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Here's the next instalment...

Chapter 6

July 2020, Riverside, CT

"Rach! You look amazing," Quinn rolled straight into her arms and they held on for ages.

"I really missed you guys so much. Sorry everything's gone crazy. I just couldn't get out of anything. Contracts you know. Sold myself to the devil and all that."

"You're here now," Santana waited until the blonde and brunette had greeted each other properly and then shared a hug with the shorter girl. "Come on through," she tugged Rachel's hand and led her into the living room, following behind Quinn and Beth, who held the door, principally for her mom, but then the other two adults as well.

Rachel glanced around the room. The decor was gorgeous; she would have expected no less of Santana the perfectionist. It had original art on the walls, no doubt that was Quinn's influence and though most were plain white with mouldings around, there were little touches of colour here and there to tie in perfectly.

"Wow, this is amazing!" Rachel wandered forwards through an archway into the room beyond and eventually to the glass wall at the end. The huge windows ran almost the full width of the room and looked out onto a landscaped garden and swimming pool beyond. She turned and looked at the trio behind her. "I've really missed you guys and this place is perfect. I'm so happy for you."

Santana had a hand on the back of Quinn's chair and her other arm around Beth's shoulders. "We've talked about getting a proper family place for a while now. Glad you like it, Rach."

Quinn glanced up at her partner and gave Santana's arm a squeeze. "You actually called Rachel by her name. See she's housebroke now too, Rach."

"Whatever!" The Latina rolled her eyes. "Don't get used to it, Berry."

The shorter girl turned around. "Have you heard from anyone else lately?"

Quinn nodded, yeah we had Cedes here a while back for a week or so. Kurt commutes up here for the odd day fairly frequently. We don't see a lot of the others in person but Artie keeps in touch weekly, we usually Skype. How about you?"

Rachel shrugged. "I've just been so busy I haven't seen anyone in a while. We swap messages but it's not the same."

Quinn screwed up her face before she asked her questions. "I heard you and what's his name," she paused trying to remember, "Chris? It was Chris wasn't it? You broke up?"

Rachel shrugged again. "It was hardly monogamous on either side."

"What's monogamous mean?" Beth looked confused.

"Aunt Rach's boyfriend cheated," Santana interpreted.

"Actually it was both of us, I can't complain," the shorter woman confessed. "But that was just a fling." She approached Beth and took her hands. "I still can't believe how much you've grown. It was only Christmas I saw you last."

Beth grinned. "I am the second tallest in my class."

Rachel looked at the girl. Quinn never spoke about Beth's father, it was just a missing piece of information she chose never to fill in for them and perhaps it was best. Her daughter was long and lean, with the same hair and sweet face as her mother. They looked very much alike.

"That's good, you won't have to put up with all the short jokes I got in school."

"Yeah, we should probably apologise for that again," Santana tried to look innocent.

Quinn elbowed the Latina. "Behave, San."

Rachel gave them a loving glance.

"I'm so happy for you guys though." She kept her gaze on Quinn. "I saw the jigsaw upstairs."

Quinn's face broke into a smile. "That jigsaw is the only reason I am sane, Rach. It will always go wherever I do."

—

2010, Lima, Ohio

Quinn's room was already decorated with cards and flowers. Rachel, Mercedes and Kurt had been busy all morning putting them around her room. She might only be there for another week, but they were going to make sure it was as homely as it could be.

Quinn was sat back in the same wheelchair as the previous day, but she was more upright and had been there for well over an hour. She was no longer connected to the bed in any way so her friends moved her over to the window. She had made a small attempt to move the chair herself but her neck hurt too much when she gripped the wheels.

They were playing music quietly, the new nurse she had to get used to insisted it not be on too loud.

They hadn't heard Artie and Finn approach.

Finn knocked on the open door and greeted everyone. Artie followed him into the room. Quinn couldn't see who had arrived at first. She tried to turn her head, but it wouldn't move enough. She reached with her left hand to turn the wheel of the chair so she could spin around slowly.

