Quinn felt terrible and was sure she looked worse. She had been vomiting since two in the morning. She managed to hold it together long enough to text Santana at 5:30am and tell her she wasn't going to school. She didn't want her friends to waste the trip to her house.
Her mother being the wonderful woman she was, Quinn didn't have the strength to roll her eyes at the thought, stopped in the hallway just outside of the bathroom to see if she was still alive and then tell her she called the school. She then left without seeing if Quinn needed anything.
For the seventh time that night Quinn climbed back into bed. She pulled the covers around her and squeezed her eyes shut, willing the nausea away.
"You look terrible Q," Santana said from the doorway. Quinn turned slightly and groaned.
"What are you doing here?" Quinn frowned. "How did you get inside?"
"You said you were sick so I came to check on you," Santana said with a shrug. "And I know where your hide-a-key is."
Santana walked over to the bed and crouched down. She reached over and felt Quinn's forehead. "You're burning up Q. Have you taken anything?"
Quinn coughed and shook her head. "I've been busy throwing up."
"Where do you keep the ibuprofen?" Santana asked.
"Medicine cabinet in my bathroom," Quinn replied, squeezing her eyes shut again.
Santana left the room. She returned a few minutes later with a glass of water and two pills. "They'll help with the fever. Now sit up and take them."
Quinn sat up and downed the pills. "You shouldn't be here. You'll get sick."
"It's fine. You shouldn't be here alone," Santana said. "I can't believe she left you here when you're sick." Santana shook her head. "Actually, never mind, I can believe it."
"Thanks for being here," Quinn said grateful. She covered her mouth and bolted from the room.
Santana winced at the sounds. She pulled her phone out and quickly texted Jake and her mother, asking Jake to have Rachel collect homework for the both of them and have Jake bring ginger ale when school was over. She told her mother she going to stay and take care of Quinn. Both agreed and Santana thanked them both. She tucked her phone away just as Quinn came back. "Kill me now," she moaned.
Santana flinched slightly at the words but Quinn didn't notice. "Why don't we go downstairs and watch a movie?" Santana suggested.
"There's no bathroom downstairs," Quinn said.
"I'll find you a bucket," Santana promised. "Come on. You can't sit in here and wait until you have to throw up again. The movie will be a good distraction. I'll even let you pick."
"No complaints?" Quinn asked.
"No complaints," Santana swore. "Cross my heart."
"Fine," Quinn agreed. "But you have to help me downstairs. I don't know if I can get there without falling."
Santana held onto Quinn as they made their way downstairs. She eased Quinn onto the couch. "I'll be right back," she promised.
She found Quinn a bucket from the garage and took it to her before heading upstairs to pull the blankets off the bed. When she got back downstairs she saw Quinn hugging the bucket and watching SpongeBob. "Fast Five comes on in thirty minutes."
Santana started wrapping Quinn up in the blankets. "Sounds great. Fast Five is my favorite. If you need more blankets let me know."
Quinn eyed Santana's jeans. "You can change into some of my pajama bottoms or," she paused to throw up, "sweats if you want," she finished.
Santana glanced at the TV and then back at Quinn. "I'll be quick."
Santana ran upstairs and dug through Quinn's dresser until she found a pair of Superman pajama bottoms and a matching tank top. Santana changed into them and sat her clothes on Quinn bed. She put her phone in her pocket and ran downstairs. She stopped in the kitchen and grabbed two glasses of water.
When she got back to the living room Quinn was frowning at her phone. "My mom texted me. Apparently she is going to stay in Columbus until Monday. She says it's because of the case but I think she's trying to avoid being around me."
"Puta," Santana muttered under her breath. She sat down beside Quinn and sat the glass of water on the coffee table in front of Quinn. "Drink. You need plenty of fluids."
Quinn took a small sip and sat the glass down. "I'll be here all weekend," Santana told her.
"You don't-" Quinn leaned over the bucket. Santana rubbed her back in hope of easing the pain.
