Hey guys! Thank you for the reviews! Just a little note... Rachel's scenes are the most similar to the original storyline, the Quinntana scenes and a good portion of Santana's scenes deviate from the plot in the original Misery and the other two plots that inspired this will be less influential than Misery. But yes, Rachel is more than a little crazy. Also, to Rachel fans... There will be parts of this story that you may want to correct me on but just bare with me, I promise they will make sense later on. Hope you like chapter two!
PS, Wanky Friday and Break My Heart have both been drafted out in timelines. Those updates are on the way. :)
Quinn swallowed hard, staring at the door as she listened to Rachel's footsteps grow fainter as she walked down the hallway.
The blonde jumped a few moments later when a door slammed somewhere in the house. Quinn licked her lips, her ears straining for anymore sound.
Her eyes flicked toward the window when she heard the sound of an engine bursting to life outside. Quinn watched Rachel's truck head for the road, relief seeping into her at the sight.
The blonde released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding when the truck finally disappeared from view. She reached up behind her, grabbing the sliver of destroyed furniture before tossing it to the floor.
Her muscles were alive and humming from the adrenaline coursing through her body. Quinn glanced toward the bedroom door, wetting her lips with her tongue.
Rachel was unstable, absolutely, one hundred percent insane. And currently, she was gone. Quinn flexed her hand nervously over the comforter, there was no way she could let this opportunity go to waste.
Who knew when the brunette would be back?
The blonde grit her teeth and threw back the covers as best she could. She sucked in a deep breath and sat up quickly before leaning to her right. The floor loomed closer and Quinn barely snapped her arm out in time to catch herself.
She grunted as her palm slapped loudly on the floor, the force of the impact reverberating through her body. She ignored the pain, grinding her teeth together as she tried to use her good arm and upper body to pull herself out of the bed.
Quinn hissed as she inched forward and then cried out when her lower body came crashing to the floor minutes later.
She laid still for a while, tears tracking hotly down her cheeks as her broken legs screamed out for her.
Her body was shaking, flushed and slick with sweat but she knew that she had to force herself to move.
Quinn spun around on the wooden floor as best she could before using her good arm to drag her body along her stomach toward the door.
It had taken her far too long to drag her broken body across the short distance but she was finally there.
The blonde smiled weakly as she twisted her body and reached up her clammy hand for the doorknob.
Her elation was short lived, her slick hand twisted over the doorknob uselessly.
It was locked.
Quinn's fingers slipped weakly off of the cool surface and back to the floor as a sob escaped the blonde's lips.
xxx
"You've got to be kidding me! This is even in our shitty little paper?" Santana asked, eying the newspaper on her desk with disgust.
"It's all over the news, she is a celebrity." Blaine said, casting the Sheriff a sympathetic look.
"Yeah and on the bright side... We already got a call back from the Chief of Police. You're to meet him at noon for your chopper ride."
"Already? They never respond that quickly..." Santana muttered, her eyes sweeping the short article that was entitled: Where is Quinn Fabray?
"Perks of a high profile case." Sam said before sipping his coffee.
"Yeah, thank God for small favors..." The brunette muttered, although she was smiling at the opportunity to use better resources to search for Quinn.
"Did you two find anything else?" She asked, looking between the two men expectantly.
"I did. Apparently the last time Quinn charged her credit card was at the store in town. She bought some food, wine and-"
"Yeah, yeah. I know what she bought, I was there. And she hasn't used it since?"
"No." Blaine said, frowning slightly once he realized that his lead wasn't really anything but bad news.
xxx
"You poor, dear thing. What are you doing on the floor?"
Quinn's eyes fluttered open weakly and she stared expressionlessly at Rachel. The brunette was standing over her, chin tilted down so that their eyes were locked.
"It is all my fault." The woman said, eying the way Quinn was laying parallel to the bed. "If I had a proper hospital bed this would have never happened." Rachel said softly, kneeling down to peel the covers away from Quinn's stiff body.
The blonde set her jaw and fought down the urge to flinch as Rachel's hands slid in between her back and the floor. "Here, let me help you."
"Oww..." Quinn hissed, her body protesting painfully as the brunette helped her to sit up.
"I know this hurts..." Rachel said, scooping Quinn up by her arm pits and lifting her quickly but carefully toward the bed. "It will only take a few seconds."
Quinn whimpered and used her good arm to help as much as possible. Her legs were filled with a searing flash of pain as they drug across the floor and edge of the bed.
She held her breath, going red in the face as Rachel lifted both of her legs at once. The brunette's arms kept them as straight as possible but the pain shot through them regardless.
