Brittany choked on her drink, and it wasn't in the least bit elegant. She felt like the Gin star martini had sprayed exclusively out of her nose, and whatever she had managed to keep in her mouth was now dripping down her chin. She bent over, coughed hard, her lungs desperately trying to expel the liquid that had gone down the wrong side of her throat, making her eyes water.
"Oh my god are you okay?" Halsey asked, placing a hand on Brittany's back.
Puck was no longer standing beside her, that's what Brittany noticed as soon as she'd stopped hacking up her lungs. Taking deep breaths, she looked up to see her dad and Stephen standing on either side of Puck. Her dad was gripping Puck's upper arm while Stephen furiously whispered something to him. Brittany couldn't see Puck's face, but she could imagine it.
"Do you need some water?"
Halsey bent down, her face blocking Puck out. Brittany blinked.
"Huh."
"Water, for your throat?"
"Oh." Brittany nodded, standing up straight. "Yeah, please."
"Okay."
Halsey left to get the water.
Brittany immediately turned her attention back to the stage. It was almost as if nothing had happened. Santana was talking into the mic, smiling. Smiling convincingly. But Brittany knew her well. Even from this distance Brittany could see the strain in Santana's smile. She could hear the forced calm in her voice. And she could see the anger in her eyes.
"Here." Halsey returned with the water.
Brittany took it wordlessly. As she sipped it, she looked around the room. No one besides her family seemed affected by what had just happened. There were no shocked expressions, no scandalized looks or conspiratory whispers. That was good. Santana had played it off well, and without Puck making the scene Brittany knew he so wanted to, nobody had any reason to suspect the kiss was weird. They all probably thought it was an innocent kiss on the cheek gone wrong. Maybe Brittany could have thought that too, if Malek hadn't been so weirdly suspicious since coming into their lives. Nobody kissed their friends that close to the mouth, not even by accident, and why would he even want to kiss Santana on the cheek anyway? Santana wasn't the kind of person one just kissed on the cheek. Puck never even kissed Santana on the cheek. So no, Brittany knew that Malek knew exactly what he was doing, which pissed her off for a number of reason, not the least of which was the fact that her kids were present.
Why Malek had chosen this moment, when he'd had several opportunities while alone with Santana in the studio, to reveal his true nature, Brittany didn't know. Doing this at Santana's release party, when he of all people knew how important this album was to her, was selfish, and doing it with all of Santana's family present, all of her kids, was disrespectful, and that more than anything was what was making Brittany angry.
There was also the fact that his lips had touched Santana's. Yeah that was burning somewhere deep inside Brittany as well, making her want to cut Malek's lips off.
"Okay!" Puck yelled, pulling free of Brittany's dad. A few people turned to look at them, but when nothing more happened, they lost interest. Puck turned to walk back to Brittany, and she finally got to see his face. He looked livid.
"…But I won't bore you with a long speech either." Santana said. "I'll just thank my amazing band." She pointed at Jade, who was somewhere in the crowd to Brittany's left, "my producer, Aaron, the label, my fantastic team, Emma and Eve. I know I'm a pain in the ass but I really do love and appreciate you guys, and lastly…" She took a second, but eventually her eyes found Brittany in the crowd and she smiled. "My beautiful, amazing wife. Britt baby, Having you with me on this journey is the only reason I even have an album to put out, so thank you, and I love you."
Brittany blew her a kiss.
Suddenly she wasn't so angry.
"And I'll leave it there. Thanks everyone."
Santana dropped her hand, holding the mic down at her thigh, and turned to Malek. She whispered something in his ear, turned, and walked off stage. As people clapped, Brittany watched Santana walk out the back door she'd taken Brittany through earlier, with Malek in tow.
Suddenly she felt herself being dragged in the same direction.
"Quinn?"
She was as confused about where Quinn even came from as where Quinn was taking her.
"We're following-"
"Are we going to finally give him a piece of our minds?" Puck asked, catching up with them.
"Damn right." Quinn said.
