Disclaimer – I do not own Glee
Hello everybody, thanks for reading, here we go again…
Chapter 31 – Doctor, Doctor
Three weeks before Regionals, Rachel called an emergency Glee Club meeting that did not include Mr. Schuester.
"Why are we meeting in the library?" Mike asked in a whisper.
"Mr. Schue is working in the Choir Room right now and a couple of jocks let off stink bombs in the auditorium," Rachel explained keeping her voice down so as not to be scowled at by the tiny old librarian. "Now, I've called this meeting today to discuss our upcoming performance at Regionals."
"We're totally gonna suck," Santana remarked. "Disco is super lame. I can't believe Mr. Schue is actually forcing us to do a Disco number for the group piece. This is like child cruelty or something."
"While your comments are a little extreme I basically agree with you," Rachel replied. "Disco is a great genre in its own right and I for one think it can be fun but I'm sure we're all agreed that Disco isn't the way to win the trophy at Regionals."
"No way," Puck supported. "But Mr. Schue really isn't backing down on this Disco thing no matter how much we all complain. I even egged his house and got my sister to poop in a brown paper bag so I could put it outside his front door and light it on fire."
"That's disgusting," Kurt said disapprovingly at the same time Artie fist-bumped Puck proclaiming 'nice, yo'.
"These past few nights Quinn and I have been talking," Rachel continued. "We think our only chance of victory at Regionals it to prepare a new group number."
"Hey, I'm all for a new number," Mercedes spoke up. "But Puck's right. Mr. Schue isn't backing down on this Disco thing. Even if we all stand in front of him and say we don't want to do Disco he isn't going to listen."
"That's true," Santana acknowledged. "Schuester's never going to agree to let us do something else."
"We weren't intending to ask for permission," Quinn pointed out.
"I like where this is going," Tina smirked.
"Quinn and I felt the best course of action was to prepare and rehearse a group number of our own and perform it at Regionals," Rachel said. "We just won't tell Mr. Schue about it. We'll continue to perform the Disco number for him in rehearsals but do our own thing on the night itself when he can't actually do anything about it. How does everyone feel about that?"
"Anything's better than Disco," Puck claimed. "You can dress me up like a Spice Girl for all I care just as long as I don't have to sing Disco."
"You'd make such a good Baby Spice," Brittany told him.
"All in favour of preparing a new group number for Regionals?" Quinn asked raising her hand and everyone but Finn followed suit.
"Oh come on, Frankenteen, don't tell me that you think the Disco number is good," Santana huffed.
"Look, I get it," Finn sighed. "Disco is like the lamest thing on off and our number sucks and we'd probably be a laughing stock at Regionals but… we've worked hard on this and it really means something to Mr. Schue. His Glee Club won performing this song. I think he'd be all hurt and disappointed if we didn't sing it."
"But if we do sing it we're sure to lose," Kurt said.
"Then Glee Club's over," Mercedes added.
"We can't do this without you, man," Puck said. "So, you in or out?"
"Maybe if we just talk to Mr. Schue and ask…" Finn tried but the others huffed and rolled their eyes while Tina practically growled. "Ok," he relented. "Fine, I'm in. We'll do a new group number. But it has to be something kickass. Something none of the other teams are doing."
"Any suggestions?" Artie asked looking between Rachel and Quinn.
"Or any ideas what the other teams are actually doing?" Mercedes queried.
"Aural Intensity means to pay tribute to the celebrity judges by covering their songs," Rachel advised. "I overheard Coach Sylvester's plans to tell them who the judges were as she's going to be on the panel too. Luckily, we were able to intercept the letter she was sending to them stating who the judges were."
"Instead of singing songs by Olivia Newton-John and Josh Groban they'll be performing music by Dolly Parton and the Backstreet Boys," Quinn informed them all.
"So you've been cheating?" Kurt asked.
"No, not at all," Rachel objected. "Coach Sylvester was going to help them cheat by tipping them off about the judges so they could win favour by performing their material. If anything Quinn and I made the competition fair game by providing them with false information instead."
"Still sounds like cheating to me," Kurt commented.
"Babe, come on, don't think of that way," Puck told him.
"Do we have any other information?" Tina pried.
"Vocal Adrenaline are doing Lady Gaga," Rachel revealed and Kurt and the girls all released cries of outrage which earned them a stern look and a 'quiet down' from the librarian.
"That is so unfair," Brittany complained.
"This is a disaster," Kurt claimed.
"If they're really doing Gaga then I quit," Santana claimed.
"You are not quitting," Mercedes told her. "Nobody is quitting. We can all just put our Gaga on too. We're a group of misfits. We'll do Gaga much better than a group so perfect they're like a fierce robotic machine."