"I'm staying," Santana said firmly. "My mom's already cleared it. How are you feeling?"
"Like crap," Quinn answered. She shifted so she was leaning against Santana.
"Please don't throw up on me," Santana begged.
Quinn smacked her arm. "I'm not going to throw up on you. Stop killing the mood," Quinn scolded.
Santana laid her cheek on top of Quinn's head. "Let me know if you get hungry. I can make you some soup or something."
"No food," Quinn said shaking her head.
"Alright, we can wait on that." They sat quietly and watched SpongeBob. Quinn pulled away long enough to throw up in the bucket. Before the movie started Santana got up and cleaned out the bucket, fighting the nausea she felt.
She climbed back onto the couch and Quinn laid down on her. Quinn grabbed the remote and switched the channel.
Quinn didn't make it halfway through the movie before exhaustion took over and she fell asleep.
Santana texted Leroy asking him to come over and check on Quinn when he finished with work. Leroy agreed but warned Santana there wasn't much he could do for her.
Santana watched the movie and rubbed Quinn's back. She knew Quinn needed the sleep and she didn't want her waking up. It worked for a while but soon Quinn was awake.
Quinn groaned and pulled away from Santana. Santana pulled Quinn's hair back while she threw up. "Did you sleep okay?" Santana asked when she was finished.
"Yeah," Quinn replied leaning against Santana. "Better than I expected."
Santana twisted out of Quinn's arms. "I'm going to make you some chicken noodle soup."
"No food," Quinn moaned.
"Q, you need something," Santana said gently. "At least drink the broth, please."
"Fine but don't start complaining when I throw it up," Quinn snapped.
Santana ignored her tone and went to the kitchen. She dug around the cabinets looking for soup. Finally, she found a can of chicken noodle soup. It wasn't as good as homemade but it was better than nothing.
She heated up the soup in the microwave while she made herself a sandwich. She dug around the fridge and managed to find a can of Sprite. She poured it into a glass and put a straw in it. She grabbed a can of Coke for herself and took the drinks and her sandwich to the living room.
She sat her food and drink down and handed over the cup to Quinn. "Slow sips Q," Santana instructed. "It should help the nausea. It's not as good as ginger ale but it will do the trick till Jake gets here."
Quinn took a small sip of the Sprite while Santana carefully sat the hot bowl in Quinn's lap. Santana tried not to stare at Quinn while she tried to eat but she couldn't help but glance over every few minutes in order to make sure Quinn was okay.
Despite the nausea Quinn forced herself to drink of broth and eat pieces of the chicken and some of the noodles. Her stomach felt a little better but not enough that she felt comfortable eating anything else.
Santana sent another text to Jake asking him to bring saltine crackers.
By the time Quinn had finished she was exhausted again. She leaned on Santana and fell asleep almost immediately. Santana sent one last text to Jake requesting that he bring her some food, preferably something greasy. She also let him know where the hide-a-key was in case she couldn't get up to answer the door. She closed her eyes and forced herself to relax.
A few hours later, though Santana would swear it was only a couple of minutes, Santana heard talking.
"Shut up," Rachel hissed. "You're going to wake them."
Finn dropped the bags to the ground. "You could help you know." Rachel grabbed some of the bags and stormed off to the kitchen.
Santana opened her eyes and found Jake staring at her with a guilty expression on his face. "Sorry," he whispered. "Figured I would get a few extra things for you guys and I needed some help."
Santana sat up and rubbed her eyes. "What time is it?" Santana wondered.
"Just after four," Jake answered. He dropped the burger on the table in front of Santana. He sat another bag down from Breadstix. "I got Quinn some soup and breadstix, just in case she was hungry."
"Thanks," Santana said gratefully. She carefully detached herself from Quinn and took the burger bag to the kitchen. "Did you guys stock her fridge?"
"We knew you would stay with her," Jake said with a shrug. "Figured Judy didn't care about making sure Quinn had food."