Brittany allowed herself to be dragged. Something about this situation was starting to become funny to her. Maybe it was shock, or how sometimes people just laughed at inappropriate times, but Brittany felt laughter bubbling in her chest. Malek had kissed Santana. Kissed her smack on the lips right on stage, in front of the entire music industry.
"He actually kissed her." Brittany laughed.
Quinn's steady pace faltered as she looked back at Brittany with a confused frown.
"Are you laughing?"
Brittany laughed harder, clutching her stomach with her free hand.
"Malek kissed my wife." She wheezed.
Quinn shook her head, gripping Brittany's hand tighter and walking more purposefully.
"She's lost her mind." Quinn muttered. "That asshole kissed Santana and made Brittany lose her damn mind."
"Last time he'll be kissing anyone, I promise you that." Puck said darkly.
"Where the hell did they go?" Quinn asked irritably as they got to the corridor outside the ballroom.
"That way." Brittany pointed, her laughter subsiding.
Brittany had to direct them to the room Santana had taken her to after her performance, with Quinn muttering under her breath the whole way and Puck silently fuming behind her. She wasn't laughing anymore, which had her thinking that had been a short bout of hysteria, but she also wasn't as mad anymore. Crazy as it was that Malek had kissed Santana, she knew Santana was just as mad about it, probably giving him hell right at that moment, so her being mad as well wouldn't really do much.
Finally they got to the room. The guard hesitated until he saw Brittany, then he opened the door for them. They could immediately hear Santana yelling in Spanish.
"What the fuck were you thinking? What the fuck made you think that was a good idea huh? What the fuck made you think you could kiss me?"
"It was a mistake-"
Brittany barely had a chance to take in the scene before she was being shoved aside and Puck was charging at Malek. He gripped Malek by his collar, shoving him back several steps from Santana.
"Hey man-"
Puck swung, his fists connecting with Malek's nose so hard the force snapped Malek's head back.
Brittany screamed.
"A mistake my fucking balls you sleezy asshole!"
He punched Malek again, this time on the cheek. Malek dropped to one knee, his hands up trying to protect his face. Puck let go of his collar to push his hands away and punched him again. Brittany screamed again as droplets of blood splattered the floor.
"PUCK!" Santana yelled, rushing forward. "Stop."
"You thought you'd just kiss Santana and walk out of here?" Puck snarled. "In front of Brittany?!" He punched Malek again.
"Noah please stop. Stop." Santana tried to pull Puck back, but he didn't budge. Brittany was frozen on the spot. Nothing was funny anymore. Not with Malek on hands and knees, spitting blood onto the floor, or Santana's desperate please for Puck to stop, or the frightening look on Puck's face.
Puck easily brushed Santana off, advancing on Malek once more.
"Dude, it was a fucking mistake." Malek said, hastily standing up and backing away. "And she's not even your girl so why are you acting like a caveman." When there was some space between them, he took a more solid stance, like he was preparing to fight back.
"Santana and Brittany are my family." Puck said, surging forward. Santana jumped in between them, pressing her hands against Puck's chest.
"No." She cried.
"Brittany's my family and you think I'm going to just let what you did to her slide? The fucking disrespect? Because you thought there's no man to beat you down?"
The door opened as Puck tried to once again push Santana aside, and Jade came running in.
"What in the bloody-"
Brittany watched Jade's eyes frantically take in the scene before landing on Malek.
"Shit." She cursed, taking off her jacket and throwing it on the floor. "You mental asshole." She shook her head. "You deserve it, you know that don't you? You should have known that if Noah didn't try and do you in, Quinn would."
"Damn right." Quinn said with a firm nod.
"For fucking what?" Malek yelled, wiping his lip with the back of his hand.
"Oh that's what you're going with are you?" Jade rolled her eyes. "Alright. Noah come here." Puck's jaw clenched powerfully as he glared darkly at Malek. "Noah…" His eyes flicked to her. "Come here." She said quietly.
