Another short chapter :( But the next one will be longer, I promise :D
The next day Rachel woke up and heard the scratching of a pencil. A nurse stood next to the bed and scribbled something on a clipboard.
"Anything new?" Rachel asked, her voice still hoarse from sleeping.
"I'm sorry, Miss Berry, but he's in exactly the same condition as yesterday" the nurse said and left the room quietly. Rachel snuggled into Finn again and the first thing she noticed was that the steady beat of his heart was still there. She sighed and then just buried her face into his chest. The white hospital gown smelled like medicine and disinfectant. His scent leaked weakly through the fabric of the gown but that wasn't enough so Rachel put her nose into crook of his neck and took a deep breath. There was no gown and Rachel smelt his pure scent, not mixed with anything else. She was already half asleep again until she heard a sharp gasp. Her eyes shot open and she turned around. There was a tall, blonde woman with hazel eyes. The eyes stared at Rachel in horror and the woman held in one hand a bouquet of flowers and the other one held the hand of a muscular guy with toned skin.
"What are you doing?" the woman asked in an angry tone and emphasized every word strongly. Rachel got up from the bed and felt deeply embarrassed. She didn't know these people but apparently they knew Finn and they just caught her in a more than intimate moment with her boyfriend.
"I know this must look weird but…" Rachel tried to explain.
"Who are you and what are you doing?" the woman repeated in a threatening tone.
"Q…" the guy said and put one hand on the woman's shoulders to calm her down.
"I'm Rachel Berry, Finn's girlfriend. And who are you?" Rachel asked and tried to smile politely though she was scared. But then the face of woman suddenly turned into a friendly smile and the guy laughed.
"We're Quinn and Puck, Finn's friends" the man said and held a hand out to her. Rachel couldn't believe it. The famous Quinn and Puck.
"Quinn and Puck, oh my God. We were supposed to meet yesterday. I've heard so much about you. By the way, do you feel better, Quinn?" Rachel asked concerned.
"A lot better. We've heard a lot about you too, Rachel. Finn can't stop talking about you. Sorry that I attacked you this way" Quinn said and looked at the floor.
"It's fine. You were just worried about your friend" Rachel said and also shook Quinn's hand. But suddenly Quinn looked pale and worried again.
"So, what's the verdict?" Quinn asked and glanced at Finn. Rachel swallowed a few times before she was able to answer the question.
"The loss of blood caused a lack of oxygen in his brain. We don't know if or when he'll wake up" Rachel said sadly and felt ready to cry again. The slender arms of Quinn wrapped around the tiny girl and hugged her.
"Sorry" Rachel just said when she felt the first tear falling.
"It's ok. I don't know what I'd do if that was Puck" Quinn said. Puck just looked at the floor and buried his hands in his pockets. Then the door to the room opened a second time and before Rachel knew it Amy jumped into her arms, followed by Carole and Burt.
"Quinn, Puck, it's so nice to see you" Carole said and hugged Quinn and Puck.
"Nice to see you too. And now we also know Rachel" Puck said and winked at Rachel.
"Mommy, who's this?" Amy asked and pointed at Quinn and Puck.
"Quinn and Puck, baby. They're Finn's friends. Guys, this Amy, my daughter" Rachel said and smiled at them. Quinn took one of Amy's chubby hands and shacked.
"Hello, darling" she said but Amy just buried her face in Rachel's neck.
"So, she's a little bit shy sometimes" Rachel said and patted Amy's back.
"It's ok. Maybe she'll warm up with time. And she sure has a lot to deal with right now" Quinn said and smiled.
"So I think we'll leave you alone then" Puck said and grabbed Quinn's hand.
"See you around" Quinn said and hugged the three adults before the two left the room.
"So, anything new?" Burt asked and faced Rachel. She just shook her head no.
"Mommy, why's he so pale?" Amy asked and that caused Rachel to cry again.
"I didn't want to upset you" Amy said and kissed her mother's cheek. Rachel was unable to answer her question.
"Honey, your mommy is very sad right now. Like I told you yesterday, you have to be strong for her" Carole said and took Amy out of Rachel's arms. Rachel said down on the edge of Finn's bed.
"Where's my drawing?" Amy asked and faced Carole.
"Drawing?" Rachel asked confusedly.
"Yeah, Amy drew something" Carole said, smiled and pulled a paper out of her purse. Amy smiled proudly and handed it Rachel. The drawing showed five figures. Two of them stood on one side and held hands and next to them was a very little figure with a blue dress, then another one in a pink dress and then a very tall one. Over the last two figures was a big, red heart.
"The first ones are Carole and Burt. Then there's me in my blue princess dress. This one's you in your pretty pink dress and then there's daddy and the heart shows that you two love each other" Amy explained proudly. Rachel was in tears by the end of Amy's explanation. She pulled her daughter into her lap and kissed her all over her face.
"Baby, this is so beautiful" she said. Amy giggled and pointed at the right corner of the paper. TO DADDY stood there in red, scribbled letters. Then Rachel's face fell. Amy had just referred to Finn as her dad.
"Amy, honey, I don't know…" Rachel began but Carole interrupted her.
"She told me yesterday evening that she wanted Finn to be her daddy and then she asked me whether it'd be ok if she called him that and I know that Finn would just love to be her dad" Carole said and Rachel hugged Amy close to her chest.
"Mommy, he's getting better, right?" Amy asked. Rachel just shrugged.
"Rachel, do you want to stay here or come home with us?" Burt asked. Rachel looked at Amy but Amy just touched her cheek.
"You can stay here, mommy" she said and Rachel kissed her hair.
"I'll be home soon, I promise" Rachel said. Then Amy hopped off of her lap and left the room along with Burt and Carole
A few hours later Rachel still laid under the covers as close to Finn as possible. She felt his body head radiating and she was glad that she was able to keep herself awake. She had opened the window because she needed fresh air but somehow she just felt lifeless. Her heart literally hurt and she had to force herself to make a single move. So she just laid there and thought, mostly about the future. Amy would turn six in January and she'd start school shortly after and Rachel knew that she wanted to try it on Broadway when Amy was old enough. She just knew that she belonged on a stage and she was meant to sing, whether she had graduated at Julliard or not. And she knew that she had to get Brody behind lock and latch, otherwise she'd be scared her entire life. She could see herself being Finn's bride someday and she also saw one or two more kids. But then she recognized that all of this depended on whether Finn would wake up or not. Before she had met him there hadn't been anyone she had pictured herself with. No one had seemed to be the right partner but now, if she had to describe her relationship with Finn in one word, I'd be right. She didn't want to have a life without him. The tether in her heart currently felt as if it was bleeding and in this moment Rachel knew that it was either Finn or nobody. She would never be able to build up such a tether with anyone else.
Next chapter you'll find out what happens with Finn...
Please review and stay tuned!