"Fair enough," Santana said. "Judy practically ran away when she found out Quinn was sick."
"And you wonder why Quinn is so quick to betray her mother," Jake muttered. Santana raised an eyebrow at him. "Think about it. All Judy cares about is her career. If I were Quinn I would want to cause the most pain possible, and that means derailing her case against your dad."
"You think that's what this is? She's simply getting back at her mom?" Santana asked, digging her burger out of the bag.
"No," Jake replied, leaning against the counter. "Maybe in the beginning, but now, now I think Quinn cares about us and she actually wants to protect us." He locked eyes with Santana. "She wants to protect you."
"Me?" Santana shook her head. "Why would she do that for me?"
"Because she likes you, you idiot," Jake said smacking Santana's arm. Santana glared at him. "You're the reason she tried so hard to protect Jesse. She didn't want you to be upset over Jesse."
Santana didn't respond. She went back to her burger. She didn't know how to react to Jake's words.
"Fridge is stocked now," Rachel announced, dropping the empty bags on the table.
"Thanks Rach," Santana said gratefully.
"Mercedes asked about you," Rachel said leaning on the counter. Puck and Finn grabbed a bag of chips and tore them open. "She thought it was strange you and Quinn were gone."
"What did you tell her?" Santana asked curious.
"Told her to mind her own damn business," Rachel said. "Nosy bitch always trying to get in our business."
Santana snorted. The rivalry between Mercedes and Puckerman/Hudson/Lopez clan was legendary. It was especially tense between Rachel and Mercedes, and Santana and Mercedes. Mercedes had clung onto her mother's hatred of Santana's family. Rachel and Mercedes competed in glee club and Rachel always won.
"I overheard Mercedes telling Kurt that Santana probably did something to her," Jake inputted, taking the bag of chips from his brother. Puck glared at his brother.
Santana rolled her eyes. "Like I would ever hurt Quinn," Santana said. She stuffed the rest of the burger into her mouth. "What are you guys going to do this weekend?"
The guys shrugged and continued eating their chips. "We figured we would hang out here today," Rachel said. "Maybe all weekend if Quinn's up to it. If not, well I know Finn mentioned wanting to go hiking."
Finn nodded. "There's a place about an hour from here," he said after swallowing a mouthful of chips. "It looks like a really good hike. Plus, there's a lake that we could swim in."
"That does sound like fun," Santana commented. She kind of wanted to go but she wouldn't stop her friends from having fun without her.
Finn saw the look on Santana's face and knew she wanted to go. "We can save that trail for when Quinn's feeling better," Finn decided, wanting to make sure Quinn had the opportunity to go with them. "There's a couple smaller trails we can hit."
"You don't have to do that," Santana protested. "Go, have fun."
Finn shook his head. "It'll be more fun with you and Quinn," he insisted.
"Plus, I won't be the only girl," Rachel added.
"Alright," Santana agreed. "Why don't we plan on next weekend then? Quinn should be feeling better by then."
"Great," Puck exclaimed. "We can pick up some snacks and do another Prison Break marathon."
The others nodded in agreement. "Perfect. I'll let Mami know."
"San," Quinn mumbled rubbing her eyes. She was surprised to see her friends standing comfortably in her kitchen.
"Quinn," Santana exclaimed going to Quinn's side. The others exchanged looks and grinned. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm okay," Quinn said after a moment. "I don't feel as nauseous."
"Good," Santana said, happy Quinn was feeling better. She hated seeing Quinn sick. "Do you want to try some soup?"
Quinn's stomach grumbled. For the first time today, she was hungry. She wasn't sure if she should be eating. The last thing she wanted was to make herself sick again. "Maybe a little."
Santana touched Quinn's forehead. "You're still warm but not as warm as you were earlier," she commented. Santana dug through the cabinet. It was almost empty when Santana prepared soup for Quinn earlier. Now it was fully stocked. Santana figured if she looked in the other cabinets, and fridge, she would find it fully stocked as well. "Chicken noodle? Jake brought some from Breadstix."
