Post Accident
Who: Quinn, Puck, Ruth Puckerman (NPC), Judy Fabray (NPC), Quinn's doctor (NPC)
When: March 4th, 2011
Where: Hospital in Lima
What: Post Incident
Warnings: Major spoilers 3x14
It was past 9pm when Quinn crossed back into Lima county, the final hour of the eleven hour drive she was completing on her own. The tour of Yale and New Haven the day before had been all she could have asked for. That was going to be her life for the next four years, and she hadn’t ever been so excited to get out of Lima. And she had done it on her own, even after everything that had happened. But for some reason, she found herself racing back to Lima to meet with Puck at her house. Just as she was getting back into town, she pulled out her phone to send him a quick text, wanting to tell him she was almost there. It was going to be a hard conversation, to say she had made the final choice to go to Yale, with or without him. He had offered to go months ago, but that could have changed. That, and she wasn’t ready to be back with him, but she loved him. Needless to say, she was distracted, moreso when she pulled out her phone to send the text that she was on her way.
That was when she missed her yield sign and the truck plowed into her little red car at 80 miles per hour, shattering the driver’s side window instantly and crushing that side of the car in around the blonde. She didn’t see it coming, she didn’t even really see it happen, but the colliding cars raced until they were pushed to the side of the road with the metal tangled and a mess of broken glass and limbs.
Puck didn’t know what to do when he didn’t get a text back from Quinn, and was getting nervous. He tried calling her on her phone, and didn’t get an answer either. He left a voicemail, and tried to keep himself from freaking out, he wanted to get in his truck and go find her. He didn’t know what to do. He forced himself to stay on his bed for the time being, there wasn’t a reason to be too upset yet, he was sure she was fine.
It was less than half an hour later that Quinn was in surgery at the hospital, her leg requiring attention among other things. Along with a few cracked ribs, a sprained right wrist, cuts and scratches from the glass that had broken, and various bruises, beat up was a very mild way to put it. Her mother had been notified and was waiting at the hospital first, if only because she was the first to hear, and Russell was promising to be on the next flight into the city. Aside from the Fabrays, the local news was also notified. The usually empty road into town was shut down because of the crash, the mangled cars making it as the top story on that night’s news. For a quiet town, it was kind of a big deal. Anyone who watched the news that night would have seen what was left of her little red car mashed into the truck as they reported about a local teen rushed to the hospital after a late night crash.
Ruth Puckerman was watching the news, when she saw a story about that Quinn girl that Puck had dated. He was always talking about her, and she knew he was trying to get back together with her, instead of going after that Rachel girl. Ruth preferred him to be with a nice Jewish girl. “Noah, the news! Come here!” She called out.
Puck left his bedroom, wondering what was going on with his ma. “What, Ma?” He asked, coming into the living room. He glanced at the news, and his heart was in his throat when he saw what they were talking about. That was Quinn’s picture. “What, fuck! I gotta go, Ma.” He grabbed his coat and keys and he was out the door and on his way to the hospital.
When he arrived, he ran up to the counter, to try and find out what room Quinn was in.
Quinn hadn't been out of surgery long by the time Puck got there, but she wasn't awake. There was a drip for pain medication going into one wrist and the other was wrapped in a cast, just as her leg was going to be as soon as they knew the surgery had accomplished what it needed to. Her lip was busted from the airbag or from stray glass and there were a couple small cuts on her face from the broken windshield. Her chest, covered by an ugly hospital gown, was already bruising from the impact of the seatbelt.
Outside the room, frantically typing on her phone to try and figure things out between insurance, having thrown a fit to get her daughter into a single room, and Russell, and dodging calls from the news who had somehow gotten her number, was Judy. Quinn was asleep, she didn't see anything she could do for the girl at the moment, so she was getting things taken care of.
Puck nervously walked up to them, he wasn’t sure how he was going to be received. “Mrs. Fabray?” He asked, sticking his hands in his pocket and wondered how he was going to keep his worry in check, he was already close to tears now and he didn’t want to cry in front of these people. Quinn was the only one he would ever want to do that in front of.
Mrs. Fabray looked up quickly when she heard a voice, obviously having been hoping for a doctor or anyone she could get information out of. So far, all she had been told was that Quinn was stable for now, beat up, but stable. The full extent of the injuries wouldn’t be known until she was conscious and they could get her moving, but she was alive. Of course, Judy wanted more than that, she wanted to know what was going on with her daughter.
When instead of a doctor she was met with Puck, the Jewish boy who had gotten her daughter pregnant two years before, she wasn’t quite sure what to do. He had been there when the baby was born, and that was really the only time the two had met. “Mr. Puckerman,” she greeted, voice almost cold, though it was probably as much from trying to keep herself together as anything else. “Do you think you should be here?”
That was a question Puck was not sure how to answer. “Quinn was texting me before the accident, she said she wanted to get together and talk.” He said, his voice not as strong as he wanted it to be. “I love her, I want to be here for her.” Puck told her firmly, meeting her eyes. He was not going to back down, he didn’t want to leave, knowing that Quinn was here and he couldn’t do a thing about it. Puck did not want to leave without knowing if Quinn was going to be OK.
