Sam took the pink purse and her phone.
He stood there not knowing what to do next.
"Son, can you drive yourself to the hospital?"
Sam looked at the man with no answer. The officer called for a deputy.
"Okay, I'll drive you to the hospital and Jay here will drive your car…is that okay with you?"
Sam nodded, feeling like a robot. He pointed out his car to the deputy, still sitting nearly sideways on the shoulder, still running.
"Let's go then…" the officer said, loading Sam into his cruiser.
On the ride to the hospital, Sam's emotions overwhelmed him and he found himself crying quietly into his hands. The officer noticed this and patted his back.
"I've seen much worse accidents with much worse results, son. With God's will, your lady friend will pull through. You be strong for her; she's gonna need you now, more than ever," the man said to him.
Sam sniffed, clutching her purse and phone still and mumbled a thank you.
The officer glanced at Sam again. He was huddled in the passenger seat, trying not to cry.
"So, this girl, she was your friend?" the man finally asked.
Sam looked up at him...his face swollen from the tears, his hair a mess.
"She's my everything," he replied simply and went back to clinging to her purse for dear life.
A/N: Since they never really addressed this on the actual show, we thought we'd delve into this scene in this story. For some reason, it was pretty difficult to write and the next few chapters will be difficult also as she begins her recovery. Spoiler alert: I doubt she'll be walking in 2 weeks! Jeesh, really Glee?