My Only Exception 8/20
“I don’t understand what you’re saying. Cut the doctor crap and tell me if my daughter and Quinn are alive! Spit it out!"
Noah, calm down. Let the doctor speak,” Rachel said in an effort to relax the frustrated father.
“Thank you. As I was saying, it appears that Quinn suffered from a partial abruption, meaning that her placenta was separated from her uterus. It was probably caused by a case of preeclampsia.”
Puck’s fists clasped shut and his body shook slightly.
“You still haven’t answered my question. Are they alive? I could care less about prechlamydia or whatever it is.”
“Preeclampsia,” Rachel corrected.
“Whatever,” he muttered.
“Both the baby and Quinn are stable as of late. They will have to stay for a few days under observation though. The high blood pressure should resolve itself within a couple days, a week at the most.”
Puck, Rachel, and Judy Fabray sighed simultaneously, relieved that Quinn and the child were alive.
“When can I see her?” Mrs. Fabray asked urgently as she fidgeted with the hem of her skirt.
The doctor sighed and looked at his watch.
“She’s had a rough night and hasn’t woken up yet. Normally I would advise against visitors but because you’re her mother I will make an exception. If you would just follow me down this hallway, I’ll bring you to her room.”
“Hey! What about us? We’re her family too, if not more than her actual family,” Rachel persisted.
Mrs. Fabray glared at Rachel for the insult, even though she knew it was true. Puck nodded at the question, he too wondering when he would see the ex-cheerleader. Rachel’s stomach flipped at the thought of seeing Quinn again. It felt like the last time she really saw Quinn was in the auditorium.
“Well, Mr. Puckerman and Mrs. Fabray are considered immediate family so they will be able to see her more freely. It really depends on how she is feeling. I will let you know when you can see her.”
With that Mrs. Fabray followed the doctor eagerly down the hall, her high heels clicking loudly against the floor.
Mrs. Fabray’s heart was beating a million miles per minute as she trailed after the doctor, leaving the two teens behind. She was confused as to why the kid with the Mohawk and obnoxious girl were with her instead of Quinn’s boyfriend. The query was quickly shoved to the back of her mind being that she would be seeing her daughter for the first time in months. After a five minute walk and an elevator ride, the two arrived at a deserted hallway labeled ICU. The woman hesitated slightly upon arriving at a room with a sign reading “Fabray”.
“Are you ready?” the doctor asked carefully. He was thoroughly worried at this point that the woman was severely unstable because she was biting her nails, tapping her foot and blinking profusely.
“Oh,” she said after realizing she had just ignored the doctor’s question.
“I’m ready,” she whispered doubtful that she really was ready.
The doctor led her slowly into the room. The room was painted light blue and had paintings of yellow daffodils on the walls. The woman laid her eyes upon a single bed with white sheets and a turquoise blanket in the center of the gloomy room. The girl lying in the bed did not even resemble Quinn Fabray. Her cheeks were pale, void of any color and her golden hair was messily splayed upon her pillow. Mrs. Fabray barely noticed the slight rise and fall of her daughter’s chest; had she not noticed this she would have assumed her daughter was dead.
Slowly, the woman walked towards the bed in which her daughter inhabited. The fluorescent lights flickered slightly. She laid her hand against her daughter’s arm and bowed her head.
“Quinnie?” she whispered softly.
The girl remained still, save for the movement of her chest. The room was silent except for the beep of the monitor next to the bed. A tear slid down the woman’s face as she leaned down and kissed her daughter’s head. Her skin was cold and clammy. Suddenly, the girl’s eyelids moved slightly and her foot twitched at the end of the bed.
“Quinnie?” she asked again this time directing her voice at the girl in the hospital bed.
The woman’s heart lifted at the thought of her daughter waking up because of her presence.
“Rachel,” Quinn mumbled, her eyes remaining shut as her lips curved into a soft smile.
“It’s me, Quinnie. It’s your mother. Please, baby, wake up now,” she pleaded desperately.
Quinn’s eyelids fluttered once more except this time they opened slightly. She squinted at the brightness of the room and blinked a few times. Still disoriented from the pain medication, the girl jumped at the sight of her mother sitting beside her bed. Then she drank in her surroundings, the pale blue walls, the beeping monitor, the pain she felt in her lower abdomen; then it all came back to her. She remembered singing to her baby in the bathroom, the searing pain in her stomach, collapsing to the floor, Puck’s strong arms holding her up, Rachel’s look of panic before she blacked out.
Quinn tried to lift herself up, but she felt a jutting pain in her stomach that sent her back onto the pillow.
“Don’t move, Quinn,” the doctor advised, “You’ll rip out your stitches if you do. Trust me; you don’t want to do that.”
She took the doctor’s advice and remained still. She beckoned her voice to speak. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out, just air. On the second try, she managed to get this much out.
“What happened to me?” she choked out, her voice raspy and unused.
The doctor walked over to the other side of the bed, clipboard in hand.
“You had what we call an abruption due to a case of preeclampsia. Your placenta tore away from your uterus causing the bleeding and the pain. You are very lucky, Quinn. You got here just in time. We performed a c-section a few hours ago and it is a miracle that there weren’t any other complications.”