To Brittany's great surprise, Noah backed off Malek, walking right to Jade. Her eyebrows shot up as Jade then cupped Puck's face gently, her thumb brushing over his cheek affectionately. Then her jaw actually fell open when Jade lifted Puck's right hand and tenderly kissed his knuckles. She looked quickly at Quinn, whose mouth was also hanging open, then to Santana, who'd clapped her hand over her mouth.
"Holy shit." Santana was the first to say. "Holy. Fucking. Shit."
"You're dating Jade?" Quinn asked, her tone betraying how completely dumbfounded she was, at the same time Brittany asked,
"You're dating Noah?"
"Seriously, no wonder you kept it quiet." Malek grumbled.
Puck moved towards him, but Jade kept him in place with a sharp " don't" and a firm grip on Puck's hand.
"You shut up!" Quinn yelled. "Fucking shut up." She stormed towards Malek, pointing aggressively. Brittany was amused to see Malek, who'd been prepared to fight Puck just a second ago, backing away from Quinn. "Making smart comments like you have any right to speak. Just fucking shut the hell up. I knew you were slimy." Quinn shook her head. "I knew you were slimy from the beginning. Sauntering into Santana's life with your dreads and tattoos and 'I'm so cool' attitude. I knew you couldn't be trusted."
"Look." Malek said, raising his hands. "I know how this looks, but I didn't mean to-"
"To what? Kiss her? You just got caught up in the moment and weren't thinking straight?"
Malek hesitated, which had both Brittany and Santana frowning.
"You didn't mean to lose control, and show all of us who you are?" Quinn continued before Malek answered. "I bet you've been thinking about doing that for months haven't you?"
Malek shook his head, his eyes flicking to Brittany for a second, and to her surprise he actually looked sorry.
"I'm sorry." He said, his shoulders sagging. "I didn't…I never…"
"What you did was gross, and sleezy, and disrespectful and-"
"Inappropriate." Santana said, glaring at him.
"I know."
"You know?" Quinn shrieked. "You fucking know?"
"Then why the fuck did you dot it?" Jade asked.
"I…I didn't…" Malek stuttered, looking around the room. "It was an accident." He finally settled on.
"God." Santana rolled her eyes, shaking her head. Brittany caught her eye.
"Come here." Brittany mouthed, beckoning her with her hand. She may not be as irate as everyone else, but she didn't want Santana standing so close to Malek. Santana immediately walked to her side, taking her hand.
"I'm sor-"
"Don't." Brittany cut her off. "This isn't your fault."
Santana nodded in acceptance.
"I swear I fucking knew it." Quinn continued to rant. "Why don't you do me a favour and tell us the truth Malek. You have a thing for Santana." She jabbed painfully at his chest.
There was a vein in the side of Quinn's head that Brittany could see from where she was.
"Quinn I think you should calm down." She said.
"You shut up too Brittany." Quinn turned to point at her. "I told you." Then she turned her furious gaze on Santana. "I told you Santana."
"Yeah." Santana admitted. Brittany knew there was nothing else Santana could say. Quinn had told them, several times. She'd made her thoughts and suspicions very well known and neither of them could say otherwise. Frankly Brittany couldn't believe that Quinn had been right. She was never right about these kids of things. Her theories were always so far fetched and dramatic, like she'd pulled them straight out of a movie. She was paranoid and crazy, and yet….she'd actually been right.
"Go on and tell us the truth Malek." Quinn shoved his chest. Malek clenched his jaw. "Tell us all what a douchebag homewrecker you are." She shoved him again.
"Quinn." Brittany said. She couldn't imagine any of this stress was good for Quinn, but now that she was getting physical, Brittany knew they needed to reel her back in.
"Tell us!" Quinn yelled, and then she slapped Malek.
Brittany let out a surprised gasp, even Santana jumped slightly.
"Go stop her please." Brittany pleaded with Santana.
"Quinn." Santana walked forward. "You were right okay? You were right, can you please just…calm down."
Quinn was breathing heavily, but she did take a few steps back from Malek. Santana reached her, looping her arm with Quinn's.
"Please just sit down before you give Brittany an aneurism."
"I…I told you." Quinn said, taking slow steps towards the couch.