"Oh, please... Wait, wait!"
"You are such a cry baby." The other woman chided, pulling the protesting blonde up toward the pillows and headboard.
Quinn released a breath, panting weakly as Rachel helped straighten her body out before placing the covers back on the bed.
"There you go, comfy?" The brunette asked, smiling charmingly.
"Perfect." Quinn muttered sarcastically, still trying to calm her breathing.
"Such a kidder!" Rachel said with a laugh, pulling the sheet and comforter back over Quinn's mangled legs. "I have a big surprise for you but first there is something you must do."
"I don't suppose I could have a little snack... While I'm waiting for the surprise?" Quinn asked, smiling halfheartedly as she watched the brunette tuck in the covers at the end of the bed.
"I will get you everything you want but you must listen first." Rachel said, pausing for a moment before continuing. "Sometimes my thinking is a little muddled. I accept that. That is why I could not remember all of the things that they were asking me on the witness stand." She sighed heavily, gripping the edge of the bed now that the covers were tucked in.
"This time, though, I am thinking clearly. I asked God about you and God said that he delivered you to me so that I might show you the way."
"Show me the way?" Quinn asked, her eyes dropping automatically to the gold cross necklace that hung around the brunette's neck.
She reached for her own but then remembered that it had been missing, most likely from the accident.
"Yes." Rachel breathed, smiling fondly at her patient before turning away.
Quinn watched her leave and desperately wished that the door had not been locked the night before.
The blonde glanced back toward the door when she heard Rachel's returning footsteps.
The brunette wheeled in what appeared to be a dusty and circular BBQ grill. Once she and the grill were bedside, Rachel removed the lid.
Quinn's heart sank at the sight of her worn writing portfolio sitting beside a match box and lighter fluid on the grill plate.
She watched in silence as Rachel removed the items one by one, saving the portfolio for last. She undid the clasp and slipped out the pristine pages of the manuscript before placing it aside.
To Quinn, the white paper contrasted hideously against the black innards of the grill. She could feel bile bubbling up her throat at the scene that was unfolding before her.
Those words were her fresh start, the physical proof of her soon to be real life. She had been planning to have it published right after she left Finn, using the money that she earned to whisk Santana away on a much needed vacation.
She had envisioned herself telling the other woman just how much she loved her as they lie on a white sanded beach, or at least somewhere tropical.
The click of Rachel breaking the seal on the top of the lighter fluid brought Quinn back to reality.
The blonde's stomach clenched painfully as the liquid was poured onto the stack of white pages.
"When I mentioned a snack... This was not what I had in mind."
"Quinn, you must rid the world of this filth." Rachel said, both hands extending toward the blonde. A single match was clutched in one hand and the match box to strike it on in the other.
"You want me to burn my book?" Quinn asked, an incredulous smile creeping onto her lips.
"I know this may be difficult for you... But it is for the best."
Quinn licked her lips slowly, ignoring the way that Rachel's dark eyes followed the movement.
"It's really not difficult at all. My agent made dozens of copies already, every publishing house in New York is reading it right now. So if you want me to burn my book, fine. You're not really ridding the world of anything."
"Then light the match, Quinn." Rachel said, bringing her hands back up for the blonde.
Quinn licked her bottom lip nervously again but tried to keep her stoic mask in place.
Rachel sighed, "Quinn, I know that this is the only copy. When you were twenty two and wrote your first book, you did not make a copy. You did not bother to do so because you were not expecting to be taken seriously. But you were and ever since, you have written only one copy, in the same location. You are superstitious, you said so yourself in one of your Author's notes."
"Of course I did." The blonde muttered under her breath, cursing inwardly. She sucked in a deep breath before attempting a different tactic. "I won't have it published. No one has to read it, I'll just keep it for myself. No one but us will even know that it exists." She said with a smile, although the expression quickly faltered when the brunette shook her head.
"As long as it does exist... Your mind will never be free." Rachel said, laying the box of matches on the blonde's chest.
Quinn released a trembling breath, her eyes flicking between Rachel's and the manuscript.
"I think you should light the match, Quinn." She whispered, placing the match in the blonde's good hand. "Can't you see it is what God wants?"
Quinn's eyes widened slightly as the brunette stepped back, lifting her arms and squirting the bed with lighter fluid.
She did it again as she stepped toward the bottom of the bed. "You are so brilliant, I think you would certainly be able to see that..." She was pouring the liquid freely now, in a line across the comforter.
"We are put on this Earth to help people, Quinn. Like I am trying to help you." Rachel was heading back toward her spot next to the grill, squirting the bed occasionally as she did.
