AN: Here we are at the end of the flashback chapters. Only one chapter left after this!


Rachel had not been asleep, actually, when Cam came in. She wasn't sure she'd ever sleep again at this point. Not until things were right once more. Not until she had Quinn back. Still, though she wasn't leaving Quinn's side again until someone literally picked her up and carried her out, she'd feigned sleep to allow Cam to have her moment. It sounded like she'd needed it. Rachel actually had to bite into the blanket at one point to keep from whimpering and giving herself away. As much as she'd cried it seemed she had an endless supply of tears always ready to go.

Rachel waited awhile before "waking up" and was greeted by the sight of a watery eyed Cam smiling at her from across the bed.

"Hi," Cam murmured weakly, almost shyly, and Rachel's chest tightened just a bit further because she sounded like Quinn.

"Oh, Cam, hello," Rachel replied, frowning at the husky sound that escaped her and clearing her throat before continuing. "How long have you...?"

"About 30 minutes or so."

Rachel nodded, turning her attention back to Quinn. She could have been asleep; if it wasn't for the tube in her mouth, Rachel would have thought she was. That she would wake up at any minute asking why she was in the hospital.

"Are you alright?" she would ask - because Quinn always asked about Rachel first.

"She looks peaceful," Cam commented softly. "Like a fairy tale princess waiting for true love's kiss, or something."

"I almost tried it," Rachel told her, reaching up to carefully brush some hair back behind Quinn's ear. "Quinn would think it was funny, I think, even if it worked."

"Yeah, she's not a big believer in fairy tale magic," Cam said. "Harry Potter she'll buy in to, but fairy tales always made her roll her eyes."

"It's the perfection of it," Rachel quoted, closing her eyes to remember every detail of that conversation. She could easily recall Quinn's exasperation, the tilt of her smile and gleam in her eyes betraying her amusement at Rachel's insistence that fairy tales were just as magical as Harry Potter and perhaps more romantic than anything Nicholas Sparks could cook up. "Nothing is ever that perfect and picturesque, and love is never that simple."

"I think it's more to do with the princesses than the magic," Cam said, then laughed a little, stopping short like she'd realized she was laughing and was afraid she'd offended someone. "Uh, you know, the damsel in distress thing. It always pissed her off."

"Quinn's more like the knight in shining armor than the damsel," Rachel snorted, shaking her head.

"I'm telling her you said that."

"Oh no, don't do that; she'll break out the skirts and dresses again just to prove she can be a badass without the manly armor, lance, and steed."

"Right, because Quinn is so very manly," Cam laughed again, stronger this time, no longer afraid of the sound.

"Can you imagine her chasing down some jerk in a sundress?" Rachel asked and rolled her eyes. "I tried to once."

"Nope," Cam shook her head, smiling fondly at her sister. "But you know if we told her that she'd just say 'challenge accepted' and attempt it just to be right."

Rachel nodded slowly, thinking about all the times Quinn had driven her to fits of giggles over "challenge accepted". "It's kind of fun when you do it on purpose. Come up with something ridiculous that she'd never do and then watch her do it just to spite you."

"I hear a story..." Cam prompted, gesturing with her free hand for Rachel to go on.

"One time I was watching ice skating on television with Quinn and I said something about how they were real athletes, not like cheerleaders. Which isn't true, of course, but you should have seen the look on her face. The next day we were at Rockefeller, and she said "challenge accepted", stepped out onto the ice and promptly fell on her ass. It was so much fun, even though we were both super sore and tired the day after."

"You two are too cute for words," Cam said.

With a blush burning her cheeks, Rachel ducked her head and clutched a little harder at Quinn's hand. "I don't feel so cute right now."

"She's here, she's alive, and you will be right back to being obnoxiously adorable together in no time," Cam promised. "And next time you go skating I want an invite; Abbey would love it."

"Deal," Rachel said, hoping that it would happen sooner than it seemed while Quinn was still breathing with the assistance of the ventilator. She fell back into silence, her thoughts too busy working over the past to stay away from the ache of the present. Quinn's hand was no longer cold, laying limp in hers, and Rachel circled her thumb against the soft, chapped skin again out of reflex.