Judy looked him over for a moment, in a way that would have reminded anyone of Quinn from Freshman year. When she seemed to have assessed him, she looked to the closed room door behind her. “When she wakes up, if she wants to see you, you may go in,” she finally agreed. She wouldn’t let him in before that, but she wouldn’t keep him from her if Quinn wanted to see him.
Breathing easier, Puck asked, “How is she doing? She’s not...... she’s going to live, right?” He swallowed hard past the lump in his throat, he didn’t want to imagine his life without her, and he knew he would not be able to handle it if she wasn’t going to make it. He watched Quinn’s mom’s face carefully, trying to ascertain what he could from her expression.
Judy looked up to him for a moment before looking back down to her phone. For once, she wasn’t trying to be heartless over it, she was trying to keep herself together just as much as he was. “If-When,” she quickly corrected herself, “when she wakes up, they will know more, they said. That’s what they told me, we are just waiting for her to wake up.” Under her phone, held tightly in her hand, was a small cross of her own that had been kept in the bottom of her purse. “They said she would be awake an hour or two after surgery,” she commented, though her voice sounded less hopeful at that. “That was almost four hours ago.”
As Judy started to maybe, just possibly, break down a little, Russell came around the corner quickly with his phone held in his hand as well. Instantly, he was demanding to know what had happened, where she was, when she would be going home, and more. Clearly still not getting along as well as they should have for the situation, Judy was going to meet him near the end of the hall to argue with him there.
Puck watched them argue, and then slipped into Quinn’s room. He felt tears prick his eyes, and pulled a chair up to Quinn’s bed, and took her hand. She looked so hurt. Puck hated this, and as soon as she was feeling better, he was going to ask her what had happened. The news hadn’t said much, and he hated not knowing more. “Quinn, baby, please, wake up. I love you, and I’m so scared...” Puck said softly, glad he had been able to slip in to see her.
Quinn had woken up not long before Puck had slipped into the room, but she hadn’t figured out what was going on just yet. Between the pain medication and everything from the surgery, she didn’t know much other than where she was, and she didn’t remember the accident as clearly as she probably should have. Everything below her waist felt numb, but she didn’t know why, she didn’t know something was wrong there. It was almost as soon as Puck had taken her hand that she gave a soft whimper, her whole body sore and her eyes stying shut as she forced a breath in. That was something that was starting to suck more and more as the minutes went by, breathing. Especially when it felt like someone was stacking more and more bricks up onto her chest.
Puck heard the noise, and squeezed her hand a little harder, waiting for her to fully wake up. He didn’t know for sure she was waking up, but making noises was a good sign, right? “Quinn, can you hear me? Your mom and your dad are here, baby, and I am not going anywhere as long as you want me here, OK?” He asked, wiping his face with his free hand and watching her nervously. He didn’t know how they were going to make it through this, but he knew they would, there was no alternative.
Quinn knew that it wouldn’t be as simple as just going back to sleep after that. She could hear him, but it took her a few minutes to realize that he was actually saying. Soon enough, her eyes were open and looking around, confused but sure that being awake had to be better than still being passed out. Her fingers flexed a little against his hand and an almost frown started to come over her face when her tired eyes finally landed on him.
“Oh, baby.” He said, watching her. He didn’t know what to say, but he knew he should go and get her mom and dad, but he just couldn’t leave her. He didn’t know how to articulate what he was feeling now, at seeing her waking up. “I... you’re awake.” He settled on, he was going to have to work up to saying what he wanted to say. Besides, she might not be able to say anything back as it was.
Quinn tried for at least ten minutes to say something, but she couldn’t make it happen. Her fingers pressed a little more tightly into his and, for the first time, she looked sincerely frightened by whatever was going on. She mumbled something, quietly but it was still there, and she tried to twist her head a little so she would be able to see him. Another mumble left her mouth, though this time it was almost clearly her asking, “What?” She just hoped it was clear enough that he could start explaining what had happened.
Puck waited patiently, knowing she had to work up to it. He did manage to hear what she said, and he didn’t want to be the one to tell her what happened. “Baby, you were on your way home from Yale, and you were.......” He stopped for a second, willing his voice to be stronger so he could get through it. “in an accident. I don’t really know what happened for sure, I just know you were hit and there was a pretty good collision. You had to have surgery, your mom said.” He wiped at his face, that was hard, and he hoped he didn’t have to tell her again.
Quinn gave a very small nod once she had listened to him and she could kind of understand whatever it was he was saying. At least a car accident made sense to her, even if she didn’t really remember it. She swallowed thickly and pulled in a breath, her eyes to him once again. She wanted to tell him that she was okay, and not to cry, but that just wasn’t going to happen. Her fingers just tightened a little in his hand and hoped that was response enough for the time being.
It was almost an hour later that the doctor was coming in to check on her, and Judy was coming in to give Puck a glare. It wasn’t like she thought he had left, but she hadn’t known he had gotten past her to go into the room. Quinn was more awake by that point, almost ready to start talking, though absolutely not looking forward to moving the way she assumed the doctor was going to ask her to. With Puck asked by both the doctor and her mother to leave, her hand gave his a squeeze and she nodded a bit before letting him leave.
When Judy came back into the hallway after the doctor had looked Quinn over, whatever semblance of holding herself together she had was almost gone as she sank into the nearest chair and put her face in her hands.