"Please. Help me, help you." She said, in a voice far too gentle for the way she was acting. Quinn could only stare, her mind racing as her fingers trembled against the slim piece of wood in between her fingers.
She slowly grabbed the match box in her right hand, striking the match with her left. Her eyes lingered on the small flame that danced before them and she contemplated how long it would take for the room to become engulfed in flame.
The blonde shook her head, even if she couldn't give Santana the written version of 'their' story... She could fight, no survive, to see it play out in reality.
"You are doing the right thing."
She ignored Rachel and cast one last look toward the manuscript before tossing the match. It hadn't even made contact when the fumes from the accelerant caught, the flame made a woosh as it burst into existence.
"Oh my!" Rachel exclaimed, taking a step back.
Quinn watched as the flames licked hungrily at her work, a large part of her wishing that it was Rachel burning instead.
"Goodness gracious, oh my!" Rachel said, pulling the grill away from the bed and toward the bay window by its handle.
Tendrils of burning paper had begun to flutter away from the hungry flames. Some of them catching and burning through the curtains.
Rachel rushed from the room to grab a bucket of water that she had placed in the hallway. The fire was out in seconds, hissing quietly until all that remained was a smoldering pile of burnt and soggy mush.
"Well, this is quite the mess..." Rachel mumbled, wheeling the still smoking grill toward the hallway. The brunette paused in the doorway, her head cocked to the side as the sound of a loud engine reached her ears.
Quinn sat up slightly, hoping to see Santana's truck, anyone's truck come into view.
xxx
"That's the Stephen's property." Santana said, pointing to a large home. "And that, is the Wilke's farm straight ahead." She said, the Police Chief nodded from the Pilot's seat.
"There's a truck... But no sign of Mrs. Fabray's sedan. Most of the other families up here only come up seasonal, go back home for the winter. All of the ones that live here year round pretty much stick to living in town." She frowned and lowered her binoculars, "There's nothing else out this way but before we circle back there is one other place I'd like to see in an aerial view." She said, thinking back to the mangled guardrail.
xxx
Quinn frowned, her heart racing as she watched the helicopter disappear from view.
"I believe the winters are getting shorter and shorter. People are still blaming it on the O-Zone Layer, what do you think?" Rachel asked, turning away from the window.
"I don't know." Quinn replied quickly, her voice thick with emotion.
Rachel shrugged and made her way over to the bed so that she could slip two pills into Quinn's hand. "Here are you pills." She said, taking the matches and grill with her when she left the room.
Quinn stared blankly at the charred remains of her manuscript until it was out of view.
Her fingers twitched, sliding against the pills in the process. The blonde blinked, purposely twisting the orange tablets in her fingers as she studied them.
After a moment, she leaned over slightly so that she could stash the pills in a small hole she made in the mattress. When she was sure that they and the hole were hidden from view she smoothed down the sheet and comforter.
xxx
At dinner time, Quinn mimicked her earlier action of stashing her pills. Rachel has broken her habit of watching the blonde eat and was instead snacking in her bedroom upstairs. Quinn still moved quickly to hide them, the sound of a TV making her feel one edge. She had grown used to the quiet house and being able to hear Rachel moving about.
Now that the no power charade was up, Rachel seemed to be using as much electricity as possible.
When she was done and the sheet was pulled back into place, Quinn settled back into her pillows to finish her meal.
xxx
"I told you this would be nice, Quinn." Rachel said, pushing the blonde around the bed in a wheelchair.
"Great," Quinn started sarcastically. "I always wanted to visit the other side of the room. If I knew this was going to be my surprise, I would have burned all of my books."
"Now, do not poke fun, Quinn." Rachel said, swatting playfully at the blonde's good shoulder. "This is a big day for you. Just sit tight and I will set everything up."
Quinn stared out the window listlessly for a moment before blinking, "Set what up?"
"That is the big surprise!" Rachel said, making her way back into the room with a large, dusty box. "Your new study! After all, writers do need a place to work."
"Work?" Quinn asked, watching as the brunette pulled the lid off of the box. "You mean write? What in the world do you think I would write?" She snapped, her frustration getting the best of her.
"Oh but Quinn, I do not think. I know. Now that you have gotten rid of that nasty manuscript, you can get back to doing what you are great at." Rachel said, smiling at the blonde before turning back to the box. "Your greatest achievement, ever. Misery's Return."
"...Misery's Return?" Quinn asked, one eyebrow arched sharply above the other.
