Author's Note: Hey guys! Great reviews. I love hearing from you all. Now let's get to it and see what happened to our Quinn. No long drawn out preludes. Again, I don't own the characters.
Chapter 7
Santana's mind is racing while she's in the fifteen minute cab ride. Was Quinn sick? Did she fall? What could it be? Those fifteen minutes are feeling like forever. By the time she's at the hospital, her mind has gone to a hundred different scenarios that could have happened to her girl. She gives the cab driver the fare, plus a decent tip, because he did his best and got here faster by running a couple of stop signs and speeding.
As she takes a deep breath, she walks through the doors, trying to mentally prepare herself for what she might see when she got to the blonde. The woman at the desk was Desiree, the nurse who called her. She nodded her head when Santana showed the woman her driver's license, as apparently, Quinn was in a confidential room and told the staff that Santana was the only one she wanted to have access to her.
As soon as she sees Quinn in the hospital bed she begins to assess her, seeing if she can see what happened by the look of the blonde. Quinn was sitting up on the bed, a good sign, but her eyes were closed as she leaned against the pillow. Her left cheek was slightly swollen, with a bit of a scrape along the same side of her face up near her eye. She shifted a bit, which is when Santana noticed the bandage on her arm.
Not to disturb her, Santana pulled the nurse back out to the hall, the frustration and fear taking over as she demands, "What happened to her?"
"Well, Miss Fabray was found unconscious on the street, not far from your residence. A pedestrian saw her and called 911, staying with her until the ambulance arrived. Luckily Miss Fabray had her cell phone on her and your number was the ICE (In Case of Emergency) contact listed on the lock screen. After she woke up, she started asking for you. Some tests have been done, and Miss Fabray seems to have been sexually assaulted rather violently. A DNA sample has been taken and we should have the results within a few hours, should she want to press charges." Desiree answered her, completely professionally despite Santana's abruptness, understanding that she was worried.
"I already know who it was." Santana growls, snarling her nose and everything. "What are her injuries?"
"Miss Fabray has a sprained wrist, a broken ankle, and several cuts, bruises, and abrasions. She definitely fought back."
"That's my girl." Santana says quietly, then thanks the nurse before going back into the room with Quinn.
The blonde opens her eyes when she hears the door shut and the footsteps coming closer. "San?"
"Yeah baby, I'm here." the Latina soothes as she sits in a chair next to her girlfriend, taking her hand and kissing it softly. "I'm not going anywhere."
"Hold me?" The blonde whimpered, trying to move closer to Santana, groaning in pain.
"Easy there, Q." Santana tells her, "I would if I could babe, but there isn't room for me to get up there with you, not in an ER cot."
"H-he found me. I was going to the s-store, I wanted to surprise you with dinner. He was waiting outside." Quinn explained, stuttering and shaking, knowing she didn't have to say Jared's name for Santana to know who she was referring to. "He dragged m-me in the back of his car...slammed the door on my foot when I tried to get out." That explains the broken ankle. "He f-forced himself on me...called me a dyke and a stupid...c-word. The one I hate. I scratched his face and tried to push him off of me...when he was done, h-he shoved me out of the car on the street." The scraped up face and sprained wrist. "I crawled up to the sidewalk...that's all I remember until I got here."
It was taking every ounce of self control that Santana had to keep her from leaving this place and hunting down that sorry piece of shit and killing him herself. Her grip on Quinn's hand must have tightened as she felt the blonde tug at it a bit, telling her it's too tight.
"Sorry baby." Santana tells her, snapping out of it and loosening her grip, then kissing her hand again. "I'll take care of him."
"I don't want you near him, I don't want you hurt." Quinn tells her, beginning to shake again and tear up.
"Hopefully this will be all of the evidence needed to get him locked up for good. I won't leave you alone until he is behind bars. Because apparently restraining orders don't mean shit to him."
"What about work? You can't miss it because of me San." the blonde protested.
"I can, and I will. I have vacation days...lots of them. So I'll burn up some of them to stay with you. I refuse to let anything else happen like this again." Santana tells her in a stern voice, letting her no not to argue back.
"Alright. You win." Quinn sighed, conceding, just as the doctor walked in.
"Miss Fabray, we'll need to have your ankle put in a cast. The DNA we took from your assailant has be determined, and it is in fact, a match to the man you said it was. The results have been turned over to the police, and they will take it from there. I'll give you a brace for your wrist, and a prescription for some pain medication. Then you'll be free to go." he then turned to Santana. "Miss Lopez I presume?"
"Yes sir."
"Until Miss Fabray has healed fully, she will be in a wheelchair, as she won't be able to use crutches properly with the sprained wrist. She will not be able to do a lot of things on her own. Will we need to contact a care giver to come to your residence to help with her?"
"No, I'm taking off of work. I'll be able to care for her myself. Thank you sir. Just give me instructions on what to give her when and anything else she needs."
"Her foot will need to be elevated as much as possible, and she'll definitely need rest. The medication will be given as needed. Use your judgement on that. The cast cannot get wet, so I recommend using a plastic bag, and taping it to the skin to create a seal. Most likely she will need help bathing for a while. If by some chance the cast gets wet, she will need to have a new one put on. The cast will be in place for three weeks, then she will need to come in, have a new x-ray, to see if the ankle is healing properly, and the cast changed."
Quinn couldn't help but groan, she didn't want Santana to have to care for her like this. She has always been an independent person, but she would have no choice but to allow her girlfriend to help her.