Puck didn’t know what to say. He wanted to comfort her, but he didn’t know if she would want him to. “I am sure she’s going to be fine, Mrs. Fabray.” Puck said, as he leaned against the wall, running his hand through his mohawk. He hadn’t wanted to leave the room, but he knew they had to check his baby out and make sure she was OK. He refused to believe anything else.
Quinn’s doctor stepped out of the room just a few minutes later and went to Mrs. Fabray, trying to get her attention enough that he could explain what the next steps would be from there. That she would be in the hospital for at least a few more days, that she would need care at home past that, and that it was important to remember that things would get gradually better. That, and that they would continue checking for any improvement in her legs every few hours and start working to try and speed things up the next day. Mrs. Fabray, still distracted by the news he had given in the room, didn’t seem interested in what she believed to be the doctor giving false hope.
Puck listened, it sounded good to him. He didn’t want to completely stop worrying, but he did hear the doctor say that she was going to be fine. He wanted to go back in and see her. He turned to the doctor, he asked, “Can I go back in and sit with her? If she tires out I can come back out and sit, but I’m not going anywhere.” He said that mostly for Quinn’s mom’s benefit, he didn’t want her to think he was going anywhere.
Quinn’s doctor looked to Puck behind him when the boy asked if he could go back in and gave a general answer that visitors were okay as long as she wanted them, though they should understand if she was a little upset or confused. It was going to be a big change, no matter what the outcome, but he said that Quinn was lucky, even if she had trouble seeing it at the time. Judy didn’t protest Puck saying he would be going back in. She wasn’t interested in what he did at the moment, and with the way she was acting, it was like she was the one who was hurt.
Quinn, on the other hand, wasn’t taking the information all that much better. It hadn’t made it all the way through to her yet that she couldn’t feel her legs, but it could have possibly just been from swelling. Maybe it would go away in a day, or a week, or a few weeks. But, what if it didn’t? She focused her eyes on the blank television in the front of the room, not really seeing it, just looking to have something to look at. The broken bones she could deal with, but she couldn’t walk? How exactly was she supposed to deal with that?
Puck slipped back in the room, without another look at Mrs. Fabray and went to sit next to Quinn. He dropped a kiss on her forehead, lightly, in case she was hurt there, and then sat down on his chair. He slipped his fingers through hers, holding it limply. He didn’t want to hurt her. “Baby, how are you feeling?” He asked, he was feeling a little better now that he knew she was going to be OK in the long run.
Quinn had definitely been woken up from the information from the doctor. Before she had just assumed the was out of it from surgery, that things would be better in the morning aside from the broken bones, but she was wrong. She didn’t have it in her to cry just yet, but she was thankful when Puck came back. He had been why she was trying to get back that night, and she couldn’t remember what she had needed to tell him in the stupid text in the first place. That much, she knew. Her fingers tightened a bit around his and she started to shift, just to give a whimper and stop instantly. She couldn’t feel her legs, and everything above her waist hurt.
“Don’t leave,” she pleaded quietly, because if that was all she got to say, that was what she wanted to say. He was maybe her best friend in the entire world, in an entirely unconventional way, but she needed him there. His question was ignored, just because she could only assume that the answer was obvious.
“I won’t go anywhere, I promise. They’ll have to make me leave, and even then I’ll fight them.” He said, and then told her, “Don’t try to move if it hurts too much, baby, OK?” He scooted closer to the bed, and ran his thumb along her knuckles. “I was so worried when I saw you on the news, baby, I was so scared.” Puck didn’t feel any less of a man in telling her this, he wanted all his cards on the table. He didn’t want there to be any secrets between them anymore.
Quinn bit into her lower lip, just to stop instantly when she realized it was split slightly. She thought she must have looked horrible, but there were enough broken bones in the equation that she excused it. When he told her not to move too much, she closed her eyes tightly. She couldn’t walk; where was she going? She held onto his hand, and that was the only movement she really made. “My mother is so mad,” she mumbled softly, letting her head tilt the slightest bit to the side so she was able to see him. “I was almost home.”
“Baby, it’s OK, you can’t do anything about that now.” Puck replied, shaking his head. “Don’t worry about anything but getting better, OK?” He didn’t want her to be worrying about things like her mother being pissed. Puck leaned down and pressed another light kiss to her forehead. He didn’t like the looks of her poor lips. He would happily pound the shit out of the person that hit her, he didn’t like that she was hurt like this.
Quinn wanted to be angry about it, though she had to believe that it wouldn’t do any good. It had been her fault. She had been the one to miss the sign, not the other person. She nudged her forehead up to his lips gently and sighed when it just hurt. She almost wanted to say that she wasn’t going to get better, according to the doctor, but she wasn’t going to believe it. She was going to wake up the next morning and she was going to be fine, or it would happen the day after that. Or the one after that. “I don’t know what I wanted to tell you tonight,” she admit quietly.
“Hey, it’s OK.” Puck said, shaking his head. He didn’t know what else to say. He just wanted to be there for her, however she needed him. She looked so broken, and he wanted to fix it. He just didn’t know how. “I want to fix this, but I don’t know how.” He looked into her eyes. “Baby, I know you’re scared, but you are going to be fine, OK? I promise. The doctor says it’s going to take work but you’re going to be fine.” He said this for both of their benefits.