Cam cleared her throat lightly several minutes later. "Did - do you know when the breathing tube comes out?"

Rachel shook her head, eyes immediately going to the ventilator, her breath catching in her lungs until Quinn exhaled. "I don't know."

Any further questions or attempts at conversation were abruptly postponed when the door opened and Sean came in carrying a small bag that smelled so strongly of pastry that Rachel could smell it over the scent of "hospital". That wasn't so surprising in itself, but the hulk of Conrad Schulte coming in behind him caught her off guard. Schulte looked completely out of place in his suit, badge sitting cockeyed on his hip. He was massive, as always, shaped like a linebacker and filling up the doorway, his curly haired head near the top of the door. Tall like Finn but far burlier – if Finn could be described as a horse, Conrad would have been a bull. Rachel would have been intimidated the first time she met him if it weren't for the sweet look on his face and the stumbling way that he talked. Quinn had compared him to a Saint Bernard on multiple occasions, generally followed by a snorted laugh and shake of her head.

Still, seeing him in Quinn's hospital room immediately set her on edge. He could have been there to see Quinn, his boss, but the lack of flowers in his hand and the nervous look on his face told her otherwise.

"Hi, uh, Ms. Berry, and you must be Mrs. Rhoades," Conrad said, fidgeting just inside the room. "I ran into Agent Peterson and Mr. Rhoades on my way in."

"Where is Ryan?" Rachel asked, nodding slightly when Cam shot her a quick look. "It's okay, Cam, Agent Schulte was waiting for me to introduce him, I'm sure. He works with Quinn."

Conrad continued to fidget and blushed lightly. "Sorry, Qui - Agent Fabray says she's trying to teach me manners." He looked quickly at the hospital bed and looked just as quickly away, his fidgeting fingers ceasing their movement to curl into tight fists. "Agent Peterson got a call; he'll be back soon, but uh, Ms. Berry I'm here offi - I need to - can I talk to you, please?"

"I'm not leaving Quinn," Rachel stated with a shake of her head. They'd have to pry her away with a crowbar if they wanted her to leave Quinn's side. "Conrad, I know you're just doing your job but I made a promise."

"Rach, we won't leave Quinn, and you should probably eat something," Sean put in quietly. "Even if it's just a half a banana. And I'm sure Agent Schulte will be very courteous and kind while he's asking you questions." He shot the taller man a warning look, which would have been funny if Rachel wasn't too busy trying not to panic about not being with Quinn.

Schulte nodded very exaggeratedly, "Of course. It won't take very long, I swear. I have some routine questions and..."

"Why can't you ask here?" Rachel wondered out loud, turning away from Conrad's face to look at Quinn. "I promised her I wouldn't leave – everybody leaves and I promised that I wouldn't." Not again, she thought silently, guilt threatening to throw her back into tears. If she hadn't left, if she'd just stayed and forced Quinn to talk more – if they'd just been honest with one another from the get go, if she'd taken five minutes to calm down and dismissed her more dramatic tendencies they wouldn't be in the hospital. Quinn wouldn't be… "I'm not leaving her," she repeated resolutely. "And you can't make me."

"Rachel." Sean shuffled around the foot of the bed and knelt down at Rachel's side. She refused to look down at him but it didn't deter him in the slightest. "Quinn is going to kick my ass if I don't take care of you while she's temporarily unable. You need to eat something and – "

"I am so tired of everyone acting like I need looking after," Rachel snapped, jerking away from Sean's hand. "I'm a grown woman, fully capable of making my own decisions and taking care of myself. I'm not a child, so stop treating me like one."

"Rachel," Cam said, but Rachel held up her free hand.

"No. Just stop it, okay? I really can't handle any more people trying to take care of me." Rachel was more than prepared to continue to shoot down any further arguments, but she was not prepared for Schulte to thrust his phone into her face.

"Rachel?" Ryan's voice asked over the line, and she took the phone with a pointed glare over at Conrad.

"Ryan, where are you?"

"… Tying up some things." He sighed heavily and Rachel's eyes welled up again. "Tadpole, I know you don't want to, but you need to cooperate with Conrad, okay? It's important, and you know that. You don't have to be happy about it, but he needs to get information from you. I promise that it will be fast and then you can go right back to Quinn."