Quinn made a face. "Is there clam chowder?"
Santana grabbed the can. "Yes, there is," she confirmed.
Santana got to work heating up the soup for Quinn. Quinn started swaying in her spot. Jake grabbed her arm and dragged her back to the couch.
"I'm not an invalid," Quinn protested weakly.
"You're still sick," Jake reminded her. "If you need anything, we'll get it for you." Jake stared at Quinn and shook his head fondly. "So stubborn."
"Am not," Quinn protested. She leaned back, already exhausted. Jake was right but she didn't want to admit it.
"Rest Quinn," Jake said patting her arm.
Quinn closed her eyes. She didn't sleep. She wasn't sure if she could sleep anymore. "Q," Santana called softly, getting the blonde's attention. Quinn opened her eyes and found Santana in front of her holding her soup and some crackers. Quinn sat up so Santana could place the bowl in her lap. Santana got on the couch next to Quinn and patiently waited for her to eat.
"How are you feeling Quinn?" Rachel asked stepping into the living room with Puck and Finn right behind her.
Quinn sat the bowl of soup down. It was too hot to eat. "I'm okay." She watched her friends. They looked like they wanted to go but didn't want to be rude. "You guys should go. There's no reason for you to be stuck here on a Friday night."
The three exchanged looks. They wanted to leave but didn't want to run away. "Are you sure?" Finn asked. "We can stay if you want some company."
Quinn shook her head. "Go, have fun. I'll be fine here." The siblings and Finn left, leaving Quinn and Santana alone. "Why are you still here?"
"I'm staying, remember?" Santana said calmly.
"San—" Quinn started.
"No arguments," Santana said firmly. "Your mother shouldn't have left you to take care of yourself. You need someone here, even if it's just to make sure you don't crack your head open." Santana reached for Quinn's bowl. "Eat, you need to keep your strength up." Quinn glared at her for a minute before grabbing her bowl and forcing herself to eat the soup. "How do you feel about hiking?" Santana asked once she saw Quinn was eating.
"Never actually gone," Quinn said with a shrug. "Why?"
"We were thinking about going hiking next weekend at the lake, if you're feeling better," Santana said. "We usually swim in the lake and BBQ."
"I… yeah that sounds fun," Quinn said.
"Are you sure?" Santana asked raising an eyebrow at her. "You don't sound too thrilled."
"No, I am," Quinn said quickly. "It's just… you know my mom. She's not big on the outdoors. The most I've done outside is gone running or swimming… in a pool."
"We do a lot of different things," Santana said patiently. "Just something you'll have to get used to when hanging out with us. You should come though. It will be fun. We'll go back to my house after and hang out."
"Okay," Quinn agreed. Anything to get out of her house and away from her mother.
"Great," Santana said with a grin. "But first you need to work on feeling better." Santana gently touched her forehead. "You're still warm."
"It's not going to change that quickly," Quinn said, though she was grateful that Santana cared.
Santana's phone buzzed. She glanced at it and sighed in relief.
On my way. Leroy texted.
"Leroy's on his way," Santana announced.
"You called Leroy?" Quinn exclaimed. She winced. That had hurt her head. "It's just the flu San. You didn't need to call him."
"I want to make sure it's just the flu," Santana said.
Several minutes later there was a knock at the door. Santana jumped up so she could let Leroy inside. It wasn't Leroy. It was Mercedes, much to Santana's horror.
"What are you doing here?" Santana demanded.
Mercedes raised an eyebrow at her. "I wanted to check on Quinn. What are you doing here?" she countered.
"Quinn's fine," Santana said not answering the question. She had no desire to let Mercedes inside as she knew Quinn wouldn't want to see her. Mercedes stepped forward and Santana blocked the door. "Quinn's not up to visitors right now."
