𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 | r. berry

Born This Way

Autumn was all set to go home, and she couldn't be more excited to be back in Lima. But she still had to get through the week and prove that she was better now.

She really thought she was. The ED voice was getting quieter and quieter, and she found herself feeling less guilty after eating. She wanted to be better so that her family and friends would know that she was gonna be okay.

She wanted to be better for herself.

"I'm proud of you, Autumn," Nurse Wilson said, smiling as she wrote down the brunette's weight. "You're five pounds above your target weight."

"Five pounds?" Autumn gasped.

"How does that make you feel?" Nurse Wilson asked.

"Well, scared at first," Autumn admitted. "Five pounds seems like a lot, but now that I'm thinking about it..." She glanced down at her body. "It doesn't look as bad as it sounds. And it's better than how underweight I was when I got here. Having those small extra pounds is healthy."

"You've come a long way, Autumn," Nurse Wilson smiled. "I hope you can see a difference."

"Yeah. Yeah, I can," Autumn nodded with a smile. "And to think four months ago I thought you were scary."

"I'm not scary," the woman said as she wrote some notes down on her clipboard. "I'm passionate about my work, and I care about you kids."

"I can see that now," Autumn smiled.

"Alright, get out of here," Nurse Wilson chuckled. "Can you find Juniper and send her in? I have a couple things I need to discuss with her about her discharge."

Autumn nodded and left the room, a small skip in her step with the knowledge that she'd be home soon.

****

"Oh my God, you're getting a nose job," Quinn said, staring at Rachel in disbelief.

"¡Tú eres loca, dios mío!" Naomi gasped. "¡¿Has perdido la cabeza?!"

"If Naomi starts shouting in Spanish, you know it's bad," Artie whispered to Tina, who nodded.

"I'm...considering having a minor procedure to repair my deviated septum," Rachel said.

"So, a nose job," Santana frowned, furrowing her brows.

"¡Loca!" Naomi shouted. "¡Tú eres loca!"

"Silencio, pollito," Santana said, rubbing the younger girl's back.

"Look," Rachel sighed. "I'm...I'm happy with the way that I look, okay? And I've embraced my nose. But let's say I wanted to have a slightly more demure nose. Like Quinn's, for example. I would never change my appearance for vanity, but, I mean, the doctor said that it could possibly improve my talent, which would help us all for nationals."

"Possibly? What about the risks?" Mr. Schue asked. "Your voice is amazing as is, Rachel."

"Hold up," Santana scoffed. "Could we all just get real here for a second? I hear that Rachel's got a bit of a schnoz. I mean, I wouldn't know because, like Medusa, I try to avoid eye contact with her. But can we all just stop lying about how there aren't things that we wouldn't change about ourselves? I mean, I'm sure that Sam's been at the doctor's office and rifled through pamphlets on mouth reduction. I'll bet Artie's thought about getting his legs removed since he's not really using them anyways. And I'm definitely sure that Tina's looked into getting an eye de-slanting."

"That's extraordinarily racist," Tina scoffed.

"I'm keepin' it real," Santana shrugged.

"Sorry, Santana. I'm a beautiful person. I'm in love with myself, and I would never change a thing."