I am so, so, so sorry. I am the worst updater ever, feel free to kill me now. But I'm back with this update. Not sure if you'll enjoy it, but I figured this was necessary. This chapter, again, fills you in with where everyone is, etc. I will try (promise) to update again in the next week, but this is my final two weeks in school and obviously it's intense and busy. I am working on a oneshot as well, so I'll tell you about that when it's up (Finchel of course)!
Oh, and thank you, so, so, so much for the reviews! Ninety-five? I love you guys! So, I hope you enjoy. Thank you (L).
And every time I cry I'm right back where you wanted...
Mr Schue walked along to the choir room, whistling a show tune like most mornings. He smiled and waved at Miss Pillsbury when he saw her, his mood dampening a little when she turned away, a hurt look on her face. He waved it off as PMS and continued his journey. When he got there, none of the New Directions were there yet, even though Mr Schue himself was late. Again, confused but not letting anything get him down, he placed his briefcase on the Piano and began to sort his music sheets out.
Then he heard a bang and screaming – screaming that echoed on and on and on... That was when he realised something was seriously wrong. Frozen still with fear, he heard the door open and soft footsteps padding along the floor and a scarily cold voice.
"You... You... You..."
The twelve pupils traipsed in, their eyes rolled into the backs of their heads, scalded hands and dusty faces. Rachel, her hair dishevelled and sticky with blood stepped forward and collapsed on the floor. She shook, screaming as if in massive agony and then Mr Schue realised where he had heard the screaming before.
"Rachel... Are you okay?" Mr Schue's voice shook with confusion and fear.
"You did this – YOU!" Her hysterical voice rang through the room; the other eleven pupils still chanting that same word over and over. A tear leaked from Mr Schue's eye and he pushed it away angrily, trying frantically to help the screaming girl on the floor. Her pale skin changed from perfect and unmarked to scalded and burnt. Her head began to bleed again, making a little puddle of blood around her head. She let out one final scream of pain and then lay still, her entire body now covered in burns and dusty with soot.
Finn came up to him, uttering soft violent words repeatedly that Mr Schue found initially hard to decipher in his distressed state.
"You could have checked they were all safe... I thought you were a father figure to me – I was wrong. You let me down Mr Schue!" His words were sharp and soft at the same time. When Finn closed his mouth, Matt fell to the floor, screaming and Finn followed suit. The rest of the club kept chanting and chanting and coming closer and closer and Mr Schue didn't know what to do and he wanted to scream...
He sat up suddenly in his bed, sweat pouring from his head and his hair stuck up in random places as if he had been tossing and turning his sleep. It wasn't his fault, was it? What more could he have done? Mr Schue looked at the clock by his bed – 4.30am. The images of Matt, Finn and Rachel ran through his heads, stuck on repeat and tears leaked from his eyes once more. Leaning over to his desk, he grabbed his mobile and left a message on the healthy glee club members' phones. They were going to check out the situation – if only to rest Mr Schue's mind. His finger hovered over the call button as he reached Emma's name. He didn't know what to do... she had her dentist boyfriend now, but he'd never wanted to talk to her more. Deciding against calling, he got out of bed and padded to the living room. Will knew he wouldn't be getting anymore sleep tonight.
They met at the hospital at around midday, all of the club looking worried and some downright awful. Kurt looked a ghostly white, Mercedes and Tina looked shell shocked, Santana and Brittany had red ringed eyes but otherwise looked normal, Artie looked like he hadn't slept a wink, Quinn and Puck looked like they had the weight of the world on their shoulders and Mike was a mess. His clothes were creased and ruffled, his eyes had massive bags beneath them and his hair was sticking out all over the place. He arrived last and when he did, Mr Schue wrapped in a big hug. He received a small smile for this and then Mike traipsed over to the rest of the group. Puck put an arm around him and Mercedes gave him a massive hug. Kurt tried to fix his hair for him and eventually Mike looked a little better. There was a silence as the guys stopped fixing up Mike, then he burst into tears.
"Matt was my best friend... Since kindergarden..." He hiccupped and sobbed and everyone paid him a respectful silence whilst he gathered himself together.
"We know, dude. We know," Puck said comfortingly and he took him away from everybody else as Mr Schue went to discover where Rachel and Finn's room were.
"Okay guys, listen up!" Mercedes thought that Mr Schue looked slightly ill today. His eyes were heavy and down, and he needed a shave.
"Rachel's on Floor 6, Room 4. We can visit her – but only two people at her time, and her dads might be there. So we have to respect that, alright guys? Finn's on the same floor but Room 10. He is up for visitors and is awake, but is still weak. Let's go!" He led them up the six flights of stairs, taking them to a waiting room.
"Alright guys, who want to go see Finn first and who wants to go see Rachel?" Mr Schue asked. It was decided that Artie and Kurt would go see Rachel first and Puck, Quinn and Mike would go see Finn. The rest of the club settled down and waited.
Kurt pushed Artie down the corridor as quietly as possibly, but the rubber wheels still sounded too squeaky and loud on the floor. They were silent, avoiding each others eyes until they reached her door. Her dads weren't there – probably gone home to change – and the room was silent except for the beeping of the machines checking her heartbeat. Artie stretched his arm out, his hand hovering above the handle and for the first time since they had left the other glee clubbers, he looked at Kurt.
