Santana doesn't think she's ever run so fast as she was right now in her entire life getting upstairs to the third floor of the hospital. She hit the elevator button about a million times before heading to the stairs, Will wishing Santana had just waited as he panted, hands on his knees to catch his breath at the top of the second flight.
"Santana, wait for—"
She didn't wait, stopping short on her toes, arms flailing around to keep herself balanced and from falling into Maeve who was about to go into her sister's room. Maeve heard the footsteps and waited outside to prevent the young girl from waking her twin up. She knew Santana wouldn't understand how her sister was already asleep again, but she had plenty of knowledge to pass down having worked in the ICU longer than she'd been alive.
"Slow down, honey. We don't need you getting hurt and ending up in a bed next to your sister."
"My, my mom said," Santana was trying to catch her breath and speak which wasn't working well for her. "…she's awake."
"Your sister was awake for a little while earlier, she fell asleep again about fifteen minutes ago," Maeve commented.
"You're lying." Santana wasn't rude about it, something Maeve understood, she was just in disbelief.
"Rachel needs all the rest she can get to regain her strength, honey. I promise she'll wake up in no time."
"Santana! I told you to wait for dad, sweetie," the father panted, now standing outside Rachel's door with his daughter and the family's favorite nurse, trying to catch his breath.
"It's okay, Will."
"She's asleep again, dad! I told you we should have gone through that red light that takes forever and a day."
Maeve laughed at the feisty brunette, she was funny, refreshing really. Shelby heard two distinctive voices and walked out of Rachel's room, carefully closing the door behind her to not wake the sleeping girl and opened her arms so she could get a hug from her little girl. "Hi baby."
"Why didn't you call sooner, mom?" Santana asked, her face smooshed against her mother's chest, clearly exhausted and upset Rachel wasn't awake like Shelby had said she was.
"Oh boy. You're extra tired today, aren't you babe?"
"No I'm not," she whined, giving the mother her answer.
"Rach, look who's here, baby," Shelby said softly, running her hand up Rachel's arm.
"It's me," Santana announced with a smile.
"Daddy is here too," Shelby added; Will was sitting next to her with Santana on the other side of the hospital bed trying not to overcrowd Rachel.
"It's so nice to see those beautiful brown eyes again, honey," he smiled.
Shelby could tell Rachel was feeling the same way as she was earlier and stood up, taking her daughter's hand again after dimming the lights and stroking her forehead lightly. "Squeeze mommy's hand if you're in pain, baby."
Rachel did what her mother told her and then started coughing however, because of the fact she was intubated, she looked like she was choking causing the machines to start going crazy. "What's happening?" Santana screamed and Will pulled her out of the room as nurses came running in. "No daddy, I don't want to leave her! Let me go back in!"
"Shh, shh, take some deep breaths honey."
"She's fighting her ventilation. I need you to keep her calm until Dr. Stratton gets up here to extubate her," Maeve told Shelby while the other nurses got everything prepared for him.
"Look at mommy, babe. Look into my eyes." Shelby knew her daughter couldn't tell her the color but knew she'd understand what her mom was trying to get her to do. "You're okay, I'm right here baby and I'm not going anywhere."
"Alright Rachel, on the count of three I want you to take a deep breath and then cough. Squeeze mom's hand and listen to the story she's going to tell you, I hear it's a good one," the doctor explained with a wink to Shelby who had agreed to play along.
"I was thinking about our next Vocal Adrenaline competition, and I think Beth should get the solo instead of you and Santana, she seems ready to me," Shelby teased watching Rachel's shoulders drop as she started to calm down.
"Beth is your five-month-old, right Shelby?" Maeve asked, and the other nurses in the room laughed to keep the room joyful and worry free for the girl.
"Oh absolutely, I heard five months is the new fifteen," Dr. Stratton added. "Big breath and cough in 1, 2, 3…"
Shelby winced seeing her daughter gagging after the tube was out, quickly pulling focus back to herself to get her daughter to slow her breathing down. "You did such a good job, baby girl. Hey, focus back on mommy. Do you remember your first day of kindergarten? You and your sister tried to tag team my heart strings hoping that I'd let you girls stay home with me instead of going inside to have fun with all the new friends you two made. And what did mommy tell you that day before you and Santana came home with the biggest smiles on your faces? Three breaths and go because you can do anything you set your minds to, right?"