"I'm sorry Miss Fabray, but if you want to heal properly, this is what needs to be done." the doctor said, as a nurse comes in to help her into the wheelchair. Santana insisted on helping, because she knew Quinn wouldn't trust the other woman. The Latina decided to push Quinn along behind as they led them to the room where her cast would be put on.
As Santana lifted Quinn easily, sitting her in the chair, Quinn kissed her cheek, and then hugged her, finally getting to be closer to the woman she needed.
"I'm right here baby. I've got you. And I'm not going anywhere at all for the next few weeks. I promise. I won't let you stay alone." Santana assured her, moving aside so that the technician could apply the cast. She kept hold of Quinn's hand and tried to distract her from the pain as the doctor washed her foot, and set her bone properly.
"What color cast would you like Miss Fabray?" the technician asked as she handed Quinn a little wheel with the samples of colors and patterns.
"I don't care." She replied softly. "San, you decide."
"Purple. It's always been a good color for you."
"The only purple we have has pink hearts on it. Is that okay?" the tech asked with a smile, showing it to the women.
"It's fine." Quinn nodded, laying her head back on the chair, just wanting this to be over with so she could go home with Santana.
The brunette kept her distracted, and before she knew it, the cast was on properly, and it was time to put Quinn back in the wheelchair and go back to her cot on the emergency room. As they walked, the technician gave them the rundown of the cast, letting them know that she was not allowed to put weight on it for at least two hours, and then she was allowed to put minimal weight on it if need be.
An hour, three prescriptions, a pair of crutches, and a wrist brace later, Santana was helping Quinn into Rachel's car. Santana had talked Quinn into telling their friend, because she knew they had to make several stops before they were able to finally go home.
Santana sat in the back seat with Quinn, holding her non braced hand as Rachel drove them to a nearby pharmacy. The prescriptions were being filled as Santana filled out paperwork to rent a wheelchair from the pharmacy. She made sure that she chose one that was the right size for Quinn, and that seemed to be a bit more comfortable and less worn out than the others. In fact this one was brand new, and had a little basket on the back, which Santana thought would be a good idea to have when she was pushing Q around and needed a place to put her purse.
Once the prescriptions were filled, Rachel stopped at a grocery store, so the girls could stock up, since they'd be spending a lot of time at home. Santana bought a couple of cases of bottled water, plenty of easy to make meals, and a few that she would make for Quinn when she was feeling especially hungry. She also made sure to get plenty of fruits and vegetables, knowing the blonde liked to snack on apples, strawberries, carrots, and celery sticks.
Finally after getting their errands run, the girls pulled up to the apartment. Luckily, there was an elevator. San didn't use it much, but now, she was glad it was there. They loaded their arms with the groceries, Quinn even holding a couple of bags in her lap along with her medications. Once they were inside, Rachel insisted on helping Santana put everything away, which the Latina was grateful for. She said goodbye and left after hugging both Santana and Quinn.
Santana was looking around trying to decide what to fix Quinn and herself to eat, when she felt a hand take hers. She looked to see that Q had wheeled herself into the kitchen with her and was looking at her with an almost pleading expression.
"What is it babe?" she asked, giving the blonde her full attention.
"Something small, since I have to eat with my medicine. But I really just want you." the blonde told her just above a whisper.
Santana nodded, and just made them each a sandwich. After she and Quinn ate them, she made sure Quinn took her pain medication and her anti-inflammatory medicine for the swelling.
She took Quinn to the bathroom to clean her up a bit, at the blonde's request, before they finally settled down.
"Do you just want to go to bed, or do you want the couch?" San asked her as she wheeled Quinn out of the bathroom.
"Bed please." The blonde requested. Santana nodded and wheeled her back to Quinn's bedroom. She lifted the blonde out of the chair and onto the bed, kissing her lips gently, before pulling back to get her girlfriend some pajamas.
The brunette settled on a pair of flannel pajama pants Quinn had 'borrowed' from her years ago. She found an old cheer t-shirt from high school, and pulled it over the blonde's head.
Once she got Quinn changed, she went to her room to get her own pajamas on, coming back in similar attire to Quinn's. She got up in bed with the blonde and helped her get adjusted. She knew Quinn would have to lay on her back with the pillows propping her broken leg up, so she pressed herself against Quinn's other side, her 'good' side, if you will, draping her own leg over the good one, and her arm wrapped securely around Quinn's midsection.
"This okay baby? You comfortable?"
"As comfortable as I can be I guess." the battered woman replied.
"What can I do to make it better?" Santana asked as she pressed a soft kiss to Quinn's jaw.
"Nothing, San, you've already done so much, I can't ask you for anything else." Quinn turned to her, her eyes filling with tears.
"Hey, honey, it's okay. I don't mind. I love you. You went through hell, again. Because I wasn't here to keep you safe. I'm so sorry."
"Don't do that. This isn't your fault, Santana. I should have been more careful. But ultimately it's Jared's fault. I'm just glad they were able to get your number from my phone. I wouldn't have wanted anyone else to be there." Quinn tells her as the tears begin to fall. "I thought the nightmare was over."
"It is now, Q. I'm not leaving your side until he's taken care of. Now try to rest. Those pain meds should knock you out. I'm gonna be right here, holding you the whole time. I promise baby. I'll keep you safe." Santana assured her, wiping away her tears, and kissing her lips over and over again, her own relief finally flooding through her. Yes, what happened was awful, but Quinn was alive, and that was something to be relieved about.
After a few moments of tender kissing, and reassuring each other that they were gonna be okay, they finally settled into a restless sleep.