Rachel lifted a black typewriter out of the box and set it down gently on the desk. "I know you did not mean it when you killed her... And now, you will make it right. It will be a book in my honor, for saving your life." Rachel said, blinking back tears and clearing her throat. "Oh, Quinn. Your are going to make me the envy of the whole world."
Quinn gaped at her before closing her mouth and shaking her head with a frown. "You just expect me to whip something up out of nowhere?"
Rachel smiled, "I expect nothing less than your masterpiece." She said, wheeling the blonde over to the desk.
"You do understand that this is not the ordinary way in which books are written."
"I have total confidence in your brilliance. Besides-" Rachel paused and looked up to glance out the window. "The view will inspire you. I will be right back." The brunette said, pointedly ignoring the way the other woman shook her head.
Quinn sighed and rapped her fingers against the desk, her inner rebel urging her to look toward the floor instead of the scenery outside. Her eyes widened slightly when she noticed a bobby pin laying on the hard wood floor.
The blonde's eyes flicked between the bobby pin and the bedroom door. "I guess you don't get bothered by neighbors much, huh?" She asked and Rachel laughed from where ever it was she was rooting around.
"You should not concern yourself with that. You will have complete solitude so that you can concentrate on your work."
"Great." Quinn mumbled in response, tearing her eyes away from the floor as Rachel came back in with a much slimmer box.
"I got you the most expensive paper to type on and also got a great deal on this clunker due to the fact that it is missing its letter n. I told the sales clerk that n was two of the letters in my favorite Author's name." She said, patting the typewriter.
Quinn picked up the lid to the box of paper, reading the name and formulating a plot in her head. She blinked when she realized Rachel was watching her curiously and she sat the lid down on the window sill.
"I think that it's a perfect match. There are no n's in my favorite Nurse's name." Quinn said, flashing the now blushing brunette a charming smile.
"Oh you. Did I do well?" Rachel asked, beaming.
"You did great." Quinn said with a nod before looking down with a small frown. "There is just one little thing..."
Rachel's smile faltered as the blonde continued, "I can't work on this paper, it smudges. So maybe, if you go back into town... You could bring me some white, long grain paper?"
"B-but... Mine cost the most." Rachel said slowly in a disbelieving voice. "I do not see how it could smudge."
"Come here. I'll show you." Quinn said patiently, taking a single piece from the top of the stack.
She placed the paper into the typewriter and quickly typed the word 'smudge.' Rachel leaned in, bracing herself by placing her arm on the desk. She watched with a frown and rapt attention as the blonde removed the paper and rubbed her finger over the word.
"See?" Quinn asked, retracting her hand so that the brunette could get a better look at the smudged ink.
Rachel pursed her lips and waited a minute before rubbing her own finger against the other half of the word.
"Huh, it does smudge after all... That is fascinating." She mumbled, her eyes flicking toward the blonde when she shrugged.
"I figured you would want to know." Quinn said, her lips quirking into a small smile. "I'd like for you to be in on everything, Rachel. Not just the finished book but the whole process."
"Thank you, for thinking of me." The brunette muttered blankly, moving for the door. She turned when she reached the threshold, both brows arched high in exasperation. "Anything else I can get for you while I am in town? Any other crucial requirements that need satisfying?"
Quinn shook her head and frowned slightly as Rachel continued. "Are you sure? No tape recorder...? A massage chair? Or how about a hand made pair of writing slippers?"
"Uhm, just the paper will be fine..." Quinn whispered, gripping the armrests to her wheelchair instinctively as Rachel's eyes darkened.
"Are you sure? 'Cuz if you want, I'll bring back the whole store for you."
"Rachel... I don't understand." The blonde started, backing her chair away from the desk."What's the matter?"
"What's the matter?!" Rachel barked, laughing sarcastically. "I go out of my way for you to do everything within my power to make you happy. I feed you, I clean you, I dress you... And what thanks do I get? Oh, you bought the wrong paper, Rachel. I can't write on this paper, Rachel."
Quinn sunk back into the wheelchair as the brunette moved closer but Rachel moved closer anyway. She bent over at the waist and brought her head down until they were nose to nose. Quinn gasped in pain as Rachel's fingernails dug into her thighs just above her knees.
"I'll get you your paper but you had better start showing me a little more appreciation around here, Little Miss Perfect."
The blonde flinched and set her jaw defiantly but said nothing as the brunette lingered in her personal space. The other woman's eyes flicked back and forth, staring angrily into her own for a few more agonizing minutes. Rachel pulled back slightly before slamming her hands palm down onto the blonde's legs. Quin cried out, hissing in pain as her bruised thighs stung from the force of the impact.