"Why can't you do it?" Rachel asked, reflexively holding that much tighter to Quinn.

"Sorry, Rach, we're all just following orders; this one is Conrad's."

"I promised I wouldn't leave her," Rachel argued weakly.

"She'll understand that you had to go for a couple of minutes. You're not walking away or abandoning her, just stepping out for a second to help her. You want to help, don't you?"

"Yes," Rachel nodded, frowning. "You're a jerk."

He laughed wearily and Rachel felt her lips twitch into an almost-smile. "I know, you can hit me later. I should be there in an hour or so, okay?"

"Okay."

"And Tadpole? Do me and Quinn a favor and eat something. If you pass out from lack of food and end up with an IV in your arm I'm going to draw a mustache on your face with a sharpie."

"You wouldn't," Rachel narrowed her eyes.

"You know I will. A big handlebar mustache. Or maybe a fu-manchu... I haven't decided yet."

"You are cruel and unusual, Ryan Peterson," Rachel scolded then sighed heavily. "Fine. But if anything happens to Quinn while I'm gone I'm holding you accountable."

"… Deal," Ryan said hoarsely and Rachel wished she could take it back.

"Bye." She hung up the phone after Ryan's farewell and handed the device off to Schulte. "I'll go, but please be quick."

"Yes, Ma'am," Schulte agreed, nodding vigorously.

Rachel turned to Quinn, swallowing back the lump in her throat that reappeared every time she saw her ashen face. "I'll be right back, baby," she promised, leaning up to press a kiss to Quinn's forehead. Letting go of her pale hand was one of the hardest things Rachel ever did, but Sean was quick to scoop it up with a warm smile.

"I'll call you if anything changes," he told her.

Walking out of the room seemed to take forever, with every step forward harder than the last, like she wading through mud. Conrad looped an arm around her shoulders as soon as she reached him and lead her out of the room with one last look back.


"Ms. Berry, thank you for taking the time to talk to me," Schulte said almost immediately after Rachel had gotten situated in her seat across from him. She glanced up from the oatmeal she was playing with and saw him fumbling with a pen and small notepad.

"You can call me Rachel, Conrad; it's not like we've never met before," she reminded him.

"Sorry," he mumbled and scratched at the back of his neck.

"This isn't the first time you've taken a witness statement, is it?"

"No." He shook his head, staring at his pen for a long moment and then dropping it on the table. "I – Quinn is sort of my boss, you know, and she's – please don't tell her I said this because Ryan will torment me forever, but - she's sort of a hero."

"It's okay to look up to someone," Rachel said, smiling sadly. "Quinn is equally fond of you."

Conrad smiled back and let out a shuddery breath. "She's very brave and kind of crazy sometimes but she's always on top of things. I really hope that I can be as good an agent as she is someday… I want her to think I'm a good agent."

"She does," Rachel assured him, hesitating before setting her hand over on his. She marveled for a second at the sheer size of his hand compared to hers - it was like a baseball mitt. "She only ever has good things to say about you."

"I want to – I want to kill that bastard that put her here," he admitted, his jaw tightening and face growing slightly blotchy.

"I understand."

"That's why I need your help, because she wouldn't want any of us to do that and the only other thing I can do is make sure that he never sees the world without bars ever again." He squeezed her hand ever so gently, and then reached for his pen. "Can – can you help me with that?"

Rachel nodded.

"Tell me about Collin Curtis."


As soon as the interview was finished Schulte escorted her back to Quinn's room and wrapped Rachel up in a hug just outside the door. "I'll be back by later, not for… to bring some flowers…" He ducked his head shyly and started fidgeting again. "If that's okay?"

"Of course you can bring flowers; Quinn will be delighted," Rachel told him, charmed despite all her efforts to be annoyed with his intrusion on her vigil.

"Cool... she's not allergic to anything is she?"

"No, but if you want brownie points… she likes sunflowers," Rachel whispered conspiratorially.

Conrad grinned widely and stuffed his hands into his pant pockets. "Okay, I'll pick some up before I come back. Thanks again for talking to me."

