"Hold up, you can't be serious! You're sure you got the right person?" Santana asks, her expression a cross between confusion and anger, as Quinn sits silently next to her.
"I understand this is a lot to grasp but right now is not the time to worry." Dr. Janine Braxton responds.
"It's not? So, when do I panic? When you fucking confirm it's cancer?!" This seems to snap Quinn out of her daze and she sits a comforting hand on Santana's.
"Calm down, it's not her fault San." Quinn says, her voice small and void of tone as she tries to process what she'd just been told.
"As of right now all we know is that there is a mass, which could be benign, on the left ovary and fallopian tube. I want to get you in for a biopsy as soon as possible to determine if it's cancer or not." Quinn nods slowly, staring past her doctor.
"Do you think it's..." Quinn trails off, unable to say the word aloud. With a soft sympathetic smile, Dr Braxton looks deeply into Quinn's eyes.
"We've known each other for a while now Quinn, so I hope my honesty doesn't negatively effect our relationship but...yes. I do think it may be malignant which is why I want to get a biopsy as soon as possible to test the cells so that we can be for sure." Letting out a shaky breath, Quinn nods numbly.
"Let's...yeah let's do it." Santana sighs softly as Dr. Braxton continues talking.
"Who gave this amateur a license? I mean seriously. There's no fucking way she knows what she's talking about." Santana angrily rants on the drive home but Quinn is barely present.
To say today's news has been overwhelming for Quinn would be an understatement. All she can do is anxiously wait until Monday for her procedure and question everything. But there's one question in particular that sticks out the most. Is she going to die?
"We'll find someone actually competent and get a second opinion and then we're going to sue her ass!" Santana continues shouting, gripping the steering wheel until her knuckles are white.
It's the only thing she can feel right now. Anger. Life isn't fair, Santana knows that but she's sick of all the shit it throws her way. She's finally happy and has the woman of her dreams. Wasn't it enough that she could've lost Quinn when they had their daughter? Of course not. As Santana continues ranting, the words are finally registering to Quinn. Sighing wearily, Quinn puts her hand over Santana's as she parks the truck.
"I mean honestly, why would you even see her for so long? She's a fucking joke!"
"Santana, why are you mad at her for doing her job?" Quinn says evenly.
"Because she's not doing her fucking job correctly!" Quinn rolls her eyes.
"I didn't know you practiced medicine." Now Santana rolled her eyes, as she crossed her arms.
"We need a second opinion." Santana states, slightly more calm than before.
"Santana, I'm not getting a second opinion. I trust Janine and we're just going to deal with this. Being in denial isn't going to make this any less real." Quinn says, her voice unsteady as the reality of her words set in. Santana sighs, looking Quinn over and swallows her anger. Right now, she needs to focus on Quinn.
"How are you feeling?" Santana asks. Quinn looks away, staring out of the windshield.
"I don't know...I just know...I'm not okay." Quinn says as she let's out a shaky breath.
Quinn feels numb but she also feels everything all at once. She wants to cry, scream, punch something or anything to make this untrue but it won't help. Nothing will help. Quinn feels a pressure on her hand and glances over to see Santana squeezing it lightly.
"Let's go inside. B will probably be here soon." Quinn says monotonously as she gets out of the truck.
Santana watches her with concern, unsure of everything. What to do, what to say, what to do next. Everything about this unfamiliar and unknown and scares Santana on every level. Once inside their apartment, Quinn sits on the couch and stares straight ahead only blinking. They were only alone for 10 minutes when Brittany brought the kids and Santana decided to take them for a walk to clear her head and give Quinn more time to herself.
Brittany isn't sure what's going on but she can tell Santana is on edge and Quinn isn't present. When Santana leaves with the kids, Brittany decides to sit next to Quinn.
"Quinn?" Brittany softly calls out. Quinn doesn't turn towards her but sighs lightly, tilting her head back towards the ceiling.
"Yeah?" She quietly breathes out.
"Why are you staring at the ceiling?" Brittany asks as she leans back against the couch, tilting her head back as well.
"No reason Britt." Quinn responds. Brittany looks to the ceiling, sighing softly.
"Are you okay?" Brittany asks and Quinn almost laughs at the question. Okay? Is she okay? Nothing about this day has been okay and now it might never be.
"Britt...are you okay?" Quinn questions in response and Brittany shrugs her shoulders.
"I don't think so...I'm still pretty sad and confused. Why are you sad?" Quinn sighs softly, having hoped Brittany wouldn't focus on her again.
"I might..." Quinn laughs humorlessly as tears begin to sting her eyes.
"I – uh...I might have cancer Britt." Brittany's face falls as she looks at Quinn who keeps her gaze to the ceiling.
"Quinn...I'm so sorry." She says softly, taking Quinn's hand in hers.
"Me too..." Brittany frowns at Quinn's somber tone, wishing she could do more to comfort her friend.
"You said might. That means it might not be cancer. When do you find out?" Brittany questions.
"Soon, I hope. They haven't done any tests yet." Brittany nods.
"You'll be okay and I'll be here for anything you need." Quinn squeezes Brittany's hand gently, lifting her head to look at her.
"I know, thanks B. I appreciate it and you know I'm here for you too." Brittany gives Quinn a sad smile.
