Chapter 39 - Getting Ready

Jaxon was throwing up. Quinn was throwing up. And they both had fevers.

For the last three days the Fabray household had been sick and not feeling well at all. Quinn and Jaxon spent most of their time cuddled up in Quinn's bed sleeping. And luckily they had Shelby and Charlie who didn't mind taking care of them. Santana wasn't much help, she claimed the house reeked of "digested food mixed with cherry medicine."

"Damn kids," Jaxon said as he sat in the bathtub, holding still as Charlie washed his body.

The blonde's eyebrow raised in surprise. "Jaxon! Where did you hear that?"

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"Damn kids and their germs," Quinn muttered as she plopped down at the kitchen table, her head resting on her hand.

Standing at the stove stirring the chicken noodle soup, Shelby had to hold back her smile. She knew all about kids and how easily they spread germs. But she did feel bad for Quinn. The young mother looked terrible.

"Damn parents who bring their sick kids to Gymboree. Seriously! If your kid is sick, keep him home!" the blonde exclaimed, irritated by the stupidity of some parents.

Shelby filled a bowl with the warm soup and placed it on the table in front of Quinn. "Believe me, I see many stupid parents down at the office."

"Thank you for taking care of us, Shelby," Quinn managed a smile as she brought a spoonful of the heavenly soup to her lips. Suddenly her eyes grew wide and she bolted out of her chair, nearly colliding with Santana as the Latina was entering the kitchen.

"Woah! Slow down, Sicko!" she called after her best friend, but cringed as she heard puking in the bathroom. "That's just nasty," her lip curled as she sat down at the table.

"Here you go, Santana," Shelby said, placing a hot bowl of soup on the table in front of the Latina.

Santana grinned and dug in. "Thanks, Shelby!"

"You're welcome," the older woman smiled as she sat down across from the Latina with her own bowl.

It wasn't long before Quinn came back from the bathroom and Jaxon and Charlie joined them in the kitchen too. Jaxon wanted to sit on his grandma's lap and have her feed him.

Santana watched the little boy open his mouth like a baby bird, waiting for Shelby to feed him. She rolled her eyes. He was just like Quinn - whenever they didn't feel well, they wanted to be taken care of constantly. Big babies.

"Well, Quinn," Shelby said, bringing a spoonful of noodles to Jaxon's mouth. "I was going to ask if the nausea had faded, but I guess not."

Sipping the warm broth, Quinn answered, "It is a lot better than before, so I'm thankful for that. And Jaxon is pretty much over that stage."

"Yeah, when he puked in the bathtub the other day… that was really gross," Charlie threw in her two cents. She ladled some soup into a bow and sat down with the other women.

"'orry, 'Arlie" Jaxon mumbled, his eyes already half closed from exhaustion. But he kept his mouth open for his grandma to continue feeding him.

"It's okay, little man," his aunt told him. "You're just preparing me for my own kids."

Jaxon's head slumped on Shelby's chest. He was out.

"I'll take him up to his bed, Quinn," she told the blonde as she gathered her grandson close to her body and left the kitchen.

"Are you still planning on coming with me to New York to see Rachel and Britt?" Santana asked her best friend, her eyebrow arched.

Quinn nodded. "Yes, I refuse to miss the chance to see Rachel. It feels like everything has gone downhill since I had to leave her. I'll be feeling much better by then, I promise. I just need a good night's sleep tonight."

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"Come on, we're all going out," Cassie announced as she strutted through the door to Rachel's hotel suite all dressed up to party, only to see the singer and Tina lounging on the couches watching a movie and wearing their sleep clothes. "What the hell you two! Come on!" She was disgusted by the lameness Rachel had become.

"What are you talking about?" Rachel asked from the couch. She tossed another piece of popcorn in her mouth then paused the movie.

"The guys and I have decided that we all need a night out on the town. So get dressed," she commanded, pushing Rachel's feet off the couch. She stepped over to the kitchen area and pulled out a bottle of vodka and three shot glasses. "We're leaving for the dance club in 45 minutes, so you better be ready or I'll drag you out anyway."

"I don't know, Cass," the singer tried to protest. "I'm not in the mood to be out in public and be recognized. I just wanted a nice quiet night to get ready for Quinn to arrive."

"Oh come on, Rach," Tina smiled as she jumped up from the recliner. "We've all been working hard the last few days. I think it's a great idea to go out and let off some steam."

Rachel looked at the pleading expression on her manager's face over to the look of expectancy and irritation on her best friend's face. She muttered out her objections as she pushed herself off the couch. "Fine," she told them, stomping toward the bedroom. At least the whole band, plus Tina and Kurt, were going so she knew it would be fun. If all else, she and Kurt could hang out and talk about new outfits. Rachel stopped before reaching the bedroom door, turned around and stomped over to her best friend. She grabbed the full shot glass out of Cassie's hand, downed it in one gulp then walked away again, slamming her bedroom door behind her.