"Yes you told us." Santana nodded, rolling her eyes at Brittany. "Now we need to find a way to deal with him."
"I…" Quinn stopped, her eyebrows pinching together.
"You told us, how many times are you going to rub it in damn." Santana chuckled.
"Are you okay?" Brittany asked, walking to her with her arms outstretched.
When Quinn looked at her, Brittany saw fear in her eyes.
"Quinn?" She asked again, more urgently.
"Ah!" Quinn cried, clutching her stomach.
"Oh my god." Santana said, "Quinn?"
"Something's wrong." Quinn whimpered. "Santana something's really-AAAH." This time she screamed, doubling over in pain.
"Shit, Shit Noah. NOAH!" Santana yelled, as Quinn's legs gave way and she was forced to take on her full weight. Malek rushed forward, trying to hold Quinn.
"Don't fucking touch her." Puck said, shoving him out of the way. "I got you Quinn." He said more gently, lifting her into his arms. Quinn screamed again, and Brittany saw her body convulse.
"What's wrong?" She asked, feeling panic rising in her chest. "What's wrong with her?"
Puck carried her to the couch, gently placing her down to lie across it.
Brittany's heart stopped as she saw a large stain forming on Quinn's deep blue dress.
"What is that?" She asked, pointing. "Santana what is that?"
"Did your water break?" Jade asked.
When Puck pulled back, standing up straight, they all had their answer. It wasn't her water breaking, Quinn was bleeding.
Quinn was crying now, crying loudly. She was terrified, Brittany could tell. Brittany herself was terrified. Blood wasn't good, she knew that. It wasn't normal and it wasn't good. They needed to get Quinn to a hospital immediately.
"911." She said, looking around the room.
"Fuck." Puck said, staring down at his hands. "Fuck."
"Jade go get Theo." Santana said frantically, rushing into the bathroom.
"And get a phone." Brittany told her. Jade nodded before rushing out. She followed Santana into the bathroom.
"What are you doing?"
"Getting towels. Here." She handed Brittany the smallest one. "Wet it."
"Why?" Brittany asked, as she did what Santana said.
"I don't know." Santana admitted, glancing at her. "But we should do something. Keep her calm…"
"Okay." Brittany swallowed.
With three towels and one wet one, they left the bathroom.
"Quinn don't push." Santana said, kneeling in front of the couch. Puck backed up, clutching his head.
"It hurts!" Quinn wailed.
"I know. I know but…" Santana looked helplessly at the blood pooling around Quinn. "Something's wrong." She said quietly.
"I don't want to lose this baby." Quinn cried, shaking her head. "What if something's wrong with me and she's dying?"
"I don't know." Santana said, sounding overwhelmed. She piled the towels between Quinn's legs.
"We're going to get you to a hospital." Brittany said. "You're both going to be fine."
"Should we take her to my car?" Puck asked. "I can carry her."
"No I don't think we should move her." Santana said.
"AAAAH" Quinn screamed.
The door burst open, revealing a distraught Theo, then Jade.
"Baby!" Theo cried, rushing to Quinn's side. He let out a sob as he saw the blood.
"Theo…"
"Baby what happened?" he knelt near Quinn's head, brushing back her hair and kissing her face.
"I'm scared." They heard Quinn admit in a broken voice.
Brittany felt something ache deep inside her, tears instantly falling from her eyes. This was the third time she was watching someone bleed out. First in Brazil, with Jesus and Kyler's birth mother, then with Puck after he'd been shot, now Quinn. This was the second time she was watching one of her friends lie in a pool of their own blood.
Santana's hands were getting stained with blood as well as it soaked the towels she was holding.
"We're at the signia by hilton." Jade said, drawing Brittany's attention. She had her phone pressed to her ear, her watery eyes fixed on Quinn. "Sorry, sorry." Jade blinked, turning her back on Quinn. "Yes, 170 S Market street. Can you hurry? There's a lot of blood."