Shelby smiled seeing her daughter breathing normally again. "There's my girl. Hi baby."
"Mo-m-my," Rachel said, voice hoarse and quiet.
"That's a good sign, mom," the doctor said. He has seen every scenario when patients come out of a coma whether medically induced or not. With the seizures Rachel had, he was worried if the girl woke up, she would have trouble speaking and may not recognize someone as familiar as her mother.
"Oh, my baby," Shelby said, leaning forward to kiss her forehead. She continued cupping Rachel's cheeks staring into her beautiful brown eyes, trying not to cry. She was so thankful her little girl woke up because the doctor's list of possibilities had been weighing on her the last few days and she couldn't shake the feeling something worse would happen.
"Hi Rachel, my name is Dr. Stratton. I'm going to ask you a few questions and I want you to nod your head if you can understand me, okay?"
Rachel nodded and he continued. "Great Rachel, just like that. Are you in any pain?" Nod. "In your throat?" Nod. "That's from the tube I just took out, it was helping you breathe. I can order you more numbing spray which will make it feel better. Do you have pain any where else?" Nod. "A headache?" Nod. "Anywhere else?" Not receiving an answer, he continued. "I'll order some medicine for your head too; it might make you a bit sleepy though. I know you know who this is," he said pointing to Shelby, "I'm going to bring two more people in here and I want you to tell me if you know them as well, okay?" Nod.
Maeve had been in the hallway with Will and Santana explaining the plan to them, letting Will make sure Santana understood the importance of not bombarding her sister, raising her voice, or expecting the tiny brunette to speak yet.
When they went into her room, Dr. Stratton started his second round of questions. "Do you know who this is?" he asked, signaling Will. Nod. "And what about this girl who doesn't know what 'no running' means," he asked with a smile hearing the story from Maeve. Nod.
Santana released a breath she didn't know she was holding when Rachel nodded yes. She didn't know what she'd do if Rachel didn't know who she was. Luckily for Santana, she'll never need to find out.
Dr. Stratton saw Rachel's eyes fluttering and knew Shelby was about to tell him no more when he spoke up first, "I have two more questions for you and then you can go back to sleep, Rachel." He folded the blanket up revealing sock covered feet and ran his finger up her left foot first. "Can you feel me touching your foot?" Nod. "Good. And what about this foot?" Nod. "Perfect. Get some rest Rachel, I'll see you soon."
Rachel wasted no time closing her eyes and Maeve stayed with the twins while Will and Shelby followed the doctor out of her room, closing the door behind them. "These are all great signs. I'm going to order a few more tests to compare her brain activity from when she was first admitted to today's activity, I'm hopeful though."
"Should we keep her from talking and use yes or no questions like you did just now?" Shelby asked, not knowing if he didn't want her to speak or if he had her nod because it would save Rachel from trying to answer all his questions.
"I'd try and keep her from using her voice today because her throat is raw and sore from the intubation. The numbing spray I ordered for her will only do so much for the pain. I know you want to hear her voice; believe me I do. We don't know what she remembers yet and aren't sure how the anti-seizure meds are working, so keep things positive and focus on getting her to breathe the way you were a few minutes ago; if she becomes increasingly stressed, she may try to use her voice too soon and cause herself more pain which could lead to a coughing fit and her o2 levels dropping again. As you know, we've pretreated an epilepsy diagnosis and if that's what this is, stress isn't good for her."
Paging Dr. Stratton. You have a phone call on line four, Dr. Stratton line four.
"I'll be back to check on Rachel later today."
"Th'sty," Rachel whispered.
"What do you need, babe?" Shelby followed her daughter's line of sight and spoke before Rachel strained her voice again. "Okay baby, hold on. Mommy will get it for you."
"I'll do it mama," Santana said, pouring a glass of water for her sister and bringing the cup up to her lips.
"Uh-uh, wait a second, babe."
Will saw his wife looking around and walked towards the door when he figured out what she needed to help their daughter. "Hold on, honey. I'll go find the straws to make it easier for you."