Rachel straightened up and smoothed down her dress, ignoring the whimpering from the blonde as she exited the room. The brunette slammed the door behind her and stalked down the loudly down the hallway.
By the time she recovered from the stinging ache, Rachel had left the house and was already pulling out of view in her truck.
Quinn sucked in a deep, calming breath and watched until she disappeared completely. Her eyes immediately fell to the bobby pin that lay on the floor just feet away.
The blonde gently lifted her stiff left arm from its sling and wheeled her way over to the small piece of metal.
She ignored the flash of pain from her body as she leaned over the armrest and toward the floor, her mind drifting back to a happier time.
"Is this really something that you should be teaching me, officer?"
"That's Sheriff to you, blondie. Or did you forget about the promotion already?" Santana responded smartly, "Besides, we wouldn't be in this mess if someone had remembered their keys. There, got it." The brunette said, retracting her hand with a smirk.
Quinn shook her head and stood up next to the other woman. "How ever did you learn that?" She asked, her eyes dancing with amusement.
Santana shot her a more genuine smile as she slipped the credit card back into her wallet. "I didn't always live in this shitty town, you know."
"Oh?" Quinn asked, pushing the door open and gesturing for the brunette to go inside first. "But you look so much like the locals!"
Santana snorted, "Manners and a sense of humor? However did I get so lucky?"
It was the blonde's turn to smirk and she did so with a wink. "Are you though?"
She turned to lock the door and gasped as she was pressed against the cool surface. "I think I am." Santana whispered against the shell of the taller woman's ear. The brunette smirked as a shiver rolled through the body pressed against her own.
"S-Santana..." Quinn breathed, turning her head slightly to look back at the other woman.
Quinn blinked and shivered as she was brought back to the present when her fingers closed on the bobby pin.
The blonde smiled as she slipped the sliver of metal carefully between her lips before wheeling herself over to the door. It took her a minute to get herself lined up with the door so that she could get the best angle to pick the lock.
Quinn let out a small grunt as her stiff arm refused to cooperate and shook her head before she used her right hand to pluck the pin from her mouth.
She tried valiantly to keep her hands from trembling as she bent back the wavy half of the bobby pin.
She remembered Santana's patient instructions, "Bend it about a quarter of the way down, between your thumb and forefinger... Yeah, just like that. Good job, baby."
Quinn's tongue snuck out from between her lips as she slid the pin into the key hole before twisting it around carefully. She tilted her head toward the door and listened carefully for the telltale click.
"I did it..." She whispered, a proud smile tugging at her lips as she turned the knob. Sure enough, the crystal knob turned freely this time.
She couldn't help but think that Santana would be proud of her too as she awkwardly pulled the door open before maneuvering around it and into the hallway. Quinn glanced both ways down the new territory, settling on the right.
She hadn't realized that the front door was so close and the sight of it made her heart jump. Quinn wheeled her way over to it quickly, her elation faltering when she realized that it too was locked. She could pick the first like she had with the bedroom door but the second would be too tricky.
"You've got to be kidding me..." She mumbled, shaking her head before angling herself toward the door opposite her room.
The door swung back easily, revealing Rachel's living room. Quinn was barely over the threshold when her eyes widened at the sight of a phone.
The blonde rolled over to it quickly, her arms burning at the effort. Her fingers trembled as they wrapped around the cool plastic. She lifted the phone to her ear but frowned at the absence of a dial tone. Quinn reached out for the base of the Retro Rotary phone, her heart sinking when she realized that the device was gutted and just for show.
She fought back tears as she placed the useless hunk of plastic back down on the table that it had been sitting on.
xxx
Rachel sighed as she exited the store, paper in hand. She knew that she had been a little tough on the blonde but Quinn was stubborn. Her bullheadedness was usually not enough to make the brunette angry but she could only handle so much.
The brunette hopped into her vehicle, placing the paper onto the passenger seat before starting the engine. The drive and cold air had been good for her, they had helped her clear her mind.
She would apologize to Quinn when she got home she decided and smiled with a nod as she tugged on her seat belt.
xxx
Quinn wheeled herself slowly through Rachel's living room, her eyes scanning the various frames and knick knacks that decorated it.
The blonde was so busy looking around that she bumped into a small table with one of her foot rests. Her hand shot out, catching a small penguin figurine she had knocked over in her clumsiness.
She released a quick puff of air, right hand covering her chest as she placed the figurine back on the table.
Quinn wheeled herself forward a bit more, eyes scanning a nearby shelf. They lingered on a rather large, red book that was marked Memory Lane.