Brittany looked back at Quinn. The towels Santana was holding, at least the parts that Brittany could see, were completely soaked. Quinn screamed again, her back arching up off the couch. Theo pressed his lips to her temple, trying to comfort her. Brittany couldn't imagine the pain he was in.
"I don't know….uh…Britt?"
Brittany turned to Jade.
"How far along is she?"
"Eight and…a…a-" She couldn't remember if it was one week or two.
"Thirty three weeks." Theo said, lifting his head for the first time since he took his place by Quinn. His eyes were red, his cheeks stained with tears. Brittany had never seen him look so broken. "She's thirty three weeks."
Jade repeated that into the phone.
"Okay….Yes her feet are up."
"Are they coming?" Santana asked in a shrill voice.
"Five minutes." Jade said.
"Fuck." Puck cursed, turning and kicking the table. "That's too far. Let me just take her in my car."
"Yes." Theo said, standing up.
"No." Quinn whimpered, pulling him back down. "Don't leave me."
"I'm not." He kissed her. "I'm right here baby. I'm not leaving you."
"I don't think we should move her." Brittany said anxiously. "What if we make it worse?"
"We can't just sit and wait." Puck yelled. "She's dying!"
"Shut up!" Santana snapped, standing and rounding on him. "You're scared but imagine how she feels."
Puck sighed heavily, tears falling from his eyes.
"And anyway, what are we going to do if something happens in your car? The ambulance can keep her stable till the hospital, so we wait."
After a moment of staring into her eyes, Puck nodded.
"QUINN!" Theo screamed, shaking her furiously. "BABY?"
Quinn was unconscious.
"Oh my god." Brittany breathed, feeling bile rise in her throat as her heart beat frantically.
"Wake up, wake up." Puck kneeled beside Theo, gently slapping Quinn's cheeks. Santana stormed to Jade.
"Give me that." She snatched the phone.
"Five minutes better become one you hear me." She said angrily. "I don't care if you have to drive on the fucking sidewalk. My best friend is dying. Her baby is dying- don't tell me to stay calm. She's passed out on the couch with blood-oh that makes a difference does it? Yes she's lost consciousness….just now. So you need to get here right fucking now and save her!"
Brittany bent over, hands on her knees, trying to breathe. She felt light headed and nauseas, like she too might pass out at any second.
"This can't be happening." Not to Quinn. She was getting her second chance. Finally getting her happily ever after. She was marrying the perfect guy, they were starting a family. Brittany was supposed to spoil her baby like Quinn had spoiled hers, and Quinn was supposed to get her chance to be a mother; watch her daughter grow up. They only had a few weeks to go before Quinn got everything she ever wanted. This couldn't be happening now.
"They just turned onto the street." Santana said, walking back to the couch. "They're coming Theo. She's going to be okay."
Theo didn't respond. He was holding Quinn close to him, gently petting her hair as he cried.
She was still breathing, which was the only reason Brittany hadn't thrown up yet. She was breathing, and the ambulance would be here any second. They'd stop the bleeding and everything was going to be okay.
Puck sniffed, sitting back on his heels, then his red rimmed eyes turned to Malek. Brittany watched his face harden. He wiped his nose on the back of his hand and pushed onto his feet.
"Noah." She said, standing straight.
"This is your fault." Puck said, advancing on Malek.
"No, Noah wait." Jade rushed forward, trying to pull him back.
"You're the reason she's lying there…" He faltered, swallowing thickly. "You're the reason he might lose everything!"
Malek backed up until he hit the wall his hands up. He was also crying.
"You're gonna pay for this."
"NOAH!" Brittany and Jade screamed, as Puck pulled free of Jade's grip and tackled Malek to the floor, punching him repeatedly. Brittany was surprised to see Malek put up a good fight. He managed to punch Puck a couple of times too, but Puck had him securely on the floor, giving him an advantage. She had to turn away as Malek's nose started bleeding.
"Noah stop!" Jade yelled. "Stop it! Stop babe!" She managed to pull Puck up and off Malek. He staggered a few steps, looking wild, his knuckles covered in blood. Malek groaned on the floor, spitting out more blood.