Quinn’s thoughts rushed towards her child, her heart clenching at the thought of losing the baby.
“Where’s my baby?” she barely whispered.
“As of now we have her in an incubator. She is doing alright considering the circumstances. She was born a month early so she is underweight and underdeveloped. We probably will keep you both here for a week under observation but if your child’s doesn’t show signs of development she will have to stay here longer.”
Quinn let out a breath of air she hadn’t realized she had been holding in. Her baby was safe. That was all that mattered. The baby was safe. Then she realized her mother was staring at her as if she had two heads and finally addressed the woman.
“What are you doing here?”
Her voice was still scratchy. She cleared her throat.
“I-I went to the Regionals to see you sing. After the first group went the announcer said New Directions had forfeited and someone whispered about that when she went to use the restroom there was a pregnant girl giving birth or something. That’s how knew it was you and that something was wrong. I called Santana and she told me what had happened and where you were. I got here as soon as I could. How are you, baby?”
Quinn flinched at the pet name. A few months ago her mother had sat idly by as her father kicked her out of her house and sent her on her way, calling her a disappointment and a disgrace. Now she thinks she can just come back into her life and expect everything to be okay?
“Where’s Daddy?” she asked softly, trying not to strain her voice.
Her mother’s face froze in panic, her expression akin to a deer in headlights.
“Uh…I left him.”
“You what?” Quinn said a little too loudly and she immediately flinched backward in pain.
Mrs. Fabray sighed and looked down at her hands.
“He cheated on me; well he’s been cheating on me for the past two years. I kicked him out.”
Quinn was in shock. Her mother had kicked her father out? Had she woken up in some alternate reality where her mother had a mind of her own and stood up for herself? Suddenly, her mother leaned in and grasped Quinn’s hand.
“Quinn, honey, listen to me. Come back home with me. I want us to start over, be a family again. We can turn the guest room into a nursery for the baby.”
Quinn gaped at her mother. Was she actually thinking that Quinn had forgiven her for what she had done?
***
Rachel turned to Puck and saw clear tears running down his face. She caught one with her thumb.
“What is it, Noah?”
He sniffled softly and wiped his face with the back of his hand. Then he looked down at the concerned brunette and a faint smile graced his lips. And that’s when Rachel realized that they were happy tears, like the ones she had cried upon feeling the baby kick for the first time.
Rachel suddenly felt a strange impulse to run after the doctor. She needed to see Quinn as soon as possible. Her heart felt like it would explode if she didn’t. The thought of losing Quinn frightened her more than anything, more than the thought of losing Barbra Streisand. Even though they had only kissed once, Rachel felt connected to Quinn in a way she had never connected to Jesse or Finn or even Puck. Never had she felt her heart beat as fast as it did when she saw Quinn. Quinn made her feel special and safe. She adored the girl’s golden locks when they draped naturally and perfectly over her shoulders, her hazel eyes when they glimmered with happiness as she smiled. Her body shook as she let out a sob of relief. Noah took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly, not really understanding why the brunette was so affected by Quinn’s near death experience. Rachel and Quinn were enemies. They didn’t care about each other; they hated each other. Everyone at McKinley knew that. He did, however, understand the relief she was feeling because he too felt like curling up in a ball and sobbing, although he’d never admit it.
The two walked back into the waiting room and the anxious show choir took in the pair in front of them, Rachel with her pink puffy eyes and Puck with his tear stained face.
“What happened?”
“Are they okay?”
“Are they dead?”
Rachel took a deep breath but didn’t utter a word. It seemed as though her brain had stopped functioning and words no longer poured out of her mouth. Luckily, Puck took the lead and spoke for the first time since hearing the news.
“Quinn and the baby are fine. Quinn’s mom is with her now. I don’t know when we’ll be able to see her. I don’t think you guys will be able to see her until tomorrow though. The doctor said she was tired or something. You guys don’t have to stay or anything. It’s been a long night and I think we all could use some sleep.”
The kids nodded in agreement and began packing up their things and whispering to each other about the news. Mr. Schuester rounded up the gang and directed them to the bus. Finn turned to look at Rachel with puppy dog eyes, hoping to instill some guilt in the girl and make her want to be with him; it didn’t work because Rachel was not paying attention to him. Mr. Schuester made his way over to Puck and Rachel who hadn’t moved since Puck had broken the news.
“Rachel, are you coming?” he asked, looking curiously at the normally chatty diva.
Rachel stared back at her teacher.
“No.”
Mr. Schuester’s jaw dropped to the floor in disbelief.
“Uh- not that I don’t admire your sudden concern for Quinn, but I think Puck and Quinn’s mom have got it under control for now. Come on, Rachel. Let’s go.”
“I am not leaving until I see for myself that Quinn is safe.”
Mr. Schuester decided to leave it alone and let Rachel stay, mainly because Rachel proceeded to growl at him. Once he and the rest of the team had left, Puck and Rachel took their seats and waited. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Rachel decided enough was enough. She needed to see Quinn.
“I have to use the restroom,” she announced loudly to the empty waiting room.