"Just don't leave," she mumbled, though he had already promised that he wouldn't. She didn't want to tell him what else the doctor had said. Somehow, the medical professional viewed alive and paralyzed as so much better than dead. At the moment, she wasn't so sure it was true.
It couldn't have been fun for him to sit there as she fell asleep again, her hand still in his the entire time. She needed him there. She hadn't realized it yet, and he probably would before she did, that it was a very real possibility that she could have died and not been there. Just sleeping sounded like the best idea, because at least then things stopped hurting for a little bit.
When she woke up again, a few hours later, she had been whimpering through her sleep. Miserable was an understatement, but she hadn't pressed the release for pain medication since the doctor had switched her to that instead of the drip she had been on. If she didn't press it, maybe she would start feeling something -anything- in her legs. She tried to shift again, squeezing his hand tightly in hers without really thinking about it as it just hurt.
Puck jerked awake when she squeezed his hand, when she’d gone to sleep it just made sense to sleep too. He felt a crick in his neck, and rolled his neck, trying to get rid of it. He saw she was awake. “You’re awake, I am so glad.” When she’d fallen asleep earlier, he’d had a momentary panic that she wouldn’t wake up again, so when she did wake up he felt much better. “Can I get you anything?” He asked, he would get her whatever she wanted.
"It just h-hurts," she breathed out, trying to keep taking breaths though everything was just a mix of sore and sharp pain. She was being ridiculous, not pressing the stupid button to get the pain medication, but feeling was better than not feeling, right? She was surprised he was still there, though she shouldn’t have been. If he had proven one thing over the past few months since Christmas, it was that he would be there no matter what. It meant more to her than she would probably ever remember to say. “It’s okay,” she mumbled after that. “Just stay,” she asked, though they already covered that.
“I already told you, baby, I’m not going anywhere.” Puck told her, shaking his head. “I told Ma I was leaving and I’m not going anywhere.” He would call someone and have them get him more clothes and whatnot if he needed, he wasn’t going to leave her until she asked him to go. It was a new thing, this being here for someone, and actually meaning it without wanting to get into her pants. He was proud of himself, he was growing. Puck never would have believed it.
Quinn looked to Puck when he promised again that he wasn’t going anywhere. Maybe she should get him to go? Then maybe she could just hide out until she was off to college, then she wouldn’t ever have to admit how hurt she was. It was brief thought, she knew it wouldn’t ever work that way. Maybe she wasn’t even getting to go away to college anymore. “Puck,” she mumbled, closing her eyes tightly for a moment. “Puck this isn’t...this might not be okay, and if you need to leave you can.”
Puck looked at her. He understood why she was offering, but he was OK. He was worried about her, but he was fine otherwise. “No, Quinn, I know the old me wouldn’t still be here, but I told you I wasn’t going to leave you and I meant it. I mean, I’m worried about you, but I can’t go home, then I’ll go insane worrying about you. If I’m here I can keep my eye on you, and know you’re safe.” He squeezed her hand lightly. “You’re stuck with me.”
“I didn’t mean at the hospital, Puck,” she mumbled, closing her eyes once again before forcing herself to look at him. She didn’t want hims stuck with a girlfriend who couldn’t walk, either for now or forever. “I can’t feel my legs.” She had told the doctor that earlier, but she hadn’t thought anything of it. She had assumed it was from the surgery. But telling Puck and admitting it to herself? Hurt. Probably worse than everything else that was currently going on.
Clearly he wasn’t making himself clear. “Quinn, I think I know what you’re saying. Babe, you are not going to be paralyzed forever, but even if you are, I am not going anywhere. I still will love you and want to be with you. I will do the best I can to take care of you. I don’t want you to worry about me not wanting to be with you, OK? Do you still love me?”
Quinn hated the idea of someone else taking care of her, she was too independent for that, Somehow, though, she hated it a little less when it was Puck taking care of her. Still, she didn’t want him stuck there like that. She looked down to their linked fingers and tried for the millionth time to shift to get more comfortable. “Puck,” she mumbled, not wanting to answer the question because she had planned to wait until they had fully decided what they were doing together...or apart. Her choice was most definitely together, but what would this accident do? “That hasn’t changed,” she said quietly.
“Then you don’t have to worry about me going anywhere, OK?” Puck asked, knowing she had to be hating what was happening to her. He wanted to take it all away, but he knew he couldn’t. He was glad she still loved him. It made him feel warm all over despite the worry he was feeling. Puck wanted to kiss her but he didn’t want to hurt her. “We can talk about all of that more later though, when you’re feeling better. But you’re my baby and that’s not going to change as far as I’m concerned.”
Quinn whimpered a little, either because she was trying to breathe and it hurt or because his words made her really want to cry. She loved him, that she was sure of, and he was promising he would stay. That was more than she could be sure she would do in the same situation. She closed her eyes and pulled his hand a little closer to her. “I’m going to sleep, I think,” she said quietly, finally reaching carefully for the pain button to finally get some relief. If he was going to stay, she didn’t have to be awake to make sure he did.
Nodding, Puck said, “It’s fine, go to sleep, baby. You’re in a lot of pain, that’s what I want to do when I hurt like that.” He pulled his chair right up next to the bed, moving down the guardrail on that side. He wanted to be as close to her as he could be. He leaned back in the chair, he hadn’t brought any of his comic books, he’d been in too much of a hurry, but he didn’t want to turn on the tv and disturb her either.