The door burst open, making them all jump, but then a wave of relief washed over Brittany as the paramedics ran in.
"Thank god." She sighed, dropping to the floor. Her head was swimming.
"She's here." Santana said, waving them over.
Santana had to pull Theo out of the way to give them room to work.
"What's wrong with her?" He asked weakly.
"We don't know yet, but we're going to help her." The female paramedic said.
"What happened before she started bleeding?" The male paramedic asked, as he hooked Quinn up to a heart monitor.
"She was angry." Santana said, when Theo shook his head. "She...she'd lost her temper."
"Okay." The lady nodded. "Is she on any medication?"
Theo shook his head again. "Prenatal vitamins."
A second later, the room was filled with the sound of the beeping heart monitor.
"Is the baby okay?" Theo choked out.
"I'm looking for a heartbeat." The lady said. It was a tense minute as they all waited, Theo looked like he was holding his breath. Finally, she smiled and nodded. "There's a heartbeat."
"Oh thank god!" Santana said, covering her face with her hands and letting out a relieved sob. "Thank you God."
"She's okay Quinn." Theo said, reaching for her hand since that was all he could reach. "She's alive. She's okay."
"It looks like a Placental abruption." The lady said. "So we need to move fast."
"What does that mean?"
"Every second we waist explaining it to you, is a second she and the baby loses. We need to get to the hospital right now. Are you the husband?"
"Fiancé."
"Okay. You can come with us. The rest of you can meet us at the hospital."
"Okay." Santana said. "Which hospital?"
"Good Samaritan." The man told her.
"Okay."
"Sir." He looked at Theo. "You should call your OB."
Theo nodded. "I can do that from the ambulance."
They set about trying to move Quinn to the gurney. When they had her off the couch, Brittany saw just how much blood had seeped into the cushions. The nausea immediately returned. She dropped her head into her hands.
"Dios mio!"
Brittany's head snapped up to see Maribel, Stephen and her parents standing in the doorway. Her mother looked white as a sheet.
"What in the world happened?" Susan asked, walking shakily into the room.
The paramedics had transferred Quinn to the gurney. They pulled up the sides and gathered up all the equipment they had taken out.
"Mum move." Brittany said. "They need to get to the hospital quickly."
Their parents moved and the paramedics rushed past.
"We'll see you at the hospital Theo okay?" Santana called.
Like a zombie, Theo nodded, then took off after them.
"We saw the ambulance and thought Noah or Santana had killed that man…her drummer... What's his name?" Susan asked.
"Malek." Pierce said angrily.
"Noah tried." Santana said. "He's over there." She jutted her chin out. All four parents turned to see Malek seated with his back pressed against the wall.
"Mmh" Stephen grunted. "You're lucky I'm not a violent man."
"What happened?" Susan asked again.
"She got too worked up I guess." Jade said. "Suddenly she was screaming and there was blood."
"Madre María." Maribel breathed, doing the sign of the cross.
"We have to go." Santana said. "We need to meet Theo at the hospital."
"I will come with you." Stephen said. "I understand hospitals."
"Okay." Santana said. "I need my phone…." Then her eyes widened. "The kids!"
"We'll take them home." Maribel said.
"Tell them Tia is having her baby." Brittany said, standing up. "Don't tell them anything else. I don't want to scare them."
"Okay."
"Dad will you get our bags and meet us there?" Santana asked. "I can't go back in that room."
"Of course." He nodded.
"Alright B let's go."
"We're coming too," Puck said.
"Fine."
Brittany walked towards the door, but before she walked out, she looked over at Malek. He actually looked pained, which almost made her feel bad for him. He was looking back at her, pleading.
"I'm sorry." He said.
Brittany shook her head. She didn't forgive him. Not for kissing Santana, and not for what it had caused Quinn.
"Britt!"
Brittany turned and ran out.
Waiting for the valet to get her car was brutal for Santana. She felt like her insides were eating each other, or like a large animal was eating her insides. The ride to the hospital was a blur. There was no traffic, only one traffic light, and no one in the car said a thing. She parked quickly and ran to the emergency room.