"You're here," Mercedes pointed out.
"Someone has to take care of Quinn," Santana said crossing her arms over her chest. Santana sighed in relief when Leroy pulled into the driveway.
Leroy grabbed his bag and made his way to the front door. "Santana," he greeted. He glanced at Mercedes. "Hello."
"Come in Leroy," Santana said stepped aside to let him in. "She's in the living room. The room to your left." Leroy nodded and made his way in the house. "You can go now," she told Mercedes.
Mercedes glared at her. She didn't like Santana of all people telling her what to do. "Fine," Mercedes eventually said. She didn't have time to go back and forth with Santana. She turned around and left.
Once Mercedes was in her car Santana went back inside the house. She waked into the living room and found Quinn with a thermometer in her month. The thermometer beeped and Leroy took it out. "99.4," he read. "Have you been taking anything for the fever?"
"I gave her some ibuprofen when I got here… this morning," Santana told him.
"Go get her some more," Leroy instructed. "She needs to take it every 6 hours. She can alternate it with Tylenol every 4 hours but I don't think that will be necessary." Santana ran upstairs to grab the pills. "How are you feeling Quinn?"
"Better," she answered. "Santana has been taking care of me."
Leroy nodded. "She is good at that." Leroy studied Quinn. "Have you been eating and getting plenty of fluids?"
Quinn frowned. She honestly had no idea. She was so out of it today. "I don't know," she said slowly.
"It's okay," he reassured her. "I'll check with Santana. Any symptoms other than fever?"
"Vomiting, body aches, nausea," Quinn listed.
"Well it sounds like your run of the mill flu, but you already knew that," Leroy said. "You'll need to keep taking the pills to get, and keep, your fever down," Leroy continued. "You need to make sure you get plenty of water. Ginger ale would be good if you're still throwing up."
Santana came back downstairs with a bottle of Ibuprofen in her hand. She handed two to Quinn and disappeared to get Quinn some water.
Leroy shook his head as he watched Santana go. She really was overprotective of those she cared about. He had seen it time after time. He just hoped this time didn't end badly.
Santana returned with a cup of water and a bottle of ginger ale. She handed the cup over. "Thanks," Quinn muttered before downing the pills.
"How has she been eating?" Leroy asked Santana.
"Not well," Santana said, sitting down beside Quinn. "She had almost a full bowl of soup not too long ago and not even half a bowl of lunch." Santana frowned. "She's been drinking water but not enough."
Leroy nodded. He wasn't surprised. Rarely did someone with the flu eat or drink enough. "Well there's not much else I can do. Call me if she gets worse," Leroy told Santana.
"I will," Santana promised. "I'll walk you out."
"She's going to be fine Santana," Leroy assure her when they got to his car.
"I know," Santana said crossing her arms. A defense mechanism that Leroy had seen many times before. "So, where are my children today? I expected them to be here with you."
"They were for a while," Santana said relaxing slightly. "They decided to go hiking with Finn." Leroy nodded. While they did spend a lot of time at home playing games, they were all rather active as well.
"Do you know what time I can expect them home?" Not that it mattered. He trusted his kids.
Santana shrugged. "I imagine not too late since they're hiking… and you know Rachel."
Leroy laughed. He had fond memories of Rachel telling on herself whenever she did something wrong. It amused him and Hiram so much that she usually ended up not getting into trouble. "Yes, I'm sure they're be home at a decent time. What about you? Should we expect you for dinner?"
"No, I told Mami I was staying with Quinn, since her mother," she sneered, "left her alone."
Leroy held his tongue. He didn't approve of what Judy had done anymore than Santana had. When Eduardo had found out he had laughed at how easily Judy was driving her away.
"Call me if you need anything," he told her.
"Thanks for coming Leroy," Santana said hugging him. "I appreciate it."
Leroy kissed her forehead before getting into his car and driving away. Once Leroy's car turned the corner Santana went back inside the house.