"Hold still, Noah!"
He winced as yet another stitch as added to the gradually closing scar, biting on his lower lip. "It just really hurts, OK?"
"Yeah, sure, just keep calm!"
He looked at the nurse working on him and frowned, gulping back his worries before opening his mouth to speak.
"MY friends…are they…?"
"They're all alright, Noah. Nobody's hurt that badly and you'll all be back on your feet by next week. Of course, it'll take longer for the college itself to be rebuilt but…"
"Don't worry, we'll fix it. I promise."
Rachel lay on a bed, her eyes closed and her lips pursed as she felt the warm liquid the nurse had slipped into her mouth work its way down her throat. Beside her, clutching her right hand, Kurt was going through the same treatment. The nurses had said that they had worked their vocal chords to a record strain, and that they wouldn't be able to speak for the next hour or so until the medicine took full effect.
And so, here she was, trying to fall asleep…
When Quinn and Blaine popped into the room.
Blaine rushed to Kurt's side, and Rachel felt his hand leave hers and clutch at his boyfriend's body, hugging him tightly. Blaine was hugging him too, rocking them back and forth on the bed, and she was sure she heard him say something along the lines of 'I'm so glad you're OK'.
She turned her eyes to Quinn, who was standing at the foot of her bed with wide eyes, her cheeks scratched but clean.
"You're alright?"
A nod.
"Can't talk?"
A shake of the head and one index finger put up.
"You've got one hour of no words. Wow. That must be tough."
Rolling her eyes, Rachel gestured to Quinn to join her on the bed, and Quinn did, putting her arms around Rachel and pulling her to her chest, rubbing her back soothingly.
"Sleep, my little songbird…I love you…"
And she did.
"How are Mike and Tina?"
"Good."
"Mercedes?"
"Not hurt."
"Finn?"
"Alive."
"Who got hurt the most?"
Brittany laughed and reached out to Santana's face, brushing away a few strands of stray hair from her girlfriend's face. "I think it was you. You weren't ready for a fight like that but you went for it…"
"I know. So stupid of me."
"But Santana, I'm proud of you…"
The darker girl groggily smiled and pulled at Brittany's hand, bringing it to her mouth and kissing the fingers. "You didn't have to give blood for me."
"I'm an O Positive, honey. It was only fair…"
"I love you, you know."
Brittany nodded and took her hand back.
"I love you too."
"One more time, OK? You either repent or whatever, or we kill you."
Adamo looked up at Finn, sticking his tongue out and winking at him.
"Nope."
"Wrong answer, asshole," Tina said as she reached over and slapped him across the face, hard enough to swing his face backwards and to almost make him fall over. "You killed two of our friends and almost killed most of them today. So you either answer in the right way or we will kill you."
"But there is no right answer."
"Wrong answer again, idiot!" Mike growled, slapping him himself. "Look, let me make it simple. You walk out of here without a scratch and a new outlook on life or we get rid of you right here, right now."
"Then do it!" he laughed manically, his eyes spinning between the people in the room. Finn, Mercedes, Tina, Mike, and the Leaders.
"Do we?" Mercedes asked, slowly turning to the Leaders, enshrouded in shadow behind them. They hadn't earned the privilege to see their faces today, not yet…
"Yes," a voice rang out.
Finn shrugged and stepped forward, bunching his hands into fists.
"Lights out, mother fucker."