She immediately stopped when she saw Artie.

She tried to keep her emotions swallowed but it was hard.

Artie didn't say anything, he just moved towards her and when he got close enough, he took her hand and squeezed it. Neither of them said anything and the others quietly left and went out into the hallway, closing the door behind them.

Still there was no conversation in the room. Quinn blinked a few times and looked into Artie's compassionate gaze. It wasn't sympathy, that was different. He didn't feel sorry for her in the same way the others did. He just understood how she felt.

She leaned her head back and closed her eyes for a few moments. Artie's hand never left her own.

"Thanks Artie," she squeezed his hand as hard as she could.

He nodded but just sat there.

"Are they still just sitting?"

"It's not like Quinn can do much else right now, Finn." Rachel rolled her eyes. He wasn't the most thoughtful person, even though he meant no harm.

"I meant, are they saying anything yet?"

"No I don't think so," Mercedes watched through the window. "Quinn might be asleep actually. Is that safe while she's sitting in the wheelchair?"

Rachel looked through. "I don't think she's asleep. She just has her eyes closed. Besides, she's strapped in anyway."

"Should we go back in?" Kurt wondered.

"Just leave them for now," Rachel replied. "Let's go to the cafeteria." She opened the door and explained they were going to go for a drink.

"Wait," Quinn waved her over. "Can we come too?"

Rachel's face lit up. "We thought you might like to talk for a while, but of course we can all go together."

"We don't need to talk," Quinn squeezed Artie's hand again. "We both know how the other is feeling."

Artie gave her a gentle smile and nodded. "Let's get out of this room for a little while. I guess you're tired of it already."

"I really am, as nice as it is." Quinn gave Rachel a big grin. "This chair is a beast, you better get Finn to push me."

—

October 2010, Wexner Medical Centre, OSU, Columbus, Ohio

They transferred her by road as she was stable and pulled up outside the University medical center in Columbus. The ambulance crew pulled her out of the back on the gurney and moved her slowly towards the doors. She couldn't see much except the grey overcast sky briefly, then the canopy over the entrance. She was well wrapped up, but could feel the chill on her face until they went through the door.

It was a day short of two weeks since the accident and they had a bed for her, so she was moved from Lima as quickly as possible. They wanted her up and around so that her physical condition didn't deteriorate any further.

Her mom was already waiting with Beth and her grandparents when she arrived. They hadn't needed to worry about being jostled around on the road and had gotten there quicker as a result.

They settled her into her new room with a ton of instructions. The most important seemed to be about making sure everyone used the alcohol gel on their hands before they did anything else. Quinn had thought that it wouldn't matter so much now she was healing up nicely but it seemed as though they were just as fussy about it as Lima Memorial.

They paramedics provided some assistance, but it was mostly the nursing and auxiliary staff that helped slide her from the gurney to the bed.

She was only there a short while before the physical therapists arrived and took her off to the gym. She was stretched out and they were less than gentle with her. It hurt a lot and when she arrived back, she was utterly exhausted.

There was a stream of visitors in the afternoon, her friends from school made the long journey and brought the decorations from her room and news that she was getting school work sent through by email from all the teachers. Rachel offered to study with her as soon as she was ready and promised to come over at the weekends to help.

Quinn closed her eyes and thanked her, then before she knew it, they were waking her for dinner; she had fallen asleep, but found the cards, posters and gifts from Lima were now up on the walls around her.

Only her mom had stayed; everyone else had left for the day.

"Mom?"

"Yes, baby," Judy took her daughter's hand.

"What am I going to do? I can't stand this."

"Oh, honey, please don't do this now. You're going to be okay. Everyone is going to be there for you and you'll be out of here before you know it."

Quinn tried to shake her head and grimaced slightly. "They said months," she had big fat tears rolling down her cheeks. "How do I take care of Beth now? I can barely feed myself." She glanced away and her face flushed. "I'm more like a baby than she is."

