A/N - Once again, thanks for the reviews and comments and questions. I do try and answer them if I can. Anyway, hope you like this chapter too.

My Future In Your Hands

You with the sad eyes, don't be discouraged

Oh I realize it's hard to take courage,

In a world full of people, You can lose sight of it all

And Darkness still inside you, Makes you feel so small

Show me a smile then, don't be unhappy.

Can't remember when I last saw you laughing

If this world makes you crazy and you've taken all you can bear

You call me up…..

Cyndi Lauper

Quinn rushes for the elevator, her car keys in one hand, and her phone in the other that she just misses bumping into Alex as he exits it.

"Whoa, hey, is everything alright?" He holds her arms steadying her as he looks at her face. She's always been able to project calmness, even shielding her eyes from expressing too much. It's a valuable trait for a doctor although he knows she feels strongly for each of her patients. He had made a choice early on in life that Medicine was it for him and never took the time to meet someone or have children. All his staff eventually taking on the role as his surrogate family.

When he first met Quinn, she had been so aloof and he had mistaken it for cockiness, for thinking that she thought she was above everyone in the program. He was proven wrong the same week when she worked tireless, learning as much as she could, talking to all the nurses more than the residents or attendings because she wanted to learn everything from ground up. She showed respect for everyone and most importantly, she always put her patients' first, even then. She pushed herself to do everything she could and took it personally when she couldn't save them. He's known her for so long that he can read the emotions in her eyes and right now, she was scared. She's the daughter he knew he would have wanted if he had chosen differently and he doesn't like to see her hurt. "Quinn, what's wrong?"

"I…I just gave someone some bad news and I don't think she's taking it well and I need to talk to her, get through to her somehow." She can still recall clearly hearing Rachel's muffled sobs and it hits too close to home because she's made the diva cry like that before. She does not know why she keeps hurting her but understands that she has the chance to make it different, to make a difference in their lives. "I'm sorry Chief, I know I have a full schedule but I need the time. I'll do a double shift tomorrow." Quinn looks up at Alex, hoping he'll understand and is glad to see him nod although he does not let her go as he still gently grips her arms.

"You're a good doctor." He sees her so clearly and he knows that she doesn't see herself that way, always thinking that she was not good enough, pushing herself to be better. "You're on your way to be a great doctor but you need to know that it's not always up to you, your patient needs to want it too." Alex sees the understanding in her hazel eyes as he steps aside to let her enter the elevator.

"Thanks, Chief, I'll see you tomorrow." Quinn wants to hug him but they're both reserved people, brought up in an environment where open emotions were frowned upon. So she settles by giving him a smile as she acknowledges his role in her life. She'll never be able to call him dad but she imbues the word Chief with enough sentiment that she can see he understands as he waves her off.

#$#$#$

Marcie O' Brien grew up with two brothers and an absent mother and the slight similarity with Rachel's own upbringing help cement their friendship way before their business relationship started. They bonded over the fact that not having a mother made them more self-sufficient but also lacking in that feminine influence that would have made life easier when they were younger. It would have possibly prevented Rachel's love of argyle or Marcie's unfortunate perm in tenth grade.

Right now though, she knows that if Rachel had a mom she could call, it would help because she needed comfort and protection and try and she might, Marcie was at a loss as to how to fix her. "Please, Rachel, please stop crying. I've called Tony and he's coming over. He just needs to pick Tina up from the studio. Please, sweetheart, please stop."

'Cancer' She keeps repeating the word in her mind, trying as much as she can not to make a sound because she was suppose to keep quiet. Resting her voice, protecting it and hoping that it would make her better, only, keeping silent really can't cure cancer. However, she still can't let her sobs escape because she wants to keep it all inside since she's not sure that she could stop if she let it out.

Rachel can hear Marcie's panicked voice and feel her hands trying to soothe her but she can't answer back because she's focused on the one word and cannot move beyond that. She covers her ears with her free hand, trying to block out everything and she does not hear the knock on the door.

#$#$#$

Quinn had left her car seven blocks down and taken the subway when she saw the snarl of traffic in front of her. All the while trying to think of what she wanted to tell Rachel. Intellectually, she knows that Rachel's outlook was actually quite good because her cancer was only at stage one and with the correct treatment, she had a great chance of being cured. Her voice could also be saved or at least protected if they choose the right drugs and focused the radiation only on the nodes.

It's a good plan but Quinn knows that Rachel's voice is precious and if she made the wrong recommendation with any of the meds, it could affect her voice. Alex's advice about Rachel needing to want it as well rings true but Quinn's unsure if she can convince her or even if she should.

She wanted so much to be the good person, the good doctor she knew she could be but she also did not want to do it at the expense of Rachel. She reaches Rachel's building in record time and still does not know what she's going to do or say but what she does know is that she has to at least try.

Rachel's apartment is on the top floor and its only when she reaches the green door does she pause and take a deep breath, finally realizing that she's here as more than Rachel's doctor and she'll have to start with that as she quickly knock on the door.