"I don't know if I can go in there!" His voice was quiet and filled with emotion.
"We need to do this... for Rachel," Kurt replied in a monotone.
"I hate hospitals – ever since the three months stretch ending with me and a wheelchair," Artie replied, his eyes back down to the floor. Kurt felt a surge of guilt at the boy's words, but he couldn't think of what to do.
"We need to go in there," He stated, grabbing the handle and pushing the door open. He wheeled Artie to one side of the bed and then walked around to the other, settling down in the cold, plastic chairs.
After a few minutes to compose himself by looking at the door handle, Kurt pulled his eyes to Rachel's bed. Her eyes were shut and her legs and arms were wrapped in bandages – presumably from the burns. There was an oxygen mask over her mouth and another big bandage wrapped around her head. She looked so weak – fragile – and nothing like the Rachel Kurt knew from glee rehearsal: bossy and self-centred. Kurt took hold of her hand softly, and whispered in her ear, so quietly even Artie couldn't hear it.
"Rachel. I'm so sorry this has happened to you. I'm so sorry that we never got on – I never hated you, but I guess two divas clash! I hope, with all my heart and designer clothes that you get better soon. I would seriously sell them all on E-Bay just for your recovery. For a loss. I'll think about you always until you recover – you're Rachel Berry, it's impossible for you to consider losing. Now you're in a coma, I guess I can share a secret with you I can tell nobody else. Defying Gravity sing off (it was amazing, huh?). I blew the note. Just in case you ever wondered. Sleep tight, Rachel. I'll be back soon..."
Kurt stopped speaking, but kept onto her hand and looked at Artie. He looked frozen, with upset and pain. Kurt realised it was probably the best time to leave, so he put Rachel's hand down and walked over to Artie, giving him a hug as the boy burst into tears. Wheeling him out of the room, he passed him a tissue and took him to the men's room, so he could cry in peace.
"Want me to stay?" Kurt asked tenderly.
Artie just shook his head viciously and Kurt walked backwards, leaving him alone. A fresh wave of sobs choked him up and he put his head against the cold bathroom wall. Artie hated hospitals. And Artie hated seeing one of his best friends – no matter how annoying – in as much as pain as he was once in. He stayed in the bathroom a long time, dabbing his face with scratchy toilet paper and washing his face until he looked respectful. When Mr Schue asked where Artie was, Kurt replied with a cool "Bathroom" and sunk into a chair. Nobody probed him further.
Puck and Quinn held hands as they walked to Finn's room; Quinn linking Mike also for the comfort and the friendship. Puck looked through the window before entering and saw Finn looking at the small television on the ceiling with a bored expression on his face. He looked empty. Quinn slowly opened the door, and Finn didn't take his eyes off the television, as if he didn't care who was there.
"Mom I told you..." He said in a monotone, yawning a little.
Puck coughed and Mike shuffled nervously.
"Oh, hi guys!" Finn said, sitting up a little in his bed. Puck looked him over, taking in the bandages on his hands and legs, and the monitors attached to his arm. Finn saw his line of vision and waved it off.
"This? I'm fine, I'm fine..." He grinned, "So how is everyone? Man, Mike, are you okay?"
Mike looked confused and Puck grabbed him by the shoulder to offer him support. Quinn took a seat by the bed, leaning over to Finn.
"Course he's not, Finn... I don't think anybody is, especially not in glee!" Quinn said worriedly.
Finn's eyes glazed over and he looked at his hands, as if embarrassed about what he was about to ask.
"Is Matt okay? Has he been found? And is Rachel out of the coma?" Finn's voice was slightly panicked and his cheeks red with worry. Mike flinched at the comment, Puck grabbing him once more and a tear ran down Quinn's cheek.
"What's up?" Finn asked, a sadness to his tone, "He's dead isn't he... oh my god, he's dead!" Finn grew more hysterical as he spoke, his sore hands shaking uncontrollably.
"Yes," Puck stated, forever the brave man as Quinn searched for tissues in her bag to pass to Mike and the confused boy in front of her. A tear leaked down Finn's cheek, but he brushed it away impatiently, as if he hadn't understood what they had just said.
"Rachel. How's Rachel?" He said with a tone of desperation, as if that was all he could think about.
"She's stable," Quinn said. Mike barged out of the room at this point, too upset to continue with the conversation. Puck and Quinn both flinched a little as the door banged, but Finn looked as if he wasn't really paying attention anymore.
"Thank you..." Finn said, softly and Quinn thought it best if she left.
"I'll leave you two alone..." She bowed out of the room with a nod, and Puck came and sat in the chair. Finn's eyes seemed to clear at this moment, and he sat up properly to talk to him.
"Listen to me, Puck!" Finn's voice took on a steely tone.
"I'm listening..." Puck replied nervously.
"I need to see Rachel and you're going to help me get out!" Finn ordered.
"Finn. You're being stupid – just ask your doctor!" Puck decided to be the sensible one, just for once.
"He won't let me – he says I'm not well enough to go yet. But I'm not going to get better until I see her Puck, I'm really not!" Desperation rang through every word.
"I'll think about it," was all Puck would say.
"Thank you," Finn replied, his eyes glazed over again.
"Are you okay dude?" Puck asked, confused about his friends conflicting emotions.
"I'm fine, Puck, just fine..."
I hope you enjoyed, please review :)