"You're going to learn how to take care of yourself, Quinn." Her mother's tone changed slightly, it had less sympathy in it. "I'm not going to let you fall into the trap of thinking you are helpless. You're injured and in pain, but you will get better and stronger. Once you are up and around the doctor said you would be able to take of yourself eventually."

Quinn reached for the tears and wiped them from her face. "It just seems impossible right now."

"I know, but it's not. You have a lot to get better for. You have a lot of friends and a family who love you. You're smart Quinn and there is still so much waiting for you."

Quinn kept crying on and off throughout the evening but as soon as she was up and out of bed the next morning they kept her busy with the varied therapies she needed and she had no time to herself to think about it anymore.

—

2020, Riverside, Connecticut

"I made Santana help stick down all the pieces on this huge board with adhesive. She complained about it for weeks after too."

The Latina rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. "That glue was hell on my nails," she pouted then seeing the look on Rachel's face she turned back into normal Santana. "If you guys are going to gang up on me, I'm going to start sulking and then you'll all be sorry."

Beth laughed at her and wrapped her arms around her adoptive mother.

"Five thousand freakin' pieces, Berry. What were you thinking?"

Rachel smiled at her friend.

"I just wanted Quinn to remember that the bright lights of her future were still waiting despite being stuck in hospital for weeks and weeks."

Beth looked serious for a moment. "Is that where it came from?"

"You were too young to remember, baby." Quinn took her daughter's hand. "Rachel brought the jigsaw for me because I got really bored and bad tempered when I was waiting to come home. I didn't have you with me to keep me entertained."

Beth dropped back onto her mom's knees. "Were you really sad?"

Quinn nodded honestly. "I was. It took me a long time to get better and I needed a lot of help to start off with. I felt like I was supposed to be taking care of you and people were having to take care of me instead."

"But you didn't stay sad did you?" Beth kept her eyes trained on the matching hazel eyes.

"No, baby. I didn't stay sad. After a while I was okay again and things went back to normal, or sort of normal anyway." Quinn squeezed around Beth's ribs pulling her closer. "Aunt Rachel and Tana helped me a lot and I felt much better after I left the hospital."

—

November 2010, McKinley High School Choir Room

"Hey, dwarf, you coming to see Quinn Saturday?"

"Santana, why do you insist on insulting nicknames at a time like this? I thought we agreed to suspend hostilities under the current circumstances."

"Oh chill out, Berry! It's called a term of endearment, I give everyone an insulting nickname, even the people I actually like." She rolled her eye. "And since you don't drive, I was trying to be nice and offer to give you a ride, despite you no doubt, singing show tunes at me the whole way there like last time."

"Oh," Rachel's face changed and she gave the Latina a grateful smile, "that would be very kind of you and I promise I won't sing, but maybe we can bring some CDs for the journey?"

"Whatever," Santana shrugged. "Brit's coming too and Mercedes."

"That's good, maybe we can practice something together for Glee."

"Never mind that, just get some things for Quinn and this time, don't bring her the latest gossip from Broadway, bring something she might actually be interested in."

Rachel nodded. "I think she's a little bored being stuck all that way away from her friends and family. I know her mom visits a lot but she must have a lot of time on her own too."

Santana gave Rachel a look that suggested she agreed. "Just find something interesting to occupy her time then."

Rachel had collected some things for Quinn. Her latest assignments from teachers were in a folder, categorised by subject. In another bag she had a selection of healthy snacks and treats, and finally a large box that was gift wrapped.

She placed them in the trunk of Santana's car and the four girls set off for Columbus.

As they went into the room Quinn had occupied for the last four weeks, they were surprised to find her talking to two young men, both in wheelchairs, as indeed was Quinn herself. It was an improvement on the one from the hospital in Lima, but the blonde still didn't look comfortable. They had become accustomed to Quinn looking cool and trendy, but she was dressed in what appeared to be rehab chic; sweat pants and a T-shirt.