When she glanced to the right, she pursed her lips at another shelf. It was lined with two copies of each of her books, the hard and soft copes separated by large framed black and white image of herself.
The blonde wrinkled her nose as she looked higher, to three more frames that sat behind above but behind the books. The one on the left was a dressy picture of herself from one of Finn's galas. She remembered her cheeks aching from the sickeningly sweet smile that she had been forced to wear that night.
The picture on the right was a framed version of the image that graced the back of every one of her Misery novels. She was wearing a genuine smile and was seated comfortably on the porch of her cabin. Santana had snapped that picture, she remembered wistfully.
The middle image was the one that worried her the most, the sight of it sending a shiver down her spine.
It was a picture from her wedding, most likely snagged from a magazine.
She shook her head quickly and wheeled herself away from the sight and back into the hallway.
Quinn glanced back toward her room before trying the door on her right. Unable to maneuver herself properly in the more narrow section of the hallway due to a small table. The blonde was forced to ram the door open with her footrests. She was grateful when it gave easily but the force of the impact still made her grit her teeth tightly.
When she finally peeked her eyes open again, Quinn found herself in a decent sized, walk in closet. Her eyes scanned the shelves for anything useful, they lingered when they caught sight of the Novril pills that Rachel had been giving her.
Quinn wheeled herself closer before reaching up and grabbing the first sleeve of pills. She tucked them into the waistband of her borrowed sweatpants, along side the bobby pin. After smoothing down her shirt, the blonde reached up to adjust the other sleeves. She wanted to be sure the brunette wouldn't know one was missing.
Once she was sure she could use nothing else from the closet, Quinn backed herself into the hallway.
The next door the blonde managed to open was Rachel's kitchen, hazel eyes swept the room quickly. They widened when they fell on a door on the opposite side of the room. She jerked forward in excitement but cried out when her chairs wheels and her fingers rammed into the door frame.
"Fuck!" She hissed, her head falling back as she tried to calm herself so that she didn't hurt herself more.
Quinn exhaled slowly before trying again but it was too tight of a fit for her to squeeze through.
The blonde grit her teeth, breathing heavily as she stared longingly at the door. She glanced down toward her broken legs before reaching both hands to grab the pants on her right leg. She clenched the fabric tightly, exhaling slowly before lifting the leg over to the left legs rest.
"Oh God!" Quinn gasped, folding up the pieces that had been supporting her right leg to give herself more room.
Without stopping to give herself time to second guess, she quickly lifted and then lowered both legs to the floor. Her feet hit the hard wood with a dull thud and she whimpered as she folded up the pieces of the left leg support.
Once she had lowered herself out of her chair, Quinn army crawled and drug herself toward the door.
She panted, resting a moment when she finally reached her destination. Her right arm and shoulder were growing increasingly achy and stiff.
After collecting herself, Quinn reached up a shaky hand to try the door knob.
"No... No, please!" The blonde whimpered, desperately trying to turn the knob with her sweaty hand.
xxx
Quinn lifted her head off of the cool tile, unsure of how much time she had spent moping by the door.
She grabbed the side of the refrigerator and used it to pull herself up.
Once she was upright, she leaned against the appliance and got a better look at her surroundings.
Her eyes swept the counter, lingering on the brunette's collection of knives protruding from a wooden block. Quinn's eyes widened as the loud rumble of Rachel's returning vehicle reached her ears.
The blonde lurched forward, adrenaline rushing through her veins as she crawled herself back toward her chair. She ignored the pain in her legs and arm as she lifted herself back up. Sweat dripped down her brow as she set the leg supports back up, one at a time.
When she finally had herself fully settled in, she pushed her fatigued muscles to steer herself back to her room.
Quinn was almost safe, with time to spare when she realized that she had left the door to the living room open.
"Fuck." She swore, wheeling herself back out into the hallway to correct her mistake.
Quinn had just shut the door to her room when she heard Rachel kill the engine of her vehicle. The blonde fumbled with her sweats, a car door slamming as she finally got a grip on the bobby pin.
She had barely locked the door and wheeled herself back to the desk when Rachel entered the front door.
"Quinn, I got your paper!" The brunette called, easily unlocking the bedroom door one handed.
The other woman's eyes widened when they landed on the panting blonde. "Quinn... You are dripping with perspiration and your color is hectic. What have you been doing?"
"You know exactly what I've been doing!"Quinn cried, "I've been sitting here, suffering. I need my pills..." She whimpered, her eyes pleading with the brunette.
"Oh, you poor thing. Let me get you back to bed and then I will-"
Quinn glanced down, her eyes widening slightly when she noticed the corner of the pill sleeve sticking out of her sweats.