When: March 4th, 2011
Where: Hospital in Lima
What: Post Incident
Warnings: Major spoilers 3x14
It was past 9pm when Quinn crossed back into Lima county, the final hour of the eleven hour drive she was completing on her own. The tour of Yale and New Haven the day before had been all she could have asked for. That was going to be her life for the next four years, and she hadn’t ever been so excited to get out of Lima. And she had done it on her own, even after everything that had happened. But for some reason, she found herself racing back to Lima to meet with Puck at her house. Just as she was getting back into town, she pulled out her phone to send him a quick text, wanting to tell him she was almost there. It was going to be a hard conversation, to say she had made the final choice to go to Yale, with or without him. He had offered to go months ago, but that could have changed. That, and she wasn’t ready to be back with him, but she loved him. Needless to say, she was distracted, moreso when she pulled out her phone to send the text that she was on her way.
That was when she missed her yield sign and the truck plowed into her little red car at 80 miles per hour, shattering the driver’s side window instantly and crushing that side of the car in around the blonde. She didn’t see it coming, she didn’t even really see it happen, but the colliding cars raced until they were pushed to the side of the road with the metal tangled and a mess of broken glass and limbs.
Puck didn’t know what to do when he didn’t get a text back from Quinn, and was getting nervous. He tried calling her on her phone, and didn’t get an answer either. He left a voicemail, and tried to keep himself from freaking out, he wanted to get in his truck and go find her. He didn’t know what to do. He forced himself to stay on his bed for the time being, there wasn’t a reason to be too upset yet, he was sure she was fine.
It was less than half an hour later that Quinn was in surgery at the hospital, her leg requiring attention among other things. Along with a few cracked ribs, a sprained right wrist, cuts and scratches from the glass that had broken, and various bruises, beat up was a very mild way to put it. Her mother had been notified and was waiting at the hospital first, if only because she was the first to hear, and Russell was promising to be on the next flight into the city. Aside from the Fabrays, the local news was also notified. The usually empty road into town was shut down because of the crash, the mangled cars making it as the top story on that night’s news. For a quiet town, it was kind of a big deal. Anyone who watched the news that night would have seen what was left of her little red car mashed into the truck as they reported about a local teen rushed to the hospital after a late night crash.
Ruth Puckerman was watching the news, when she saw a story about that Quinn girl that Puck had dated. He was always talking about her, and she knew he was trying to get back together with her, instead of going after that Rachel girl. Ruth preferred him to be with a nice Jewish girl. “Noah, the news! Come here!” She called out.
Puck left his bedroom, wondering what was going on with his ma. “What, Ma?” He asked, coming into the living room. He glanced at the news, and his heart was in his throat when he saw what they were talking about. That was Quinn’s picture. “What, fuck! I gotta go, Ma.” He grabbed his coat and keys and he was out the door and on his way to the hospital.
When he arrived, he ran up to the counter, to try and find out what room Quinn was in.
Quinn hadn't been out of surgery long by the time Puck got there, but she wasn't awake. There was a drip for pain medication going into one wrist and the other was wrapped in a cast, just as her leg was going to be as soon as they knew the surgery had accomplished what it needed to. Her lip was busted from the airbag or from stray glass and there were a couple small cuts on her face from the broken windshield. Her chest, covered by an ugly hospital gown, was already bruising from the impact of the seatbelt.
Outside the room, frantically typing on her phone to try and figure things out between insurance, having thrown a fit to get her daughter into a single room, and Russell, and dodging calls from the news who had somehow gotten her number, was Judy. Quinn was asleep, she didn't see anything she could do for the girl at the moment, so she was getting things taken care of.
Puck nervously walked up to them, he wasn’t sure how he was going to be received. “Mrs. Fabray?” He asked, sticking his hands in his pocket and wondered how he was going to keep his worry in check, he was already close to tears now and he didn’t want to cry in front of these people. Quinn was the only one he would ever want to do that in front of.
Mrs. Fabray looked up quickly when she heard a voice, obviously having been hoping for a doctor or anyone she could get information out of. So far, all she had been told was that Quinn was stable for now, beat up, but stable. The full extent of the injuries wouldn’t be known until she was conscious and they could get her moving, but she was alive. Of course, Judy wanted more than that, she wanted to know what was going on with her daughter.
When instead of a doctor she was met with Puck, the Jewish boy who had gotten her daughter pregnant two years before, she wasn’t quite sure what to do. He had been there when the baby was born, and that was really the only time the two had met. “Mr. Puckerman,” she greeted, voice almost cold, though it was probably as much from trying to keep herself together as anything else. “Do you think you should be here?”
That was a question Puck was not sure how to answer. “Quinn was texting me before the accident, she said she wanted to get together and talk.” He said, his voice not as strong as he wanted it to be. “I love her, I want to be here for her.” Puck told her firmly, meeting her eyes. He was not going to back down, he didn’t want to leave, knowing that Quinn was here and he couldn’t do a thing about it. Puck did not want to leave without knowing if Quinn was going to be OK.
Judy looked him over for a moment, in a way that would have reminded anyone of Quinn from Freshman year. When she seemed to have assessed him, she looked to the closed room door behind her. “When she wakes up, if she wants to see you, you may go in,” she finally agreed. She wouldn’t let him in before that, but she wouldn’t keep him from her if Quinn wanted to see him.