The guys turned and glanced appreciatively at the girls.

"Whoa, Quinn," he turned back to her, "you're friends got it going on." He actually turned and winked at Brit and then Rachel, who blushed.

"Shut up, Troy," Quinn slapped him on the arm.

Quinn introduced them but then made them both leave before the conversations took an awkward turn.

"You seem to have made some friends," Rachel commented brightly.

Quinn shrugged, "More like inmates."

Santana laughed but got a look from Rachel which suggested it wasn't funny.

"Quinn really? Gallows humour might be appropriate in some circumstances…"

"Oh shut up, Berry," the Latina pushed past her and went to give Quinn a hug. "How are you?"

Another shrug followed by a heavy sigh. "Getting through it I guess. I might get out of here in another couple of months but it's still a drag. It's mostly just guys in here and they're okay but pretty much have one track minds. There are a couple of other women but much older than me and we have nothing in common. I miss just having you guys around and I miss school."

"We miss you too," Mercedes bustled past the others and gave her a hug. "But don't worry about missing school, Rachel brought it with her."

That earned her a laugh from the blonde. "It's great to see you all. Thanks for coming," she glanced at her watch. "Would you like to go for coffee or something, the cafe is open."

"We just came to see you," Mercedes replied.

"I know, but I get tired of these four walls."

They all glanced at each other and nodded at the offer of going for a drink.

"So I get to show you my skills," Quinn pushed the wheels of the chair forwards. "I'm up to getting around anywhere flat and a few shallow ramps without anyone pushing me now." She explained how quickly she was progressing. "Plus I practically bench press my own body weight in the gym!"

"Liar," Santana replied with a grin. "Those skinny white arms couldn't bench press Rachel's weight and she's about half the size of a regular person."

They all laughed, even Rachel. It was nice to be able to joke again now that Quinn was on the mend.

"Give me a few weeks," Quinn moved into the hallway and lead them to the elevator. She pressed the button to go down a floor and the rest just followed without trying to do anything to help. Artie had been very strict in his advice to them. He had told them that under no circumstances should they do anything to help Quinn unless she specifically asked for it and Santana had reminded them all on the way up.

The blonde rolled into the elevator and pressed the door hold until everyone was inside. "Keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times," she joked as they descended to the lower floor and then made their way towards the cafeteria.

"Are you arms getting tired?" Rachel asked.

Quinn shrugged. "A bit, but it's fine. I need to build up my stamina by going a little further each day. I'll let you know if they get too tired."

—

2020, Riverside, Connecticut

"Did you tell Aunt Rachel about the thing?" Beth asked her mom.

"What thing?" The shortest of the three adults looked up. "No one mentioned 'the thing' to me when I called last week."

Quinn smiled. "It's just a sale of my work that's all, Rach. We have a gallery showing my work in New York."

"Oh my gosh. A gallery opening? Of just your work?"

The blonde shrugged. "I guess; it's not such a big deal."

"This is huge," the diva replied excitedly. "When is it opening? I have to tell all the people I know in the city. We'll all be coming to the opening. You are going to have a grand opening right?"

Quinn was slightly bewildered by the response. "I guess so, but it's not for a while yet."

"I'm so happy for you. I just knew that one day, everyone would know who you were." A big grin spread across Rachel's lips. "I'm so proud of you," she reached over and gave the blonde a big hug. "Can I see the photos? I bet they're amazing. Everything you do is amazing."

A little red flushed across Quinn's cheeks at the praise.

"Yeah, I only have the small proofs here though. The large format prints are still at the printers, so you'll just have to be patient for once and wait until the opening."

"I'll go get them," Beth immediately ran off to her mother's studio to get the prints.

Rachel watched the youngster speed off. "She's so gorgeous," she had a hand on her heart. "You know how jealous I am that you have her?"

"Oh god, Berry's gone maternal!" Santana grimaced as she crossed herself.

—

TBC - please take the time to let me know if you liked it