"I want my pills now!" She begged, clutching at her stomach to hide it from Rachel.
"It will only take a second-" Rachel said, setting the paper down to approach the blonde.
"No. I want them now. I want my pain to go away, Rachel." Quinn panted, "Please... Make it go away."
Rachel's expression remained blank for a moment before she shook her head slowly. "It breaks my heart to see you like this..." She said before leaving the room quickly to fetch the Novril.
Quinn tucked the pills in her possession down further into her sweats and fixed her shirt so that there was no chance that Rachel would see them.
She winced and played up her pain as the brunette's returning footsteps grew louder.
"I have done a lot of thinking... Most of it on my drive. Here you go." She said, handing Quinn her pills and a glass of water.
The blonde swallowed the pills quickly as Rachel steered her toward the bed.
"And I am absolutely certain that the reason I have never been more popular is because of my temper. You must be so mad at me."
Quinn rolled her eyes, 'You have no idea.'
"The truth now, Quinn." Rachel said, looking back to the blonde expectantly.
"Well, who doesn't let off a little steam every once in a while?" Quinn asked, returning the smile nervously.
Rachel grinned at the response as she removed an armrest so that it would be easier to lift the other woman out.
"My genius needs her rest before she writes!" She ignored the small sigh that the blonde exhaled and moved down to her patient's feet.
She gripped Quinn's legs, "Tootsies up!" She said, lifting them both onto the bed in one go.
She then made her way back to the blonde's side to slip her arm around her neck. "Hold on tight, I have you." Rachel whispered, before hoisting her upper body up onto the bed.
Quinn gasped in pain as the brunette made her way around the bed, adjusting the covers as she went.
"Here, in case you think of any ideas." Rachel said, placing a tablet and pen down beside the blonde.
Quinn licked her lips and looked between Rachel and the tablet. "I wouldn't expect too much."
"Do not be silly, Quinn. You are brilliant." The brunette said, patting her hand. "Think of me as your inspiration."
Rachel paused in the doorway, "I have faith in you, my dear. Catch this." She said, blowing the blonde a kiss.
Quinn smiled sarcastically and flexed her good hand as if she were catching something. The fact that she even bothered to play along made Rachel's grin widen and the brunette sighed happily as she closed the door.
Once the other woman was gone, Quinn spit the pills into her hand.
"My darling..." She scoffed in disgust as she shook her head and stashed her newly acquired pills into their hiding spot.
xxx
"There, you see that?" Santana exclaimed, pointing toward a dark grey object sticking out of the snow.
The man next to her nodded and she brought her binoculars back up to get a closer look as the chopper turned.
Her heart clenched painfully as the tires and underside of the crashed vehicle came more clearly into view.
Within the next three hours they were lifting the car up onto the road and the Chief of Police was speaking to a cluster of reporters. Santana had turned down the offer to speak for the camera, a dangerous combination of emotions bubbling just under the surface.
"The presumption is now that Quinn Fabray is dead."
The words were like a knife through her heart and Santana clutched at her chest as she listened to the man continue. "We know that she somehow managed to crawl outside of her vehicle but we have been unable to find a body anywhere in the vicinity of the accident."
Santana felt nausea claw and burn at her throat at the thought of Quinn crawling out of the remains of her sedan, blood staining her pale features. The idea of the blonde dying alone out in the snow and wilderness made her want to puke. She should have been there, she should have stayed with her until the other woman was leaving town.
"We also know that if anyone had found her, they would have taken her to an area hospital. Undoubtedly, she is buried somewhere out there in the snow. We will most likely find her after first thaw... That is, unless the animals get to her first. Which is a distinct possibility."
Santana gagged physically at the thought before retching silently over the guardrail behind her. Sam frowned sympathetically toward the woman and watched as she straightened back up, hand over her mouth. The reporters were now asking the Chief of Police their own questions, completely unaware of the distress of the Sheriff.
"Don't listen to that idiot." Sam mumbled, wrapping an arm around the brunette's much smaller body. "We don't know that."
"Don't we?" She asked, her voice cracking over the words.
The blonde man remained silent for a moment and watched as the sedan was lowered down to the road carefully. Once it was settled, he made his way over to inspect it. Sam snapped on a pair of latex gloves and began to check the car over.
He paused by the driver's side door, the door that had been open when the car was found. His fingers trailed slowly over the chipped paint and denting just below the handle.
Sam waved Santana over. "Here, look at this.
"Are those marks from a crowbar?" The brunette asked, kneeling down to get a better look.