Breathing easier, Puck asked, “How is she doing? She’s not...... she’s going to live, right?” He swallowed hard past the lump in his throat, he didn’t want to imagine his life without her, and he knew he would not be able to handle it if she wasn’t going to make it. He watched Quinn’s mom’s face carefully, trying to ascertain what he could from her expression.
Judy looked up to him for a moment before looking back down to her phone. For once, she wasn’t trying to be heartless over it, she was trying to keep herself together just as much as he was. “If-When,” she quickly corrected herself, “when she wakes up, they will know more, they said. That’s what they told me, we are just waiting for her to wake up.” Under her phone, held tightly in her hand, was a small cross of her own that had been kept in the bottom of her purse. “They said she would be awake an hour or two after surgery,” she commented, though her voice sounded less hopeful at that. “That was almost four hours ago.”
As Judy started to maybe, just possibly, break down a little, Russell came around the corner quickly with his phone held in his hand as well. Instantly, he was demanding to know what had happened, where she was, when she would be going home, and more. Clearly still not getting along as well as they should have for the situation, Judy was going to meet him near the end of the hall to argue with him there.
Puck watched them argue, and then slipped into Quinn’s room. He felt tears prick his eyes, and pulled a chair up to Quinn’s bed, and took her hand. She looked so hurt. Puck hated this, and as soon as she was feeling better, he was going to ask her what had happened. The news hadn’t said much, and he hated not knowing more. “Quinn, baby, please, wake up. I love you, and I’m so scared...” Puck said softly, glad he had been able to slip in to see her.
Quinn had woken up not long before Puck had slipped into the room, but she hadn’t figured out what was going on just yet. Between the pain medication and everything from the surgery, she didn’t know much other than where she was, and she didn’t remember the accident as clearly as she probably should have. Everything below her waist felt numb, but she didn’t know why, she didn’t know something was wrong there. It was almost as soon as Puck had taken her hand that she gave a soft whimper, her whole body sore and her eyes stying shut as she forced a breath in. That was something that was starting to suck more and more as the minutes went by, breathing. Especially when it felt like someone was stacking more and more bricks up onto her chest.
Puck heard the noise, and squeezed her hand a little harder, waiting for her to fully wake up. He didn’t know for sure she was waking up, but making noises was a good sign, right? “Quinn, can you hear me? Your mom and your dad are here, baby, and I am not going anywhere as long as you want me here, OK?” He asked, wiping his face with his free hand and watching her nervously. He didn’t know how they were going to make it through this, but he knew they would, there was no alternative.
Quinn knew that it wouldn’t be as simple as just going back to sleep after that. She could hear him, but it took her a few minutes to realize that he was actually saying. Soon enough, her eyes were open and looking around, confused but sure that being awake had to be better than still being passed out. Her fingers flexed a little against his hand and an almost frown started to come over her face when her tired eyes finally landed on him.
“Oh, baby.” He said, watching her. He didn’t know what to say, but he knew he should go and get her mom and dad, but he just couldn’t leave her. He didn’t know how to articulate what he was feeling now, at seeing her waking up. “I... you’re awake.” He settled on, he was going to have to work up to saying what he wanted to say. Besides, she might not be able to say anything back as it was.
Quinn tried for at least ten minutes to say something, but she couldn’t make it happen. Her fingers pressed a little more tightly into his and, for the first time, she looked sincerely frightened by whatever was going on. She mumbled something, quietly but it was still there, and she tried to twist her head a little so she would be able to see him. Another mumble left her mouth, though this time it was almost clearly her asking, “What?” She just hoped it was clear enough that he could start explaining what had happened.
Puck waited patiently, knowing she had to work up to it. He did manage to hear what she said, and he didn’t want to be the one to tell her what happened. “Baby, you were on your way home from Yale, and you were.......” He stopped for a second, willing his voice to be stronger so he could get through it. “in an accident. I don’t really know what happened for sure, I just know you were hit and there was a pretty good collision. You had to have surgery, your mom said.” He wiped at his face, that was hard, and he hoped he didn’t have to tell her again.
Quinn gave a very small nod once she had listened to him and she could kind of understand whatever it was he was saying. At least a car accident made sense to her, even if she didn’t really remember it. She swallowed thickly and pulled in a breath, her eyes to him once again. She wanted to tell him that she was okay, and not to cry, but that just wasn’t going to happen. Her fingers just tightened a little in his hand and hoped that was response enough for the time being.
It was almost an hour later that the doctor was coming in to check on her, and Judy was coming in to give Puck a glare. It wasn’t like she thought he had left, but she hadn’t known he had gotten past her to go into the room. Quinn was more awake by that point, almost ready to start talking, though absolutely not looking forward to moving the way she assumed the doctor was going to ask her to. With Puck asked by both the doctor and her mother to leave, her hand gave his a squeeze and she nodded a bit before letting him leave.
When Judy came back into the hallway after the doctor had looked Quinn over, whatever semblance of holding herself together she had was almost gone as she sank into the nearest chair and put her face in her hands.