"Whoa, I'm not down for Gaga," Finn interrupted. "Us guys already get made fun of for being in Glee Club. I don't want to add to that by wearing some freaky costume."
"Agreed," Mike said.
"Gotta go with Mike and Finn on this one," Artie said with an apologetic look to his girlfriend.
"We don't wanna do Gaga if another team's doing Gaga anyway," Puck insisted. "We want something different, right?"
"But… Gaga," Mercedes pouted.
"But no," Puck remarked. "If Vocal Adrenaline is doing Gaga then that just means weird costumes right? We don't need freaky outfits to stand out and express ourselves. We can do something way cooler. Let's do some classic rock and put the girls in really short skirts and us guys can rip our tops off part way through to show off the abs."
"We are not objectifying ourselves to win a trophy," Quinn stated sternly.
"She's right," Santana agreed. "It wouldn't work anyway. Frankenteen has man-boobs that absolutely nobody wants to see, since the Choir Room thing Tina's vagina might have actually grown a set of razor-sharp teeth, Lady Hummel would just attract gay sexual predators and get himself ass-raped and if Quinn's dress is too short then the judges might be subjected to the sight of her lizard baby's head crowning. Is that really the kind of show we want to put on? I don't think so."
"Ok, Santana, as grateful as we all are for your point of view it really isn't helping us at this time," Rachel said. "I recommend that we all go away and think about song choice ideas and meet up again tomorrow morning before first period to see what we've come up with."
"That's probably for the best," Matt agreed, the only words he'd said throughout the meeting.
"Ok," Finn said standing up, taller than the rest of them. "Until tomorrow morning then," he said as if he had been the one to suggest the meeting in the first place.
The group left in two's and three's, Quinn asking Kurt for advice on fashion items that would conceal her baby bump better.
Rachel remained behind, reaching on her tiptoes to try and take a book down from the top shelf.
"Here," Matt said reaching the book for her and handing it over.
"Thanks, Matt," Rachel replied before releasing a sigh and sagging down into the hard-backed chair and dropping her forehead onto the book.
"You're still getting the headaches," Matt said sympathetically.
"Headaches," Rachel repeated dryly. "Honestly, I miss headaches. This is all so much worse," she complained rubbing at her temples. "It feels like wrecking balls are constantly crashing about inside my brain."
"So things aren't getting any better," Matt stated with a cluck of his tongue.
"If anything the pain is getting worse," Rachel admitted. "I guess I've just gotten better at hiding it. My head hurts all the time now. I mean all the time," she stressed. "Usually its just about bearable and I grit my teeth and put on a smile. But other times its too intense and I don't want to sound like I'm being a drama-queen but I am generally concerned that if this continues then my head might just explode."
"Hey, don't worry, we'll figure something out," Matt assured her.
"Well I hope we figure something out soon," Rachel replied. "I didn't know what to think when we first got these powers. At first I thought, great, I'll read Finn's thoughts and see if he likes me or figure out what I need to do to get him to like me. Then I realised that pretty much everybody thought I was an awful person and hated my very existence, sometimes with genuine reason, other times for no reason at all. But I've worked really hard to change my attitude and behaviour and to be more considerate of other people's feelings rather than being self-involved and throwing tantrums any time I don't get a solo. Then I thought these powers had a purpose. That we were meant to help people. And I know we helped save those people from that fire but what else is there? I haven't had any more visions of people in danger like that. I guess there is no higher purpose to what's going on. It's just happening to us because we were the ones in the Choir Room at the time. These powers weren't meant for us, we just got them."
"If you had the chance, would you give them to somebody else?" Matt asked her.
"No," Rachel answered. "If you'd asked me that in the beginning I'd have been desperate for absolutely anybody else to have the voices in their head so that all the noise wouldn't distract me while I rehearse and perform. But even though it was just a short time ago, I was a different person then. I was selfish and arrogant with no real friends. But things have changed; I've changed. And I wouldn't wish the pain in my head upon anyone. Except perhaps Hitler or somebody seriously evil like that."
"I'm worried for you," Matt revealed.
"What do you mean?" Rachel asked since she could never read the boy's mind.
"I'm just worried," Matt shrugged. "Here, you should take some of these," he offered her a headache tablet.
"Thanks, but they don't seem to work on me anymore," Rachel told him before taking the book up to the desk to be checked out by the librarian.
XXX
Two weeks before Regionals, a deeply concerned Quinn was soothingly rubbing Rachel's back as the brunette girl braced herself on the sink in the girls' bathroom as she coughed up blood.
"Rachel, sweetie, I really think you need to consult a Doctor," Quinn said.