"Okay Britt, you have to go ask them."
"Okay."
"Let's all go."
"No." Santana gripped Puck's arm to keep him from walking forward. "It has to be Brittany. You're going to say you're her sister Britt."
"We don't have time for this." Puck groaned.
"If we just go up and ask, they'll say they can't tell us anything about it cause we're not family."
"Oh come on-"
"It's what happened with you." Santana snapped. "When you were shot, it took us hours to get them to tell us anything. We had to say your parents were dead."
Puck sighed. "Fine."
"Britt go say you're her sister."
Nodding, Brittany walked up to the nurse's station.
Again, the waiting was agony. Santana bit her lip nervously as she watched Brittany nod along to whatever the nurse was telling her. It had been a lot of blood. Santana hadn't seen that much blood since Brazil ten years ago, and knowing that all that blood was Quinn's had her reeling. The twins' birth mother hadn't survived loosing that much blood, how could Quinn? Granted, Quinn hadn't been stabbed. Santana hoped that made a difference.
"Thank you." She heard Brittany say, before she turned and walked back to them.
"She said she was rushed to surgery." Brittany told them. "And we can wait on the third floor."
Nothing more needed to be said. They all ran to the nearest elevator.
They spotted Theo immediately, sitting on one of the chairs with his head in his hands. Santana's heart broke for him. She knew what it was like to have the person you loved, your person, on the brink of death like this. She rushed to his side.
"Theo." She said sadly, wrapping her arm around him. Theo let out a sob. "She's going to be okay. She has to."
He didn't respond, but gave a very small nod. Santana sighed.
"Did they tell you anything?" Puck asked. "Before taking her in?"
Theo swallowed, looking up. "They tried to explain it, but…." He shook his head helplessly. "Basically, it's not good for either of them."
Santana pulled her lips into her mouth, feeling tears pool in her eyes. She wiped them away quickly. She needed something to distract herself from the hopelessness of the situation.
"Jade." She said. "Can I use your phone?"
"Yeah." Jade handed it to her. "What for?"
"To tell my dad where we are."
"I can't lose her." Theo wept, his head falling back into his hands. "We were supposed to have forever. I can't-"
"You won't." Jade said, sitting on Theo's other side. "Be strong mate, she's going to be fine."
"They both are." Santana said, rubbing his back. Quinn's story couldn't end like this.
An hour later it was a little past midnight. Santana's dad had arrived a while back with their bags, which had Santana's phone. So she called her mum to talk to her kids and make sure they didn't freak out. Then they had just waited. No one spoke. They were all lost in thought, all feeling too bad for Theo, too worried about Quinn, to talk about anything.
"I'll go see if I can get us an update." Stephen said, gently gripping Santana's shoulder.
"Okay." Santana mumbled. He disappeared round a corner.
Brittany was pacing in front of her, anxiously biting her nails. Since arriving Brittany hadn't sat down, and she hadn't stopped crying.
"Come here." Santana said, pulling Brittany into her lap. "Stop over-thinking."
"I'm not overthinking, I'm just…thinking." Brittany whispered.
"What're you thinking?"
Brittany glanced at Theo, who was still holding his head in despair.
"That was a lot of blood." Brittany said, switching to Spanish.
Santana nodded. "Yeah."
"And she was unconscious."
"Yeah." Santana said again.
"What if she dies? Or the baby doesn't make it?"
"You can't think like that." Santana said, gripping Brittany tighter. "You don't know what happened to her or what the chances of survival are for either of them."
"I should have stopped her sooner."
"Stop." Santana pressed her lips to Brittany's temple, kissing her several times. "Don't do that to yourself babe."
"But I should have. I could have stopped this-"
"Okay listen to me." Santana interrupted her. "Driving yourself crazy thinking about what you could or should have done won't help Quinn or the baby, and won't make you feel better."
"I can't help it." Brittany said, wiping the silent tears from her cheeks.
"I know but…" She kissed Brittany's temple again. "You know what I did when it was you in the hospital bed and all I could think about was the worst case scenarios?"