Puck didn’t know what to say. He wanted to comfort her, but he didn’t know if she would want him to. “I am sure she’s going to be fine, Mrs. Fabray.” Puck said, as he leaned against the wall, running his hand through his mohawk. He hadn’t wanted to leave the room, but he knew they had to check his baby out and make sure she was OK. He refused to believe anything else.
Quinn’s doctor stepped out of the room just a few minutes later and went to Mrs. Fabray, trying to get her attention enough that he could explain what the next steps would be from there. That she would be in the hospital for at least a few more days, that she would need care at home past that, and that it was important to remember that things would get gradually better. That, and that they would continue checking for any improvement in her legs every few hours and start working to try and speed things up the next day. Mrs. Fabray, still distracted by the news he had given in the room, didn’t seem interested in what she believed to be the doctor giving false hope.
Puck listened, it sounded good to him. He didn’t want to completely stop worrying, but he did hear the doctor say that she was going to be fine. He wanted to go back in and see her. He turned to the doctor, he asked, “Can I go back in and sit with her? If she tires out I can come back out and sit, but I’m not going anywhere.” He said that mostly for Quinn’s mom’s benefit, he didn’t want her to think he was going anywhere.
Quinn’s doctor looked to Puck behind him when the boy asked if he could go back in and gave a general answer that visitors were okay as long as she wanted them, though they should understand if she was a little upset or confused. It was going to be a big change, no matter what the outcome, but he said that Quinn was lucky, even if she had trouble seeing it at the time. Judy didn’t protest Puck saying he would be going back in. She wasn’t interested in what he did at the moment, and with the way she was acting, it was like she was the one who was hurt.
Quinn, on the other hand, wasn’t taking the information all that much better. It hadn’t made it all the way through to her yet that she couldn’t feel her legs, but it could have possibly just been from swelling. Maybe it would go away in a day, or a week, or a few weeks. But, what if it didn’t? She focused her eyes on the blank television in the front of the room, not really seeing it, just looking to have something to look at. The broken bones she could deal with, but she couldn’t walk? How exactly was she supposed to deal with that?
Puck slipped back in the room, without another look at Mrs. Fabray and went to sit next to Quinn. He dropped a kiss on her forehead, lightly, in case she was hurt there, and then sat down on his chair. He slipped his fingers through hers, holding it limply. He didn’t want to hurt her. “Baby, how are you feeling?” He asked, he was feeling a little better now that he knew she was going to be OK in the long run.
Quinn had definitely been woken up from the information from the doctor. Before she had just assumed the was out of it from surgery, that things would be better in the morning aside from the broken bones, but she was wrong. She didn’t have it in her to cry just yet, but she was thankful when Puck came back. He had been why she was trying to get back that night, and she couldn’t remember what she had needed to tell him in the stupid text in the first place. That much, she knew. Her fingers tightened a bit around his and she started to shift, just to give a whimper and stop instantly. She couldn’t feel her legs, and everything above her waist hurt.
“Don’t leave,” she pleaded quietly, because if that was all she got to say, that was what she wanted to say. He was maybe her best friend in the entire world, in an entirely unconventional way, but she needed him there. His question was ignored, just because she could only assume that the answer was obvious.
“I won’t go anywhere, I promise. They’ll have to make me leave, and even then I’ll fight them.” He said, and then told her, “Don’t try to move if it hurts too much, baby, OK?” He scooted closer to the bed, and ran his thumb along her knuckles. “I was so worried when I saw you on the news, baby, I was so scared.” Puck didn’t feel any less of a man in telling her this, he wanted all his cards on the table. He didn’t want there to be any secrets between them anymore.
Quinn bit into her lower lip, just to stop instantly when she realized it was split slightly. She thought she must have looked horrible, but there were enough broken bones in the equation that she excused it. When he told her not to move too much, she closed her eyes tightly. She couldn’t walk; where was she going? She held onto his hand, and that was the only movement she really made. “My mother is so mad,” she mumbled softly, letting her head tilt the slightest bit to the side so she was able to see him. “I was almost home.”
“Baby, it’s OK, you can’t do anything about that now.” Puck replied, shaking his head. “Don’t worry about anything but getting better, OK?” He didn’t want her to be worrying about things like her mother being pissed. Puck leaned down and pressed another light kiss to her forehead. He didn’t like the looks of her poor lips. He would happily pound the shit out of the person that hit her, he didn’t like that she was hurt like this.
Quinn wanted to be angry about it, though she had to believe that it wouldn’t do any good. It had been her fault. She had been the one to miss the sign, not the other person. She nudged her forehead up to his lips gently and sighed when it just hurt. She almost wanted to say that she wasn’t going to get better, according to the doctor, but she wasn’t going to believe it. She was going to wake up the next morning and she was going to be fine, or it would happen the day after that. Or the one after that. “I don’t know what I wanted to tell you tonight,” she admit quietly.
“Hey, it’s OK.” Puck said, shaking his head. He didn’t know what else to say. He just wanted to be there for her, however she needed him. She looked so broken, and he wanted to fix it. He just didn’t know how. “I want to fix this, but I don’t know how.” He looked into her eyes. “Baby, I know you’re scared, but you are going to be fine, OK? I promise. The doctor says it’s going to take work but you’re going to be fine.” He said this for both of their benefits.
"Just don't leave," she mumbled, though he had already promised that he wouldn't. She didn't want to tell him what else the doctor had said. Somehow, the medical professional viewed alive and paralyzed as so much better than dead. At the moment, she wasn't so sure it was true.