"No point," Rachel argued, her throat hoarse. "There's nothing they can do for me."
Quinn grabbed a handful of tissues to help Rachel wipe the blood away from her mouth.
"Have you at least told Artie about all this?" Quinn asked.
"There's no need to worry him," Rachel answered.
"He's your boyfriend, he should know," Quinn replied. "You're getting worse, Rachel."
"I'll be fine," Rachel insisted forcing a smile.
I don't believe you, Quinn thought knowing full well her friend could hear her.
"I can hear you at night," Quinn pointed out. "If you're not screaming and sobbing then you're throwing up. I've been able to convince your dads the throwing up is me for now but I can't fool them forever and neither can you. They need to know that you're sick."
"I'm not sick," Rachel denied. "I never get sick. This has just been a rough few days because of my powers. I'll be fine in a day or two. How's my make-up?" she asked examining herself in the mirror.
"Here," Quinn said pulling a few items out of her own make-up bag. "This should conceal the bags under your eyes better. And you should have a breath mint of something to get the taste of blood out of your mouth." And you really need to see a Doctor, she thought pleadingly.
"Ok," Rachel declared tightening her high-pony and straightening her Cheerio skirt. "I'm fine, all better," she smiled before exiting the bathroom.
Standing alone, Quinn felt a kick to her stomach.
"Yeah, ok," Quinn said looking down at her swollen stomach. "I'll try harder next time," she promised the baby.
XXX
One week before Regionals, Rachel was suffering with regular nose bleeds as well as puking and coughing up blood. The rest of the New Directions had noticed and they had all come together to convince her to see a Doctor.
"Guys, I'm telling you, I'm fine," Rachel lied and their thoughts confirmed to her that nobody believed her. "Look, I'll be ok," she insisted. "Let's just focus on Regionals."
"No offense, Berry," Santana interjected. "But are you even fit to perform with us at Regionals?"
"Of course I am," Rachel said. "I'm still Rachel Berry, nothing on this earth is going to stop me from performing."
"Rachel, you look like you could fall over and die any minute," Santana stated bluntly and a few of the others glared at her. "Oh, you're all thinking it."
"Actually Finn's just thinking about food… and boobs," Rachel informed them all. "And you all might want to cover your noses because Noah is about to fart in three… two… one… there it is, people."
"Nice one, man," Finn complimented giving proud-looking Puck a high-five while Kurt and the girls all covered their mouths and noses looking appalled.
"Quit changing the subject, Rachel," Mercedes said creating a breeze to air out the smell Puck had made. "You're clearly not well, we can all see it."
"Even I noticed," Finn pointed out. "You look, I don't know. You look kind of broken," he told her uncomfortably. I don't like it.
"Please, we just want you to go to a Doctor," Artie begged her. "If there's something they can do to help then we need to know as soon as possible before you get any worse."
"It's just a few headaches and a couple of nosebleeds, no big deal," Rachel shrugged.
"And vomiting, coughing up blood, nightmares," Quinn listed. "You're sweating a little recently and I know for a fact you've passed out twice in the past two weeks."
"You were having those dizzy spells in Cheerio practice," Brittany added. "And lately you just look kinda weak and tired."
"You're losing weight," Tina observed. "You can't just ignore your problems and hope they'll go away."
"She's right, Rach," Kurt supported. "You need to see a Doctor, urgently."
"And if you say no I will literally haul you over my shoulder and take you to a Doctor myself," Puck said seriously.
"Ok, maybe I have been feeling a bit under the weather lately," Rachel acknowledged. "But what can a Doctor do for me, really? It's the Choir Room power that's causing all of this. This isn't something medical it's… I don't even know. It's supernatural I guess. Doctor's in Lima aren't trained for supernatural illnesses. If I go to a Doctor I could end up being experimented on in some creepy lab or just locked in a mental institution."
"You're not going to a lab or an institution," Quinn told her. "We wouldn't allow that."
"Look, nobody is expecting a Doctor to have a miracle cure," Kurt said gently. "But if they can stop some of the symptoms or ease the pain just a little bit then at least that's something. And you don't need to tell any Doctors about the fact you hear people's thoughts and sometimes get visions. Just explain about the headaches, the sickness and the nosebleeds."
"Please, Rach, see a Doctor, for me?" Artie asked.
"Fine," Rachel agreed. "One Doctor and that's it. If he or she wants to refer me to other Doctors or different hospitals it is not happening."
"Ok, ok," Artie nodded hurriedly. "One Doctor, that's fine. That's all any of us are asking for."
Looking down at the ground, Rachel could hear that her friends were scared for her.
To Be Continued… Hopefully more Kurt/Puck interaction next time
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