"Sure," Rachel reached out for the door handle and paused. "Conrad?"

"Yeah?"

"Promise me that you'll fry that bastard."

He nodded, "You got it."

Rachel watched him lumber off, fighting a smile at his obvious crush. The smile fell away almost as soon as she stepped back into Quinn's room. Sean stood up from the chair she'd come to think of as hers and ducked his head sheepishly as she glared at him.

Quinn's ventilator tube had been removed while she was gone.

"Why didn't you call me?" she asked, trying to appear calm and in control as she walked around to take back her place at Quinn's side. "You said you would call me."

"They just left not two minutes before you got back," Cam explained, wincing when Rachel leveled a glare at her. "We were going to call but it didn't take them long at all and… well there's no change aside from that."

"Why is she still asleep?" Panic bubbled up anew, twisting her insides up until she ached. Rachel watched Quinn's face, hoping for some sign that she was still there. "Is – she's not…"

"It's not permanent," Sean rushed to say. "She's just sleeping. I can call the nurses back to explain it if you – "

"No, I – I trust you to tell me the truth," Rachel said, blinking rapidly to clear her eyes of the tears freshly gathered. "She's going to wake up?"

Cam and Sean both nodded, sharing a smile over their tandem movement. "She's sedated, but they said she'll wake up on her own."

Hope flared like the sun cresting the horizon, chasing away the agonizing panic. Rachel squeezed Quinn's hand. "Did anyone – have you called Judy?"

"I spoke to her last night," Cam said. "Or early this morning, I guess. I need to call her back, actually."

"Is she coming up?"

Cam's hesitation said more to Rachel than words could and she sighed heavily, wondering if she should feel guilty about the relief she felt at the possibility of not having to face off with Judy. She also felt anger that Judy would even have to think about coming up to see Quinn – who had been shot.

"I'm not sure yet," Cam finally muttered.

"Is it because of me?" Rachel asked bluntly.

"I don't know, Rachel. Mom and Quinn have a… strained relationship. I don't think they know what to do with each other."

"And I added a new complication to the mix," Rachel finished glumly.

"It's not your fault," Cam argued, blue eyes flashing. "Rachel, it's not your fault. Mom has struggled to find her footing with Quinn for years and that's more about Dad then you."

"But I'm not helping – and Judy should be here."

"Yeah, probably, but Quinn has learned not to need her and I'm not even sure she'd want her here. I was going to ask her when she woke up…"

Rachel nodded mutely, eyes inevitably drawn back to Quinn's face, her heart fluttering wildly when she saw that some color had already returned to her cheeks. She sat back down, clutching Quinn's hand in both of hers and offered a silent prayer that Quinn would wake soon.

"I'm – I'm going to actually go call Mom now," Cam announced abruptly moments later, perhaps perturbed by the silence that had fallen somewhat awkwardly over them.

"You need to eat, too," Sean reminded, pointing at the bag resting at the foot of Quinn's bed.

"Something your child has been demanding," Cam said, rubbing gently at her belly. "Though it's not overly appealing to me."

Rachel smiled weakly. "I'll be here when you get back."

Sean helped Cam stand from her chair, holding onto her gently while she caught her balance. Rachel watched them go and felt the smallest pang of longing somewhere deep. A yearning she hadn't felt for the longest time rearing its head.

"We'd have cute kids," she commented lightly to Quinn. Thoughts of pregnant, sad Quinn were pushed aside, though Rachel shifted uncomfortably at the memory of Shelby and the hurt that soaked Quinn's words whenever Beth was brought up. "I never said anything, but I thought you were adorable pregnant. Not exactly something appropriate to say to you then, I'd thought, maybe not something you'd want to hear now either. It is true though."

"You'd be such a good Mom, Quinn," she continued, thumb smoothing over Quinn's knuckles. "You're great with Abbey."

Quinn didn't respond, of course – not that Rachel was expecting her to really, but she was kind of hoping that the sound of her voice might rouse Quinn.

"I really want to see your eyes right now," Rachel whispered. "Hear your voice."