"That's what it looked like to me too... She never crawled out of that car by herself, someone pulled her out."
Santana nodded and jumped to her feet. "Hey, we need to get this car moving! I want a full report on it, as soon as possible!"
"She's baaack." Sam said with a grin as he followed the woman as she made her way over to the Chief of Police.
xxx
Quinn folded a piece of tablet paper, first in half and then both sides in slightly to make a pouch of sorts. The TV was playing loudly and it had been hours since Rachel had been in to see her. Once the pouch was ready, Quinn took one of the Novril and separated the two halves. She tapped a little of the white powder out onto her finger and was pleased to find that it was odor and tasteless.
The blonde emptied the powder from her collection of pills into the pouch, storing the pill casings in her mouth until they dissolved.
xxx
The next morning found Quinn seated at the desk, eyes staring blankly at the keys of the typewriter.
Her fingers twitched and she let them glide across the keys with little thought. The blonde's head moved jerkily with her hands as she typed rapidly, glaring at the words as they appeared.
FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK
Quinn stared at the paper a moment before tugging it out of the typewriter and crumpling it up aggressively. She slid a fresh piece of paper in and stared at it for a moment. The blonde shook her head with a sigh before she started again, typing more carefully this time.
xxx
Rachel walked into the bedroom, the first ten pages of Misery's Return in her hand.
"No, no... This is all wrong, Quinn."
"What?" The blonde asked in surprise, her hands stilling over the keys.
"You will have to start again." The brunette said, "It is not worthy of you. Throw it all out."
Quinn blinked blankly at her, at a complete loss for words.
"Except for the part about the grave digger sharing my likeness, you can leave that in."
The blonde smiled at her nervously, "I really value your criticism but... Maybe we're being a little hasty here."
"Quinn, what you have written is just not fair."
"Not fair..."
"That is right. You cannot just give her some miracle blood transfusion... Misery was buried in the ground at the end, Quinn. You have to start there." Rachel said, placing the pages on the desk before stomping away dramatically.
Quinn's head fell into her hands and she shook it back and forth slowly.
xxx
The blonde sat, chewing at her nails and gazing out the window. Rachel sat nearby, reading in a chair she had brought in from another room.
It was her second attempt at Misery's Return and it had taken her forever to come up with a suitable way to revive her character properly. So Quinn ignored the brunette completely, her eyes following the snowflakes as they fell lazily outside.
She only looked back when she heard the sound of shifting paper, enough of it to suggest that the brunette was checking to see that she had read through them all. Her eyes immediately met Rachel's as the other woman raised them from her lap.
"So... Should I continue?"
Rachel's teeth worried her lip and she nodded, eyes wide in awe. "You better. Oh, Quinn. When Ian realized that the reason they buried Misery alive was that the bee sting had put her into a temporary coma-" She broke off, gasping excitedly. "And when gravedigger Wilkes remembered that the same thing happened to Lady Evelyn High thirty years earlier. Oh, and-"
Quinn nodded, sweetening her act with a fake laugh as Rachel continued to gush.
"Oh Quinn, can I read each chapter as you finish them? I can fill in the n's." Rachel asked, pleading desperately with her big brown eyes.
Quinn nodded, "Of course you can, Rachel."
The brunette's expression fell slightly, "Wait... Will Misery be able to remember Ian, or will she have amnesia?"
The blonde shook her head and tutted softly, "No, no... You'll have to wait to find out."
"Will she still have that special, perfect love?"
"You'll have to wait for that, too."
"Not even a hint?" Rachel asked, pouting slightly.
"Uh-uh." Quinn said, pursing her lips and shaking her head.
Rachel squealed and spun around in circles excitedly. "Misery is alive, she is alive! Oh, it is just so romantic!"
Quinn watched with faux amusement as the brunette paused and gasped loudly. "I am going to put on my Streisand records!" The brunette cried before fleeing the room.
Quinn looked back to the door, one slender brow arched when the brunette reappeared. "You like Barba, right?"
"Of course!" The blonde said, flashing the other woman a bright smile. Rachel returned the expression and turned to leave but Quinn caught her before she got too far. "Rachel?"
"Yes?"
"I was thinking... That we should celebrate Misery's Return. Would you have dinner with me?" The blonde asked, dropping her eyes before moving them back up coyly.
A slow smile crept across Rachel's lips before engulfing the lower half of her face. "Yes, yes, of course!" The brunette said happily, twirling again in the hallway before disappearing from view. "It would be an honor!"
Quinn sighed, slouching in her chair and looking back toward the window. She wished that she could be having a real romantic dinner with another brunette.