Will found a bunch in the little kitchenette near the elevators and ran back to his daughters' room shaking his head at himself because he had just told Santana yet again not to run in the hospital. A few of the nurses laughed as he ran by because they had heard him earlier, thinking the same thing: this family was so great. Will handed the straw over to Santana who quickly opened it and then brought the cup up to her sister's lips once again.
"Not too fast, baby. Small sips," Shelby reminded her, she didn't want her to choke and start coughing because it would only cause more pain.
Rachel drank the water and then laid her head back on the pillows, smiling when her mom straightened out the blankets around her. She was ridiculously tired and didn't understand why keeping her eyes open was so damn hard. Rachel's mind was racing thinking back to all the 'memories' she made with Juan while in her coma—once she could use her voice, she wanted to talk to her mom about it, or maybe Santana…she couldn't decide.
Rachel heard her family's voices but had no idea what they were talking about because she was so focused on trying to figure out who to talk to, when it wouldn't hurt to use her voice, if she'd ever be able to talk to her father again in her 'dreams', and what the heck led her to the hospital in the first place. Her dad told her she had another seizure, he didn't know why though which meant she didn't know why either. She wanted to ask her mom why it happened, but it became clear to her that they were doing everything in their power to not talk about it.
"…picture of it, Rach. Look," Santana laughed, and Rachel tried to figure out what they were talking about. Santana was showing her a picture of Beth who was wearing an awful outfit, and it became clear they were talking about something her father had done in the past few days.
"Dad really thought this matched," she laughed. "Don't worry, I changed her like, right away. We can't have our sister dressing like a freakin' weirdo."
Rachel smiled, eyes moving from the picture of Beth to her twin, and then back down to stare at her hand that was linked with Shelby's. Her eyes started fluttering again and she let them close hearing her mom whisper to her sister to keep her voice down.
"Daddy? Dad! Please come back, daddy! I need you."
"I'm here, mija."
And just like that, they were inside the brownstone he and Shelby had lived in for years and for the first eight months of the twin's lives. Shelby stayed two months after her husband died to pack, spend time with Maria and Carlos, and wait for the custom designs to be finished in the new home.
Juan was now sitting on the couch, Rachel standing in front of him rubbing her temples to help the headache she had while trying to figure out how her dad had the power to transport them in the blink of an eye. This didn't happen in the dreams she normally had, she assumed it was from the coma and medicine they were giving her. Focusing back on the reason she needed to see her dad again, she finally spoke.
"Daddy, you didn't tell me it would hurt so much when I opened my eyes."
"If you knew, would you have done it?"
Rachel shook her head no, and Juan pulled his daughter into his lap, wiping the tears from her face and kissing her forehead. "The most important things in life take hard work, nina. You know this from all your years of dancing, cheerleading and singing. They make you the happiest, and I know for a fact you've shed tears, been in pain, and spent countless hours perfecting your craft, which is hard work. Permanence, perseverance, and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements, and impossibilities—it is this that distinguishes the strong from the weak, and you Rachel Barbra are incredibly strong."
"Mom says that to Tana and me all the time," Rachel whispered. She had no idea how her dad could possibly know that because Shelby obviously started saying it to them when they were much older.
"I told you mija, I'm always with you."
"I wish Tana could experience all these memories with you too, daddy." Rachel had decided before falling back asleep to only talk about this with her mom because she didn't want to upset her sister by 'getting to experience' having Juan in her life knowing Santana won't.
"Twins share a lifelong bond and attachment that begins when in utero, nina—and my perfect pair is extra special. I can confidently say you two will forever share your nonverbal communication skills and need for closeness, including your linked pinky's, snuggling on top of one another, morning cuddles before you start your days, and sharing dreams only one of you had."
"What are you saying?" Rachel asked.
"I've missed seeing them snuggled up together so much," Shelby said to her mother, not tearing her eyes from the twins.
"She looks so little," Katherine commented.
It was true. Rachel has always been smaller than Santana, it's not as noticeable when they cuddled though because Santana's legs were always wrapped over Rachel's—something about the way they snuggled made them look 'equal' in size. Not today though, and not in a hospital bed. Shelby didn't want Santana squishing her sister, especially with her o2 levels not where they should be, making Rachel look even smaller with Santana up against her, body stretched out completely.