A new thought rose and Rachel almost scoffed, shocked that singing to Quinn hadn't occurred to her sooner, but then wondered if that was too much. Maybe too dramatic even for her.

It was too late – music and lyrics were already rushing through her – and the nearly uncontrollable urge had her firmly in its grasp. She cleared her throat lightly, ever a slave to her passion, and started softly, careful of her tender throat and rampaging emotions.

Music had always spoken to her, always given her the ability to voice things that seemed too hard for regular words. The lyrics fell easily from her lips, entangled with feelings she had no other way of expressing. Her voice cracked gently, almost stylistically, tripping over phrases and adding a pained lilt so raw and real that it would have shocked her to hear a playback.

So caught up in pouring her heart out to Quinn she missed the door opening, only looking up from Quinn's stoic features when she finished the last phrase, lingering tenderly on the last word. Ryan had made some sort of strangled sound and was staring at her like he'd never seen her before.

"Ryan," Rachel greeted hoarsely, trying to smile around trembling lips and soggy, burning eyes.

"Sometimes I forget," he replied softly, shaking his head. "Uh, Rachel, so…"

It was then that Rachel took notice of the smaller figure tucked just behind Ryan in the doorway. Deep auburn curls caught her attention first, and she peered curiously around Ryan to try and see more of this new person.

It wasn't until Ryan stepped aside to allow the woman into the room, however, that Rachel put the pieces together.

Giant Disney Princess blue eyes met Rachel's stare, glassy and almost guilty, but Millie - as this undoubtedly was - only bravely lifted her chin in the face of Rachel's silent, less than subtle, anger.

"Rachel, this is Millie," Ryan introduced them with an unnecessary wave of his hand. "Millie, Rachel."

"I know who this is," Rachel snapped, trying to rein back her anger. She didn't know Millie, or her story, and it probably wasn't fair to judge her so harshly, but all Rachel could think of was that without Millie she and Quinn wouldn't have been fighting. Uncharitable of her, perhaps, but she didn't care – the anger felt fresh, cutting swiftly through the haze of sadness and guilt she'd been wallowing in.

"Can you give us a moment?" Millie asked, and Rachel wanted to roll her eyes at the bright tone. Of course she'd have a darling Disney Princess voice to go with the rest of the package. Rachel wanted to ask just how old she was, because with that voice and face she could have been twenty.

Ryan's eyes widened briefly but he nodded stiffly when Millie looked up at him, raising her eyebrows rather pointedly.

Rachel waited until Ryan left the room before she whisper yelled at Millie, not wanting to prematurely waken Quinn from her much needed rest by full on shouting.

"Haven't you done enough lately? Why are you even here?" Rachel spat, clinging to Quinn for some sense of security.

"Sorry?" Millie whispered right back in what Rachel imagined to be her fiercest tone - but all she heard was Minnie freakin' Mouse. "Are you saying this is my fault?"

"You're sneaking around with my girlfriend and demanding her silence for whatever lead us directly here - of course it's your fault!" Rachel snarled, utterly furious and seconds away from stamping her foot or maybe leaping across the bed to strangle the Ariel impersonator where she stood.

"I fail to see how your insecurities are my fault. I'm not the one who blew up at Quinn and I certainly am not the one who shot her." Millie shrugged and stepped up to the bed, those stupid eyes of hers shining wetly as she scooped up Quinn's free hand. "I didn't even know she had a girlfriend, but I refuse to apologize for Quinn keeping my confidence. She's a damn good friend for doing so."

"Don't touch her!"

"Look," Millie huffed, holding Quinn's hand with both of hers rather than letting go. "Quinn is… she's important to me, alright? And she's in the hospital with a hole in her shoulder because she was trying to protect you. So screw you for trying to saddle me with all the blame. From where I'm standing this is your fault. You're the one who declared her a cheater and walked out. Not me."

"You're – you're a bad friend," Rachel accused thickly, reeling from the verbal bitch-slap that hit too close to home.

"Yeah? Well you're a lousy girlfriend!"

"God," Quinn spoke up raspily and groaned weakly. "W - will you both be...shut up?"

"Quinn!"