"Mmh-mmh" Brittany shook her head.
"I thought, how does me putting all my bad thoughts out there in the universe help you get better? I was basically sending you bad energy." Santana took a deep breath. "So, as hard as it was, I forced myself to think good things. Healing things. I forced myself to imagine you waking up, and getting to see you smile again, and me getting to take you home."
Brittany sniffed.
"It made me feel a lot better than imagining you dying."
"Yeah."
"And you woke up the next day."
Brittany craned her neck to look at her. Santana nodded. She knew it was a little silly, she was implying that her positive thoughts healed Brittany. In truth it was probably a coincidence, but she liked to think she'd played a part in Brittany waking up. That her change in attitude, and her hope, had affected Brittany.
"Okay." Brittany said, her eyes falling closed. "Okay."
Stephen returned with a doctor in scrubs, her hair tied up under a scrub cap. Santana sat up.
"Theo" She nudged him. "The doctor."
He shot up out of his seat, rushing forward.
"Is she okay? Is the baby?"
"Right now they're both still alive." The doctor said. Theo sighed in relief. Santana on the other hand felt herself tense up even more. Right now, she said. As if she wasn't sure they would be for much longer. "We're still in surgery, it'll probably take another two, maybe three hours."
"And what are you doing?" Stephen asked. "What happened to her."
Santana nodded. That's what they all wanted to know.
"She has something called placenta abruption."
"Oh." Stephen groaned, dropping into a seat.
"What?" Theo asked, looking panicked. "What? Why is he…what's that?"
"It's when the placenta separates from the uterus. It means the baby is being deprived of oxygen-"
"Shit." Santana breathed.
"But we are working to deliver her as soon as possible. She's far enough along that all she may need is a week in the NICU."
"Okay." Theo took a few breaths, steeling himself. "What about Quinn?"
Santana saw it written plain as day on the doctor's face. Quinn was not going to be as easy to fix.
"She's losing a lot of blood. Once we get the baby out we will work to stabilize her."
"So she's going to be okay?" Theo asked hopefully.
Santana gripped Brittany's hand tight, willing herself not to cry. Theo didn't need all of them crying as well. They needed to be strong for him. For Quinn.
"We're doing everything we can." Santana rolled her eyes. She'd heard that so many times, it was now a hollow statement. "But she is bleeding a lot. She had already lost a lot of blood by the time she got here…" The doctor shook her head. "You should brace yourself-"
"No, no." Theo wailed, his hands clasping over his mouth. "No, she's…I can't…."
"Puck." Santana said, crying despite her best efforts. Puck's jaw was clenching, Santana suspected he too was trying not to cry. He walked to Theo and guided him back to the chair. "Why would you say that?" She asked the doctor. She looked sadly at them.
"I understand it's painful, but he shou...you all should start preparing yourselves for the possibility that she-"
"No." Santana said. "Quinn is not going to die."
The doctor pressed her lips together and sighed.
"I should go back in there. We will update you as soon as we can."
She left.
Theo was crying so hard his body was shaking, as Brittany hugged him tight to her chest.
Santana wouldn't accept it. If Puck could be shot point blank, and Brittany could be in a comma for six days and both of them were fine, Quinn could survive this. They were not going to lose her.
"Papi." She said, sniffing. Her dad was by her side in a flash. "Can you go by the house and get us some clothes."
"Si."
"If we're going to be waiting for another two or three hours, we should change into more comfortable stuff."
"Okay." He nodded.
"You can also update mami and Susan, I'm sure they're just as worried."
"I have been texting tu mami, but yes, I will update them."
"Thanks." Santana retook her seat.
"I'll also go get us some stuff Noah." Jade said. Puck nodded. "Theo?" Jade asked. He didn't turn to look at her, just shook his head.
"Get him something." Santana said quietly. "He can't think about it now but he might want them later."
"Okay."
"Here." Santana rummaged through her bag and pulled out the spare key she had to Quinn's apartment, handing it to Jade.
"Thanks. I'll see you guys in a bit."