“No one’s stopping you,” Puck replied.
Rachel got up and walked towards the restroom. Once she was out of Puck’s line of sight, she dashed into the elevator, not caring that she had no idea where Quinn’s room was. The doors of the elevator opened and she exited hurriedly. She ran up to the nearest nurse.
“Where is Quinn Fabray’s room?” she asked bluntly and loudly.
“Uh- come with me,” she responded nervously.
Rachel was practically breathing down the poor nurse’s back as she was led to Quinn’s room. Her heart was pounding out of her chest and her palms were moist with sweat. All she could think about was Quinn, only Quinn. She could care less about having to forfeit Regionals and losing to Vocal Adrenaline, although seeing Jesse with a black eye and nose case was hilarious, or about Finn and his desires to be with her. Right now all that mattered was Quinn.
Finally the two arrived at a door labeled “Fabray.” Rachel was about to run in when she heard two people’s voices. They sounded as if they were fighting.
“No, mother, I am not going to do that.”
“Why not, Quinnie? I love you and this will be good for us! We can be a family again.”
“We never were a family, Mother! Don’t you see? You kicked me out because I made a mistake. You let Daddy yell at me and throw me out when you could have done something. You could have stood up to him and protected me; but you didn’t. You sat there cowering in fear and allowed him to make me not only homeless, but utterly and completely alone. I can never forgive you for that.”
“Please, honey, I’ll do anything. I forgive you for getting pregnant. I’ll even let you date that Finn boy. He may have been responsible for impregnating you but he seemed nice.”
“Finn? Please, I am totally over Finn. Like he’d even take me back after what I’ve done to him. Plus he’s in love with Rachel, the bastard. Oh, and for your information he didn’t impregnate me; Puck did. But you wouldn’t know that because you were too busy kicking me out to give a damn about my life! “
“Quinn! How dare you use that word in front of me! What is going on with you? I don’t even recognize you!”
Rachel heard Quinn sigh.
“You know why you don’t recognize me, Mother? It’s because I am not the girl you abandoned. I have grown up and accepted myself for who I am. You never let me be who I am. You made me act and pretend that I was happy. God forbid I tainted the good name of Fabray! God forbid I embarrassed you and Daddy! God forbid I was gay! God forbid I got pregnant! God forbid-“
Suddenly the room was silent. Rachel pressed her ear harder into the door. Did Quinn just say that?
“Quinn, I highly advise you to calm down and rest. This is not good for your current condition,” a male voice pleaded. Rachel assumed he was the doctor.
“No, I will not calm down.”
“Who’s Rachel?” her mother asked randomly.
Rachel’s body froze. Mrs. Fabray must not have known that Rachel was Rachel when she received the news of Quinn’s condition. She wondered how Quinn would respond.
“What?” Quinn asked, taken aback by the question.
“Who is Rachel? You said her name before you woke up. Is that what you want to name the baby? I honestly was thinking of something a bit more Christian but if this is what you’d like to name her I am willing to compromise.”
“Oh, thank God you are willing to compromise on the baby’s name. You are such a saint.”
“Don’t use that tone with me, young lady! I asked you a question. Now answer me!”
The woman’s voice was shrill and made Rachel’s blood boil. She wanted so much to run in there and slap Mrs. Fabray in the face; luckily she restrained herself before she could do any damage.
“Rachel is this girl in glee club.”
Mrs. Fabray scoffed at the mention of the club.
“Enough, Mother! I love being in glee club. It is the only place in my life where I feel like I can be myself. No fake laughter or smiles, no putting on a happy face, no lying about who I am. Rachel accepts me for me, the real Quinn not the fake Quinn I’ve been hiding behind my entire life. It’s funny how a girl I’ve tormented is so willing to accept me and love me and yet my own mother won’t even fight to keep me in her life!”
Quinn was screaming at the top of her lungs, her voice filled with anguish. Rachel winced at the thought of Quinn in anymore pain.
“What do you mean she loves you? Didn’t you just say you tormented her?”
“Yes, I tormented her. I did things you wouldn’t believe and I cannot explain to you how much I hate myself for what I did to her. She didn’t deserve any of it and I was jealous of her. I am still jealous of the fact that she doesn’t have to pretend to be something she isn’t. I was a self-centered bitch; but I’ve changed.”
“Changed how? Has glee club and this Rachel girl completely melted your brain? What happened to my Quinnie? What happened to my baby girl?”
“Stop calling me that!” Quinn screamed, her breathing now audible to the diva eavesdropping on the fight.
Rachel peered through the window. Quinn was lying in the bed, her hands clutching her stomach, her breathing labored. The girl’s face contorted in pain, breaking Rachel’s heart. The doctor stood closely by her side trying to calm her down, even though Quinn tried to push him away. Then all of a sudden, the girl’s expression changed. A tear ran down her cheek. She seemed to be contemplating something, something Rachel couldn’t seem to understand, her sixth sense failing her.
“Please, Quinn, let’s stop this. I am sorry for letting your father kick you out. I was wrong. Please, forgive me, honey. I’ll take care of you and your child. We can be a real family.”
“I’m gay.”
Rachel’s heart stopped.