"I know, I feel like she has lost weight she didn't have to lose in the last few days."
Katherine walked around the hospital bed and wiped her daughter's tears, "She'll be home and eating every few hours again before you know it, honey."
"Turn around," Juan said to Rachel.
"Oh my gosh, Tana?" The twins took off running towards one another, Rachel jumping into her sister's arms. She didn't know how the heck her sister was in her 'dream' but didn't care because she hadn't been able to speak with her for days now.
"I missed you so much, Rachie. Life isn't even the tiniest bit okay without you."
Rachel squeezed her sister even tighter and then gasped, planting her feet back on solid ground. "Tana…umm…"
"I know," Santana said with a nod. They shared a look and Rachel knew her sister was ready.
They linked pinky's and walked over to Juan who was trying not to cry seeing his girls together as teenagers—he and Shelby spoke about watching the girls grow up all the time, wondering how similar and different they'd be, if they'd be incredibly close or bicker any chance they could, what attributes would be identical, and so much more.
"Hi daddy."
"Oh mija, you're so beautiful," Juan said, kissing the top of her head and hugging her. He saw Rachel watching them and pulled her into the hug as well. This meant so much to him, even if it wasn't real, it felt real to the three of them.
Will was outside with his parents and feeding Beth her bottle, experiencing what he liked to call a 'Corcoran spiral', something the twins and his wife did often. Since the day Rachel was admitted to the hospital, he's spiraled with his parents each day so he could appear strong for his wife and daughters.
"So far, the tests have come back saying the same thing, and while she's not experiencing another seizure at the moment, it's possible she'll have to deal with them for the rest of her life. What if that means she can't perform anymore? That will kill her and Santana. What about school? What if she can't catch up and is held back without her sister? What if—"
"Woah, woah, woah. Take a beat, son. You need to take things one step at a time. Remember last year when you thought the same thing? How did Rachel finish her school year?" Robert waited until his son stopped pacing and then continued. "With straight A's, playing one of the leads in the school musical with her sister as the other, and winning two National titles."
"This is different, dad."
"We know it is, Will. You're missing the point though, honey," Rose chimed in.
Will took his wife's advice, taking three deep breaths letting his fathers' words sink in. They were right, the best thing to do was take it one day at a time. Beth cooed in his arms, and he looked down at her and smiled. Even though he didn't know the twins when they were this age, a part of him felt as if Beth gave him insight into how precious they were before he met Shelby. The blonde hair was different, she has the same nose as Rachel, the same smile as Santana, his wife's green eyes, his curls—Beth truly has a piece of all of them.
"Oh my god, we need a new freakin' plan!" Quinn announced, sitting in the choir room with their friends.
The ten kids haven't eaten lunch in the cafeteria since the day Rachel had her seizure because they were bombarded with questions about Rachel the entire time from people they don't really even know. Sure, they knew the rest of the glee members, the cheerios and football players, the school included way more kids though. One day they ate on the stage in the auditorium, another on the courtyard steps leaving the guys threatening anyone who tried to join them, and today they were in the choir room.
"Quinn's right, there are only so many places we can hide out," Tina said.
"We need to make an announcement over the speaker thing," Finn said, standing up and walking around his friends as if he was going to give a pep talk.
Quinn and Puck shared a look. Yes, Puck and Finn are 'best buds' but he and Quinn ran things when the twins weren't here. As Finn continued talking, the two of them whispered ideas back and forth, deciding on one and sending a text to Shelby who they've been running everything by. Typically, it would be Santana, but Shelby made it clear to them when they were at the hospital that everything was to go through her, not her daughter.
The parents knew rumors were once again circulating through school because Emma and Shannon were keeping their ears to the ground for them. Most of the school was concerned, there will always be a group of kids who like to start shit, and/or make things up just for the hell of it. Those rumors were the worst, and the parents had been told Puck had gotten to most of them meaning, multiple fist fights. They weren't thrilled, physical violence was not something they tolerated, however, Will and Shelby didn't have it in them to truly care.
