Wife!
Wow, she though, could she be any more of a stereotype - gay father's equal's lesbian daughter. But looking at the woman sitting across from her, she had to admit that it made sense. Quinn was beautiful, and well, she never settled for second best. The woman across from her didn't look five years never mind ten years older. Her blonde hair was shorter, not the long golden locks she remembered but it suited her and made her looked more mature. The sweatshirt she was wearing was baggy but from what she could make out Quinn still had an amazing figure. Yes, of course it was shallow to notice these things, personality should matter, but this was Quinn Fabray, The Quinn Fabray, and to learn those things she would have to talk to her. She was desperate to ask those sorts of questions, desperate to hear the answers but she was too scared.
How did this happen? Quinn hated her, at least she used to, the Quinn sitting with her now looked heartbroken, her eyes filled with so much love that it made Rachel feel unworthy. Quinn hadn't stopped looking at her ever since she arrived; the blonde had been right on the nurse's heels and had practically burst into the room before the nurse finished introducing her. She had ran right up to Rachel, ignoring the nurses warning and threw her arms around Rachel, albeit mindful of the numerous wires and tubes connected to every part of her of her body. Out of instinct, an action which she immediately regretted Rachel flinched, imagining Quinn as the hateful, vicious teenager she once was. Her actions caused Quinn to move back, for some unknown reason she began to miss the contact between Quinn and herself.
"Why are-" "Sorry, I'm-" Rachel and Quinn both went to talk, blushing they stopped to allowed the other, awkward. For what felt like the first time ever, Rachel was nervous, nodding to Quinn to continue, she was grateful when the blonde began to speak.
"Sorry, the doctor explained the situation to me before I came in, he mentioned that maybe seeing me might trigger a memory or something, but...Well, you don't...nothing" Quinn didn't have to say it, Rachel could hear the disappointment in her voice, she had been hoping for Rachel to remember her. The her from the last ten years not the here from high school. Hating the mood Quinn was in; Rachel felt a protective instinct to care for the blonde and cheer her up. Unsure whether it was to reassure Quinn or to calm her own nerves Rachel reached out her good hand and placed it on top of her wife's.
"Don't apologise, it's my fault I'm here, I should have looked where I was going and then I would not have fallen down those stairs, however I do believe that an appropriate sign indicating..." Rachel's rant winded down upon seeing the bemused look on her wife face, it took her a while to realise her mistake. Embarrassed and seeing the worry on her companions face Rachel was quick to correct herself. "Or, depending on what year you are from, it could infact be the idiot drunk drivers fault for driving ninety in a thirty zone and for skipping a red light."
Quinn looked annoyed, obviously she didn't believe Rachel's lie, she had recognised her mistake, fortunately however it appeared she was going to bring it up. Eager to break the tension and uplift the gloomy mood Rachel asked the first question that popped into mind.
"What happened at Nationals?" The amused look on her wife's face made her wish she hadn't of asked.
"You fell down the stairs," Quinn continued already knowing what her wife was going to asks next, "We lost, we were disqualified for not performing. You did however stay conscious long enough in the hospital before surgery to inform your doctors that they were being completely unreasonable, that even with broken ribs, arm and concussion you were still capable of performing and that you blamed the them personally for losing the compotation and therefore destroying your future career prospects. It was impressive; the nurse said he had never seen someone fight anesthetics that hard before, he said it was like you were superhuman." By the time Quinn had finished, it looked as if she was trying not to burst out laughing. Rachel however, could not see the humour in the situation, she couldn't believe it, and they had lost Nationals.
/
"What about us?"
"What do you mean?" Quinn decided to play ignorant, although of course she knew what Rachel was asking. What Rachel wanted to know was how they had gone from mortal enemies to soul mates. This question, unlike many of the other Rachel had asked she actually was allowed to answer. Rachel had spend the evening asking Quinn numerous questions, some questions that although not entirely significant, were crucial events in Rachel's life that her mind had forgotten. The doctors had warned Quinn that although Rachel would ask she couldn't cave and give her the answer, she could talk about their relationship, family and friends but the rest, they wanted to reintroduce to Rachel gradually, aware it may be too much to take in all at once.
"You know exactly what I mean Lucy Quinn Fabray, do not play stupid." Although slightly taken back by the scorning, Quinn secretly found pleasure with the familiarity of the words that were leaving her wife's mouth; her Rachel was still in there.