Rachel frowned as Millie leapt just as eagerly to the top of the bed, almost directly mirroring Rachel's actions, sweeping back blonde hair with a familiar tenderness that set Rachel's blood to boiling instantly.

"Water?" Quinn asked, and then coughed, her eyelids heavy as she looked up at Rachel and smiled that same lopsided smile Rachel had been dying to see. "Hi."

"Hi," Rachel choked out.

"You 'kay?" Quinn was barely understandable, her voice rough, the thick rasp reminding Rachel of that blasted ventilator. But the sentiment still carried through and everything else fell away for Rachel. Millie didn't matter anymore, nothing mattered but the woozy concern in Quinn's eyes and the feel of her tentative grip on Rachel's hand.

"Am I okay?" Rachel said and then laughed - the sound strangled, almost as rough as Quinn's voice - but Quinn smiled. Smiled.

"I'll go get the nurse," Millie announced, leaving in a flash of red hair just as quickly as she'd come.

Rachel watched her go and shook her head, "You have really interesting friends."

"I'm - I'm sorry," Quinn said, squeezing meekly at Rachel's fingers. "Sorry."

"Quinn..."

"I shouldn't have b - been a bitch - you were right I - " Quinn paused, face contorted with what had to be painful speech, eyes screwed shut. "Should've trusted you - I do - I didn't want to stress..."

"It's okay," Rachel interrupted, lifting Quinn's hand to kiss the back of her fingers. "Don't hurt your voice. It's okay, Quinn. It's forgotten already. I'm just glad you're awake now. I was worried. Scared."

"Sorry. It's - I'm goin' to be okay. Promise."

Rachel's response was stopped by the return of Millie with a harried looking nurse hot on her heels. Little miss Disney kept her distance now, standing at the foot of the bed and watching intently as the nurse checked Quinn over. Rachel didn't want to move far, so she kept her fingers tangled in Quinn's, listening closely as the nurse spoke with Quinn and then told her the doctor would be along shortly.

"But she's okay?" Rachel asked, smiling at Quinn's drowsy mumble of "of course I am if people would stop poking me."

"She's going to be just fine," the nurse assured them before she left to go find the doctor, leaving Millie back in the room with them again.

"Hey, Red," Quinn teased, finally acknowledging her friend.

"Hi, Q Nice of you to join us," Millie replied, grinning.

Rachel could have slapped her, of course, but Quinn only smiled back. "What did you decide?"

Millie sighed and scrubbed her fingers through those fiery locks. "I'm going to take your advice."

"Good."

"Yes, good, that clears up that mystery," Rachel mumbled.

"Rachel," Quinn said, tugging at Rachel's hand. "Please."

"It's alright," Millie shot Rachel a quick glance and her smile turned grim. "I'm a private person, but I'd rather Quinn not have to - it's wasn't my intent to cause problems."

"You don't have - " Quinn started, struggling to sit up.

"I'm going to," Millie interrupted, watching Rachel gently urge Quinn back against the pillows. "I have some... family issues and they bled into my job recently. Quinn understands better than most, so I came to see her and asked for her advice... and discretion. It's not something you talk about over the phone."

"That doesn't explain the odd hours and sneaking around," Rachel sniped with a glare that lost its bite as Millie's proud stance buckled in front of her.

"I'm sorry, okay? I am. I was being selfish, I didn't even ask if Quinn had someone waiting at home for her." Millie cringed, kicking the toe of her shoe across the ground with a sad, small, little squeak. And as much as Rachel would have loved to continue to hate her, seeing Millie like that reminded her of a small child confessing to pushing another kid on the playground.

"It - it's not her fault," Quinn argued faintly from the bed. "I should have told you about her."

Rachel took a deep breath, shaking her head at Quinn's assertion. "There are too many should haves being thrown around, from all of us. I'd rather just move on. Can we agree on that?"

Quinn made a soft sound of agreement and looked up at Millie who ducked her head with a shy smile. "Good plan," Millie said, her shy smile turning more sweet as she looked at Rachel like she was meeting her over again, under better circumstances. Perhaps how they could have met, should have met before.

"You better hang on to her, Q," Millie said. "I kind of like her."


TBC...