#$#$#$

Marcie yanks the door open, her words running together as she pulls the young doctor into the apartment and steers her to the living room. "Dr Fabray, she's unresponsive and she won't even look at me. She's always been so strong and it scares me to see her like this." There is so much love in her words that Quinn is taken aback.

The second she sees Rachel on the floor, she automatically goes into doctor mode, kneeling next to her, her hand taking Rachel's wrist to feel her pulse as she gently pries open her eyelid to check her pupil. She feels Rachel's reluctance as she tries to pull away.

"Hey, it's me, Quinn." Her voice is soft, placid, not wanting to startle Rachel but with enough assurance that she can see Rachel respond as her eyes blink open. "Hi." She smiles at Rachel, relieved to see react. "So, I'm going to help you up and get you something to drink. And then we're going to discuss your condition." She sees Rachel's eye clamp shut again but she does not let her shut down. "Hey, please don't do that. Rachel, I'm here and I'm not going anywhere until we go through what can be done. I'm not letting you give up even before you start."

Quinn puts her hand out, hoping that Rachel will take it. Wanting her to show that she was listening and would accept her help because Quinn needed to give it to her.

Rachel had been surprised when she felt Quinn's hands on her, not understanding why she was there in her apartment. She remembered Quinn's call and the falling apart but this was so unexpected. Unlike before, she had friends now, people she could trust, people who looked out for her and loved her not despite her flaws but because of them, because they made her Rachel Berry. Although never in a million years would she ever think that she would consider Quinn amongst them.

But here she was, helping her up, talking to her, comforting her and offering to help. It was surreal and at the same time seemed like a natural progression of some sort. Like they were different people now, molded by their past experiences into two people that somehow could relate to each other and not revert back to who they were before.

She looks up at Quinn and takes her hand, feeling the pull both physically and emotionally as Quinn fingers curl around her own, and supports her with her arm as she guides her to the sofa. Rachel finally sees Marcie standing next to them, wringing her hands and she offers her a small smile, wanting to convey that she's back although she's still not herself.

"Marcie, can you get Rachel some water?" Quinn takes out her stethoscope from her bag and rubs the chest piece, trying to dispel the cold. "I need to hear your heartbeat. You gave Marcie a bit of a fright just now." She does not reveal that she had been just as afraid when she heard Rachel's cry on the call and especially when she saw her lying there. It's such an unfamiliar emotion that she does not want to take the time to dissect it or understand it.

Rachel nods slowly as she leans forward, thankful that Quinn had warmed the chest piece and unsure of this new development. She cannot comprehend or explain how she has accepted Quinn into her life and when she stopped feeling like the blonde was going to say something mean or sneer at her, her face full of hate.

"Drink this." She sees Marcie's face, full of relief as she hands her the tall glass of water before sitting next to her and holding on to her hand. "Don't do that again, ok? I mean you do have a flair for the theatrical but I don't think my heart can take it." She's always loved Rachel even though she knows that Rachel won't ever reciprocate. It's always been enough knowing that they'll be friends and she'll always be there for her, as her manager. She just wished that Rachel would open up to someone because what she'll have to go through would not be easy for anyone and she does not want Rachel to go through it alone.

Her last serious relationship had been with a narcissistic actor, Troy Callen, more worried about his popularity that about their relationship. He had tried his best to steer Rachel away from her causes, not wanting to anger his conservative fan base with supporting LGBT community or her vegan lifestyle. It had taken his public condemnation of her fathers' right to adopt that made her finally realize that he didn't love her but just loved the fact that she was famous.

Breaking up with him was simple, but putting up with the rumors and lies he gave to the press, was another thing altogether. He had made her out to be selfish and called her integrity into question as well as her sexuality. However, Rachel never gave him the satisfaction of responding to any of his accusations. Only Marcie knew that she cried in private and because of it, she stopped dating or even looking because she could not handle the hurt.

"So Dr Fabray, what do we do now?" She feels Rachel's head lean on her shoulder as she asks the question.

"Rachel, you're in shock but you're ok so just eat right and rest. I'm getting an oncologist consult tomorrow but I won't share who you are as yet. Not until you approve. Then I'm going to get a second opinion from an ENT colleague of mine in LA. She's good and it'll give you more context to my diagnosis. This is not the end. You do have a fight in front of you but you're more than up for it because you're Rachel Gold Star Berry. I made a promise to you and I'm not going back on it. Just call me if you need anything. Ok?" Quinn sees the tears shimmering in Rachel's brown eyes and it makes her want to reach out but she won't let herself.

"Thank you." The words are so softly spoken, her first words in more than a week. She needs to say it though because she's done with hiding and ignoring the facts. She had support and she wasn't going to just give up. Not when she had people like Marcie and Tina in her corner. Most surprisingly of all, Quinn's words rang truest of all and she wanted to live up to them because she actually believed her.

End Pt 7

So the insecure writer in me is not too sure whether the pace is still ok and the story is keeping your interest so reviewing and commenting will put my mind at ease :) Thanks!