Hi guys: Thanks so much for bothering to read up until this point. It's almost finished (about 12 more chapters) and just so you know THERE IS A SEQUEL... it's already been writtin, but if you want me to post it, PLEASE REVIEW!
Artie's POV
I hate the smell of hospitals with a passion. It smells like disinfectant and old people, and God knows I'd had enough of that smell for one lifetime. When Quinn's baby was born, I finally had a good memory to connect the smell with.
All twelve Glee members, Mr. Schu, Miss Pillsbury, and Finn's Mom, along with the newest arrival, were all crammed into the small recovery room that Quinn had been quarantined to. Kurt's fractured hand had been bandaged to twice its normal size.
There was barely enough room for anyone to move, which the maternity ward nurses didn't appreciate too much. A couple of times, one of the nurses came to check on Quinn's little girl, slamming my chair up against the periwinkle walls and not even noticing. Tina was sitting on my lap, hugging the baby to her chest and cooing in her ear when another nurse walked in. This one had graying brown ringlets, a big smile, and a name tag that read 'Gillian.' She looked like nurse that was actually supposed to work in a maternity ward, unlike those stern, white-haired old bittys that had been waiting on us up until now. She stayed in the doorway as opposed to fighting her way through us.
"Have you got a name for the little angel yet?" she addressed Quinn.
"Not quite yet," Quinn told her, flipping though a book of baby names with Puck by her side. "I think we're almost there, though."
"Okay," Gillian grinned. "Call me when you've got one."
She departed just as the baby started screaming in Tina's arms.
"How about Linda Blair?" Finn's Mom joked.
Tina jiggled her to try and calm her. When she had no success, we continued our system of passing her on to the next person until she settled. Mercedes took her snuggly into her arms and rocked her back and forth.
"She looks like a Drizzle, doesn't she?" Finn pried. His Mom gave him a look.
"What about Grace?" Santana suggested over the baby's cries.
Quinn arched a tired eyebrow. "Grace is nice…"
"Giselle? Ava?" Mr. Schu had to shout over the noise. I didn't realize something so tiny could be so loud.
"She doesn't seem like an Ava…" Quinn said.
"Like a what?" Puck cupped a hand around his ear.
"What? I can't hear you!"
Frustrated, Puck picked up his guitar from beside the bed. Rachel's Dads had gone back to the hotel to collect anything we wanted while we were there.
He balanced it on his knee and strummed a few gentle, familiar chords. The baby's wails were reduced to a soft whimpering. Everyone else quieted down, as well.
"Where it began,
I can't begin know when
But that I know it's growin' strong.
Was it the spring?
And spring became summer…
Who'd have believed you'd come along?"
Everyone joined in along with Puck. This was my favorite thing about these people: the wonderful ability to break out in song in the middle of a hospital. Not everyone can do that, you know.
"Hands… touching hands…
Reachin' out…
Touching me, touching you
Oh, sweet Caroline
Good times never seemed so good.
I've been inclined to believe they never would.
Oh, sweet Caroline…
Good times never seemed so good.
Oh, I've been inclined to believe it never would
Oh, no, no…
By the time we all stopped singing, the baby had stopped crying completely. She regarded us all with wide, aware brown eyes.
"You know what?" Quinn said profoundly, "I think that's just right. Caroline."
The rest of us murmured our agreement. It was a beautiful name, and it meant something to us. It made her ours.
Finn looked crushed. "But what about Drizzle?"
Gillian appeared at the door again, applauding. Behind her were several other nurses doing the same.
"That was wonderful, you guys!" she gushed. "It's not everyday we get a choir together in the maternity ward!"
"You're here for a name Gillian," a bitter woman said from behind her.
"Oh yeah!" Gillian clapped her hands together. "You guys thought up a name for your sweetheart yet?"
"Yes," we confirmed in unison.
"Caroline…" Puck started.
"Drizzle…" Quinn added, smiling at Finn. Finn looked ecstatic.
"FaBray." Puck finished indefinitely.
"That's such a pretty name," said Gillian.
"No," insisted Quinn. "Her name isn't Caroline Drizzle FaBray. It's Caroline Drizzle Puckerman-FaBray." Quinn extended a hand out to meet Puck's. They stood there by the bed, holding hands, like any normal new parents would. The pack of nurses left.
I didn't want to break the silence. There were so many questions to be asked… but nobody wanted to ask them. Much to our collective relief, Puck picked his guitar back up and played a few more tunes. The hours pressed on, and pretty soon the newly dubbed Caroline was dozing in Kurt's arms. Tina had swung her legs over the side of my hair and was resting her head on my shoulder. Me and Tina… well, we were finding our way. We'd be okay. But it wasn't us I was worried about at that moment. Thankfully, Mr. Schuster took the job of inquiring about Quinn's living arrangements.
"Quinn, who are you staying with?"
Brittany stuck a hand up. Her left one.
"I'm staying with Brittany… well, until the baby is born… which is now, I guess. Her parents didn't want a baby in the house."
She didn't seem the least bit fazed at being homeless. Just another day at the office, I guess.
"Where are you going now?"
She shrugged lightly. Everyone knew that she couldn't stay with Puck… his mother wouldn't allow it.
"Quinn, you know I feel bad about what Terri did to you. If I had known what was going on, I would have put a stop to it before anyone got hurt like they did. But that doesn't change the fact that you got screwed over." Mr. Schuster truly looked sorry. His wife was totally psycho… when she was working as the nurse I went to the nurse's office because I had a headache. Mrs. Schuster told me to get up and walk around to see if that helped.
"They can live with us," Miss Pillsbury said suddenly. Mr. Schu turned to her, stunned.
"Wha…?"
Miss P stood up from her chair in the corner, her hands crossed in front of her lithe figure.
"I said they can live with us. Until Quinn can get back on her feet, at least. That way they can have help and still be able to see Caroline. There's a daycare right next to McKinley."
Mr. Schuster looked at Miss Pillsbury, and then turned to Quinn incredulously.
"That's so nice of you guys but… Miss P, Caroline's just a baby. They throw up and poop and suck on stuff that isn't meant to be sucked on…" Quinn said deliberately.
"I can deal," Miss Pillsbury tenderly assured her. "Quinn, I really think it'd be a good idea. Where else can you stay?"
"Emma…" Will appealed softly.
She turned back to him, her arms now crossed over her chest stubbornly. "Will, I want to do this. We have room enough in the condo. We have an extra bedroom we can make into a nursery…"
It was a risky move, but Miss P probably wouldn't have pressed so hard if she hadn't known Mr. Schu was going to say yes.
Which, of course, he did.
Quinn started crying tears of joy. "I don't… know… what to say," she gulped between sniffles. She pulled Mr. Schuster into a big bear hug. The look on his face was priceless. "Thank you."
Little Caroline let out a sweet sigh from the cushion of Kurt's arms, summing up in one breathy noise the atmosphere of the room. The sky outside of the window turned an inky black, and Tina fell fast asleep on my lap.
Gillian brought some pillows in for us, understanding that none of us would want to return to our hotel, even though visiting hours were long over and the other nurses were vying for us to be kicked out. She shut the door so we could have some peace and quiet, and as I was finally drifting off, I noticed that no one had said a word about Glee being over. But then again, we were all still here, weren't we? So maybe… dare I say it… we didn't need Glee anymore. Its goal had been achieved… to bring us all together. That it had done.