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Rachel awoke the next morning to a numb arm and a headache to rival any she'd ever experienced before. With a groan, she managed to turn her head and peer over at Cassie sleeping next to her on the bed, looking anything but glamorous in her wrinkled dress from the night before, her hair wild and sticking up at odd angles and her eye makeup smudged all across her face.

Rachel didn't even remember how they had gotten back to the hotel from the dance club. But at least they did, and they both were fully clothed. That was a huge bonus. She had to admit that she was surprised Cassie hadn't gone home with one of the dozens of men who were flirting with her all night.

It had been a nice night, despite the massive hangover. They had all danced together, tearing up the floor and having a great time. It was actually really good that Rachel had a night to just forget about all the headaches caused by Jasmine. The singer had gone down to the medical clinic and gave her spit and blood, she made sure to go when Jasmine wouldn't be there. The last thing she needed was to see the kid in person. The doctors had assured them that the results would be ready in two days - and that would be tomorrow. Now Rachel just had to hang on a little bit longer.

Pulling her numb arm out from beneath the lawyer, Rachel nudged Cassie roughly to wake her. "Wake up, bitch," she grumbled as her official wake up call.

Cassie just grunted, waving her arm to push Rachel away from her. "Fuck off, I'm sleeping."

Rachel pushed herself out of bed, taking a few minutes to get steady on her feet so she wouldn't fall over. She walked over to the window and unceremoniously yanked open the curtains, squinting at the harsh sunlight.

"You're such an ass," Cassie whined as she tried to shield her eyes from the blazing sunlight like she was a vampire and melting.

"Says the woman who's to blame for my hangover right now," Rachel snapped. "I told you I didn't want to drink that much!"

"Hey! Don't blame me for all your fans buying you drinks. You could have said No to them."

"Whatever. I have rehearsal in…" she peered over at the clock, "an hour and a half. So get out so I can get ready."

"It's not like I haven't seen you naked before, Rach," the blonde said, rolling her eyes at her friend. She then proceeded to say several not very nice expletives as she pushed herself off the bed. "Good thing we're no strangers to a hangover then, huh?" she winked playfully at her best friend.

"So fantastic," Rachel muttered dryly as she began rummaging through the closet.

"Don't be so sarcastic all the time. Loosen up!" Cassie teased the brunette as she grabbed her heels and made her way to the door. "See you later!" she called out, purposely slamming the door shut loudly and making Rachel curse as the noise seemed to echo through her brain.

"She's damn lucky she's my best friend," the singer muttered as she walked into the bathroom to take a much needed shower.

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Quinn had just finished packing her small bag for her long weekend with Rachel. She couldn't wait to see her girlfriend. It felt like it had been forever, and the last week with her and Jaxon being sick, had just made it seem even longer. But thankfully she was feeling better now.

As she came down the stairs with her bag and a jacket in hand, the doorbell rang. Raising her eyebrow in curiosity of who it could be since she wasn't expecting anyone.

Santana had volunteered to take Jaxon to his grandma's, because knowing she was going to be seeing Brittany in a few hours had her adrenaline pumping and she needed to have something to do before she went stir crazy. She would be back at the house soon to pick up Quinn and then drive them to the airport.

Walking to the front door, Quinn looked through the peephole to see a courier standing outside on the porch. She unlocked the door and opened it, smiling at the older gentleman. "Hi," she said.

The man returned the blonde's smile. "Good morning, ma'am. I have a certified letter for a…" he looked down at his clipboard, "Quinn Fabray."

"I'm Quinn Fabray."

He grinned, "Oh good. Will you please sign here?" After Quinn signed the paper, he pulled out a manila envelope from his bag and handed it to the blonde. "Have a good rest of your day," he said as he walked back down the sidewalk.

Quinn looked down at the large envelope, turning it over in her hands. There was no return address, only Quinn's name and address. She carried it into the kitchen and set it on the counter before grabbing a glass from the cabinet and filling it with ice water.

She took a few sips and began opening the envelope. Looking inside, she could see it just contained a few pieces of paper.

Curiosity getting the best of her, she pulled them out and stared at the top page. Arching her eyebrow in confusion at what she read, Quinn flipped to the next page.

Water and glass shattered around her feet as her drink fell from her hand and hit the marble floor.

Quinn's eyes were wide in confusion and panic. She kept shaking her head in denial and horror, but nothing on the page in front of her was changing. A loud sob burst through her lips as everything went black.

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A/N - I know this chapter is incredibly short - Sorry! But any guesses as to what was in the envelope?