If they were being honest with themselves, they felt it was justified because some of the kids accused their daughter of using drugs and 'tweaking' because she needed more to get through the school day. Shelby lost it when she heard that rumor, it was the farthest thing from the truth and completely unacceptable.
"Shelby said it was fine," Quinn whispered to Puck, and he nodded.
"Cool. Let's go take of it before lunch is over."
"Where are you going, lunch isn't over yet?" Sugar asked.
"Don't worry about it." And with that, they were gone.
"Mom, where are you?"
"In the den, Quinny. How was school today?"
Judy turned to face Quinn after signing the check she was writing and stood up, walking over to her daughter and wrapping her arms around her seeing tears. "What's wrong, honey?"
"School is so hard, mom."
Judy knew she wasn't talking about the work itself because that was never a problem for Quinn and most of her friends. "She's going to be okay, Quinny."
"You don't know that."
"You're right, I don't have all the answers. I do know Will and Shelby will never stop fighting to find a cure to help Rachel, and she's lucky to have friends like you who will always be there for her."
"I'm the lucky one."
"You are honey. Rachel and Santana love you so much."
Quinn had been doing a lot of soul searching the past few days. The problem with all this thinking though was the fact she didn't have anyone to truly talk about it with. All these feelings she had were new to her. Quinn knew if she talked about this with Puck, he'd find some way to give her shit and then he'd probably be supportive and figured he was her best bet right now.
"I love them too, mom."
Judy watched her daughter walk up the stairs and wondered what else she was thinking about. She was feeling a bit lost herself not knowing what to do for Will and Shelby—they've been friends for years, no one has ever experienced something like this before though.
"Don't leave us, daddy."
"Never, ninas. I'll always be with you girls."
"We love you, forever."
"I love you each more than all the stars besides one."
Santana opened her eyes first and realized she was still snuggled with her sister as her eyes welled with tears. She heard her parents whispering about gosh knows what, she didn't care. Santana watched her sister's eyes flutter open and turned her head to look at herself.
They had a silent conversation regarding what had just happened, Rachel feeling a weight lifted from her chest because her sister saw him too. They didn't keep anything from each other, this was going to be the first thing Rachel hid, and she felt like an elephant was on her chest.
"I love you, Rachie," she whispered.
"M-e, t—" Santana squeezed her sisters' hand as if to say she understood what Rachel was trying to tell her and to not strain herself.
Shelby looked over at the girls seeing movement out of the corner of her eye and her heart swelled seeing them in a silent conversation. She missed all their 'twin powers' and shared mannerisms, Santana was right, life isn't the same without Rachel.
Shelby stopped Will from standing up and moving closer to them because she knew the twins needed this. Whatever they were talking about was making them cry, something Shelby wanted to help soothe, however, wanted to give them a bit longer until she and Will made themselves known.
"Mom, can Puck come over for dinner? He's having a hard time too."
"Sure honey, I'll set a plate for him."
Quinn breathed a sigh of relief because she had already told him he could come over. She knew her mom was 'pretty chill' though, and if she played on her heart strings, Quinn could get away with a lot. She wasn't making anything up today, they really were upset.
"So what's up? Or do you just wanna make out?"
"Ugh, back off Puck," Quinn scoffed, shoving him backwards. She had made out with him a few times before; this wasn't what she wanted to talk to him about though. "Stop acting like a man whore, I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you."
"Woah, chill out. I'll be serious, promise."
"Have you ever been afraid of your own thoughts before?"
"Yeah of course, sometimes I get so mad I wanna do a lot more than beat the crap out of someone. Wait, you don't wanna hurt someone do you? Cause' I'll totally handle it for you if that's what this is about."
"Oh my god, no Puck. Not everyone wants to punch people."
"Okay…so what's this about then?"
Quinn started getting emotional and Puck pulled her into his arms and comforted her. He really hated seeing girls cry and because he's a big softy with his friends, he will always protect and comfort them when needed.
"Quinn, what's going on?"
"I can't…I just can't," she said, shaking her head back and forth. This seemed like such a good idea earlier, now that Puck was here though, she couldn't bring herself to say anything.
"Quinn, I'm not gonna judge you. Whatever it is we will figure it out together."