"I know...I'm just...tired of being sad, ya know? But I can't stop it. I haven't been this sad since Lord Tubbington had his heart attack." Quinn nods understandingly, placing a comforting hand on her knee.
"It's nothing wrong with being sad or angry. You're hurt."
"I know but...is it stupid that I still want to be with her? Even after she did what she did?" Quinn looks at her friend with a soft smile.
"It's not stupid but if you want to be with her, you might want to figure out why she did what she did. I guess...sometimes people deserve second chances."
"I'm scared...I don't want her to hurt me again." Brittany says quietly as her gaze shifts downward and Quinn sighs softly.
"Britt, I can't tell you what to do but if you really don't want to give up on her I'd try to find a way to work through it. I know she won't try it again." Brittany looks at Quinn curiously.
"You do?"
"Of course. Rachel knows she'll go missing if I catch her looking at Santana for too long." Brittany laughs lightly and Quinn smiles softly.
"Honestly, B. I don't think she'd do anything like that again but you have to figure out if you're willing to take that risk. I never thought she'd do it in the first place so I don't know if it'll happen again. You have to get to the real reason of why it happened in the first place."
"You're right. Thanks Quinn." Brittany says, smiling softly before pulling her friend into a hug.
"And now it's my turn to make you feel better." Brittany says, placing her hands on Quinn's shoulders as she pulls away from her. Quinn arches her eyebrow at Brittany's smirk.
"What are you thinking?" She asks.
"Well, I know you think a lot, like all the time and I only know one way to make you stop. Well, two but San isn't here." Quinn is only more confused as Brittany goes on.
"Just stay here." Brittany smiles as she stands from the couch then goes into the kitchen and grabs two glasses, putting a few pieces of ice in each.
Quinn turns away when she feels her phone vibrate in her pocket and she returns Mercedes text as Brittany comes back to the couch, holding a full glass out to Quinn. Taking it, Quinn eyes the clear liquid suspiciously before holding the glass to her nose as Brittany sits on the couch once again.
"Britt...is this vodka?" Quinn questions, watching Brittany drink from her glass.
"No. It's rum." She says casually, causing Quinn to chuckle.
"It's 2 o clock in the afternoon." Brittany shrugs.
"It's moments like this I see why you and Santana are so close." Quinn says, eyeing her glass before deciding to just say screw it and bringing the glass to her lips.
"God, Britt! Is it all rum?" Brittany giggles and sends Quinn a wink from behind her glass. Quinn chuckles, deciding she'll make sure to never let Brittany make her a drink again.
Santana was a bit surprised to find Quinn and Brittany tipsy when she got back from her walk with the kids but she didn't mind. The news they'd gotten made Santana want a drink too. The kids had fallen asleep on the way back to their apartment so Santana had put them in their room and went into the living room with the two other women, content to listen to their conversation.
On her walk, Santana was able to clear her head but she wasn't able to stop her negative thoughts. Later, the women had sobered up and Brittany began to play with the kids as Quinn started on dinner. Santana hadn't said much to Quinn because she seemed...content and Santana didn't want to ruin that for her right now.
"We could've ordered a pizza or something." Santana says, sitting at the island. She'd been silently watching Quinn move about the kitchen.
"I didn't want pizza. What's wrong with me cooking?" Quinn asks, quickly glancing at Santana over her shoulder before returning her attention the cutting board in front of her.
"Nothing. I don't know." Santana shrugs lightly as Quinn continues chopping vegetables.
"You don't know?" Quinn questions, going to the sink to was her hands.
"There's nothing wrong with you cooking. Is B staying for dinner?" Quinn nods her head.
"Yeah, I think she's staying the night." Quinn dries her hands and walks over to Santana.
"I think she's tired of being alone." She quietly tells Santana.
"Cool with me. I know she's still pretty fucked up from everything." Santana glances back at Brittany who's chasing the two toddlers into their room.
"Can't blame her. It's a pretty complicated situation." Quinn responds, sliding her hands towards Santana's from the other side of the island.
"I just want things to go back to normal." Santana tells her as she grasps the hands reaching out to her.
"Me too..." Quinn says with a wistful smile.
"Did Rachel ever give her a real reason why?" Quinn softly shakes her head at the question.
"I don't think Rachel is even sure why." Santana nods.
"How are you doing with all of this?" Santana's eyebrows crease briefly before she chuckles softly.
"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Quinn intertwines their fingers and shrugs.
"Probably but you weren't, or at least you weren't going to any time soon. So, tell me."
"I'm fine." Quinn rolls her eyes and Santana sighs, knowing she should've used better word choice.
"Don't lie to me. We need to talk about this Santana."
"I guess you're right...but I want to know how you're feeling first." Quinn stares into her eyes intently before responding.
"I won't lie...I'm terrified...but I don't want to be. I don't want to think the worse when this could be nothing. So, right now I'm okay. I don't know what the future holds so I'm going to enjoy the present." Quinn's eyes glisten with unshed tears as she gives Santana a warm smile.
"If you're okay, then I'm okay. I'm scared too but no matter what the outcome is...we'll be okay." Santana squeezes the warm fingers in her hand and Quinn nods, dropping a few tears in the process.
"Everything's going to be okay." Quinn responds gently, trying to convince herself to believe her own words.
A/N: So some not so fun stuff is coming but thanks for reading and your words of encouragement, it was greatly appreciated. See you guys soon. Stay safe.