Quinn Fabray sighed deeply. It was 10:00 p.m. on a Friday. Usually, she'd be at some frat party or attending a late-night lecture by one of her professors. But not this Friday. This Friday, she was taking Rachel on a date. Like an honest-to-God, she-likes-me-as-more-than-a-friend date!

At least, that had been the plan. Now, Quinn wasn't so sure.

Rachel was supposed to meet Quinn at her dorm room at 6 - four hours ago! She'd had it all planned out, even got her stick-in-the-mud roommate to spend the weekend at one of her friends so they could have the room to themselves. It wasn't like she was planning to sleep with the brunette. Hell, she'd only come out to herself a few months ago. She hasn't even told her mother. The only people who knew were Rachel and her roommate, Samantha … and she'd only told Sam in case she needed to find a new roomie!

Quinn had planned to take Rachel to Heirloom, an American bistro with plenty of vegan options near the campus. After dinner, Quinn would take her to tour Yale's fabulous collection of musical instruments at the School of Music. A romantic walk back to her dorm room, maybe a kiss at the threshold, just to honor the tradition. Who knows, maybe more than one kiss? They'd finish the night with a movie and then bed. Without her roommate, there would be an extra bed … in case Rachel wanted to sleep alone. Not that had happened the other times Rachel had visited Quinn. But that was a sleepover as friends. This had the potential to be something very different and so much better!

Or so she thought.

Quinn stood and paced her tiny dorm room for what seemed like the fiftieth time that night! Where was Rachel? Quinn had tried the girl's cell phone several times and left increasingly frantic messages! That was in addition to dozens of texts she had left. Each hour of silence had made Quinn start fearing the worst. She couldn't help it!

Where was she? And why wasn't she answering her phone?

Since moving to New York, Rachel has always answered her phone and has never been without it. That's why this behavior was so strange. She had thought about calling Santana or Kurt, but she didn't want to explain why she needed to speak to Rachel so badly. She just wasn't ready to explain this … change to them yet.

Quinn Fabray has a much better sense of self than high school Quinn. Her major was English, but she was also minoring in psychology. She now knew that a lot of her problems stemmed from her parents' expectations and living in her sister's shadow. Quinn had also explored churches in the New Haven area, falling in love with First Presbyterian. It was almost a mile from campus, which had sucked during the cold winter, but the congregation was inviting … and the theology was more amenable to her own.

Nevertheless, she found that her insecurities could still get the better of her. That was especially true when dealing with people from her past. Rachel would never judge; she knew that. However, the change in their relationship was very tentative, and Quinn had never been good with positive emotions. She was so caught up in her self-loathing that she almost missed the buzzing of her cell phone.

Grabbing it from the desk, she looked at the screen and saw the call was from Yale New Haven Hospital. It wasn't unusual for her to get calls from the hospital - her neurologist and orthopedist both worked there. But Quinn wasn't scheduled for an appointment with either one for at least another month. Confused, she tapped the accept button.

"Hello?"

"May I speak with Quinn Fabray?"

"This is she."

"Ms. Fabray, we have a Rachel Berry here in the ED."

Quinn felt the world drop out of her stomach. Images of her own car accident passed through her mind, only with Rachel as the victim. Her lungs joined her stomach, and she started breathing rapidly. Her pulse sped up. "Oh my God," the blonde whimpered.

"Is she alright?" She immediately started looking for her keys and purse.

"I'm afraid I can't release that information. I can only say she is being discharged and gave us this number to call you."

Quinn blew out a frustrated breath as she locked her door and headed for the elevator at the end of the hall.

"OK. Let her know that I'm on my way." As the elevator doors opened, she hung up and walked through, biting her lower lip, evidence of her worried state.