It couldn't have been fun for him to sit there as she fell asleep again, her hand still in his the entire time. She needed him there. She hadn't realized it yet, and he probably would before she did, that it was a very real possibility that she could have died and not been there. Just sleeping sounded like the best idea, because at least then things stopped hurting for a little bit.
When she woke up again, a few hours later, she had been whimpering through her sleep. Miserable was an understatement, but she hadn't pressed the release for pain medication since the doctor had switched her to that instead of the drip she had been on. If she didn't press it, maybe she would start feeling something -anything- in her legs. She tried to shift again, squeezing his hand tightly in hers without really thinking about it as it just hurt.
Puck jerked awake when she squeezed his hand, when she’d gone to sleep it just made sense to sleep too. He felt a crick in his neck, and rolled his neck, trying to get rid of it. He saw she was awake. “You’re awake, I am so glad.” When she’d fallen asleep earlier, he’d had a momentary panic that she wouldn’t wake up again, so when she did wake up he felt much better. “Can I get you anything?” He asked, he would get her whatever she wanted.
"It just h-hurts," she breathed out, trying to keep taking breaths though everything was just a mix of sore and sharp pain. She was being ridiculous, not pressing the stupid button to get the pain medication, but feeling was better than not feeling, right? She was surprised he was still there, though she shouldn’t have been. If he had proven one thing over the past few months since Christmas, it was that he would be there no matter what. It meant more to her than she would probably ever remember to say. “It’s okay,” she mumbled after that. “Just stay,” she asked, though they already covered that.
“I already told you, baby, I’m not going anywhere.” Puck told her, shaking his head. “I told Ma I was leaving and I’m not going anywhere.” He would call someone and have them get him more clothes and whatnot if he needed, he wasn’t going to leave her until she asked him to go. It was a new thing, this being here for someone, and actually meaning it without wanting to get into her pants. He was proud of himself, he was growing. Puck never would have believed it.
Quinn looked to Puck when he promised again that he wasn’t going anywhere. Maybe she should get him to go? Then maybe she could just hide out until she was off to college, then she wouldn’t ever have to admit how hurt she was. It was brief thought, she knew it wouldn’t ever work that way. Maybe she wasn’t even getting to go away to college anymore. “Puck,” she mumbled, closing her eyes tightly for a moment. “Puck this isn’t...this might not be okay, and if you need to leave you can.”
Puck looked at her. He understood why she was offering, but he was OK. He was worried about her, but he was fine otherwise. “No, Quinn, I know the old me wouldn’t still be here, but I told you I wasn’t going to leave you and I meant it. I mean, I’m worried about you, but I can’t go home, then I’ll go insane worrying about you. If I’m here I can keep my eye on you, and know you’re safe.” He squeezed her hand lightly. “You’re stuck with me.”
“I didn’t mean at the hospital, Puck,” she mumbled, closing her eyes once again before forcing herself to look at him. She didn’t want hims stuck with a girlfriend who couldn’t walk, either for now or forever. “I can’t feel my legs.” She had told the doctor that earlier, but she hadn’t thought anything of it. She had assumed it was from the surgery. But telling Puck and admitting it to herself? Hurt. Probably worse than everything else that was currently going on.
Clearly he wasn’t making himself clear. “Quinn, I think I know what you’re saying. Babe, you are not going to be paralyzed forever, but even if you are, I am not going anywhere. I still will love you and want to be with you. I will do the best I can to take care of you. I don’t want you to worry about me not wanting to be with you, OK? Do you still love me?”
Quinn hated the idea of someone else taking care of her, she was too independent for that, Somehow, though, she hated it a little less when it was Puck taking care of her. Still, she didn’t want him stuck there like that. She looked down to their linked fingers and tried for the millionth time to shift to get more comfortable. “Puck,” she mumbled, not wanting to answer the question because she had planned to wait until they had fully decided what they were doing together...or apart. Her choice was most definitely together, but what would this accident do? “That hasn’t changed,” she said quietly.
“Then you don’t have to worry about me going anywhere, OK?” Puck asked, knowing she had to be hating what was happening to her. He wanted to take it all away, but he knew he couldn’t. He was glad she still loved him. It made him feel warm all over despite the worry he was feeling. Puck wanted to kiss her but he didn’t want to hurt her. “We can talk about all of that more later though, when you’re feeling better. But you’re my baby and that’s not going to change as far as I’m concerned.”
Quinn whimpered a little, either because she was trying to breathe and it hurt or because his words made her really want to cry. She loved him, that she was sure of, and he was promising he would stay. That was more than she could be sure she would do in the same situation. She closed her eyes and pulled his hand a little closer to her. “I’m going to sleep, I think,” she said quietly, finally reaching carefully for the pain button to finally get some relief. If he was going to stay, she didn’t have to be awake to make sure he did.
Nodding, Puck said, “It’s fine, go to sleep, baby. You’re in a lot of pain, that’s what I want to do when I hurt like that.” He pulled his chair right up next to the bed, moving down the guardrail on that side. He wanted to be as close to her as he could be. He leaned back in the chair, he hadn’t brought any of his comic books, he’d been in too much of a hurry, but he didn’t want to turn on the tv and disturb her either.