"Sorry, well we obviously knew each other in high school. But we became close during senior year, it wasn't a great time for me and you were always there." Despite Rachel's obvious curiosity about why that year wasn't exactly positive, Quinn was eternally grateful that she recognised the obvious discomfort for Quinn to discuss it and therefore willing to not push the subject.
"Not quite the romantic fairytale I'm sure you had been creating within your mind," Rachel couldn't help but blush, it wasn't her fault she tended to get carried away and mix real life with the imaginary. "We were friends first and then we went through that awkward transition stage into girlfriends. New York was your dream so I ended up following you."
"Who proposed?" Rachel questioned. She had been trying to guess in her mind, she couldn't imagine herself doing it, she much rather preferred being on the receiving end of such events. But she couldn't picture Quinn either, the girl who dreamed of being a housewife and homemaker.
"I did, but the hints and clues you provided certainly did bring my plan forward a bit. We weren't even engaged a year before marriage, one of us was far too eager to wait, we've been married six years now, you were coming to meet me to celebrate our anniversary when this happened."
/
Rachel's and Quinn's conversation was interrupted by the sound of someone knocking at the door. Turning they saw Holly enter, offering them an apologetic smile she told them it was time for Quinn to leave, "Hospital rules, visiting hours were over an hour ago, we can not let you stay."
Nodding with acceptance, Quinn bent to gather her belongings from the floor. Glancing at Rachel she wished for nothing more than to be able to lean across and kiss her goodbye but with Rachel's earlier actions still present in her mind, she feared of her reaction to would be to something as simple as a hug. Mumbling goodbye and with the guarantee of returning tomorrow she rushed towards the exit. Despite her effort she didn't make it any further than the end of the corridor before completely breaking down, the brave facade she had been presenting to everyone crumbled now she felt as though she was completely alone. Her perfect life, one she never allowed herself to imagine in her youth, had been ripped apart and destroyed in a matter of minutes, all down to a few bad decisions. What now, she though. Looking up she found her answer.
With great hesitance she took her first step towards the door, peeking inside she saw that the room was empty. She was torn whether to enter or not, she hadn't entered a place like that since she was eighteen, when she was thrown out by her parents and told she was heading straight to hell. Opening the door she set off down the aisle, and slid into one of the long oak benches. Mumbling a quiet prayer under her breath she sought solace in her surroundings; the stain glass windows, the old worn prayer books, the sympathy looking statues, all of which reminded her of her childhood, when everything saw simple.
/
Still staring at the door Quinn exited through Rachel failed to notice Holly enter the room and begin to check some machines. If it wasn't for a sudden loud bleeping Holly would have gone completely unnoticed.
"It's okay, I'm just disconnecting a machine, it's no longer necessary. You should get some sleep; I'm sure you're tired, besides you've got an MRI scheduleded for seven o'clock tomorrow morning." Rachel knew she was tired however she had been fighting to remain awake while Quinn was there, desperate to learn as much about her life as possible. Accepting that she couldn't remain awake much longer Rachel settled into bed when a though suddenly occurred.
"What do you think of Quinn?" Rachel asked, although she didn't know much about the 'new' Quinn she was finding it hard to accept that the sweet, caring woman was the same girl who in her mind was last week dumping a slushie over her head. Not able to trust her own mind, or heart, she was curious to get someone else opinion.
Pausing, Holly began to prepare an answer, she wanted to be truthful, personally she thought Quinn was lovely, she came to the hospital every day, she had never been less than charming towards her and clearly thought the world of Rachel. Secretly she had always been envious of the couple; whenever she read or saw an interview between the pair she became insanely jealous, they seemed so in love. She could only wish to find someone like that one day, a soul mate, someone who loved her with ever part of their being. She realised how confusing this must be for Rachel though and therefore focused on creating a completely unbiased answer. "I think she's nice. I don't doubt that she loves you. But I don't think my opinion matters, do you or could you see yourself loving her?"
Instead of answering Rachel just turned to face the opposite wall. Staring out the window she gave little attention to New York landscape, everything outside seemed insignificant, the people, the lights, the hustle and bustle. Drifting off to sleep, she kept the question in mind. She knew her answer. Yes, of course she loved her. Through high school all she ever wished was to gain Quinn's attention; every solo was sung with Quinn in mind, every boyfriend was flaunted in hopes of making her jealous. Closing her eyes, Rachel smiled, so what if life never turned out how she anticipated. It was even better.