Something - Quinn Fabray

Chapter 90

Three days after the accident, Judy Fabray sat tiredly at her youngest daughter's bedside in room 329 at Lima Memorial Hospital. Quinn hadn't woken up yet. There had been three additional surgeries in the past few days, one for her spine, one for the damaged lung, and one for the intracranial bleed that had popped up. She still hadn't regained consciousness. The doctors were optimistic that she would though, and Judy clung to that.

Frannie was out attending to some things from school, trying to juggle her missed classes. She'd need to return to California soon. Judy's sister and her family had been by to visit, Kitty looking extremely shaken up. Judy knew she pretty much idolized Quinn. Judy's thoughts fluttered briefly to Russell, only to discard him immediately from her mind. He could rot in jail for all she cared.

Quinn's glee cub had visited too, arriving the day after the accident. Santana Lopez had been the first to come, followed by Brittany Pierce. The three girls had been friends ever since the Fabrays had moved to Lima in Quinn's 8th grade. The others had come in twos and threes as the doctors had recommended, not wanting to overwhelm the room with too many visitors at once. Judy hadn't caught all of their names, but she was touched at the concern Quinn's friends had for her. Quinn had touched so many lives, done so much more in her eighteen years than Judy had in her forty-nine.

One person hadn't been by though, the most important person of all. Ryan had only come to see Quinn once, the morning after the accident. Frannie had told Judy that Ryan had come for all of five minutes before abruptly leaving the room. Judy had gone to see him in his room, only to find him despondent, blaming himself for the accident. Judy had done her best to assure him that none of them blamed him, but the poor boy nevertheless blamed himself.

She watched Quinn quietly, the ventilator breathing for her, accompanied by the monitors' steady beeping. Her child was alive, and that was all that mattered right now.

She glanced up at the soft tapping on the door, summoning up a small smile when she saw who it was. "Hello James."

"Hi Judy," he smiled back gently as he entered the room. "How's Quinn doing?"

"The same," Judy sighed. "Ryan?"

"He's ready for discharge. Shelby's getting the paperwork done."

"Good." She looked back at her daughter, wishing that she would wake up as well. "Is he going to be by before you leave?"

James ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know," he murmured. "I don't think so. He still blames himself for the accident. It's like he can't... can't bear to see Quinn like this."

"I've told him it isn't his fault," Judy said, touching Quinn's still hand. There were some awful moments when she was so angry that this had happened, but she'd never once blamed Ryan. By all accounts he was in the clear, and he had enough to deal with without her blaming him as well. And she knew, she just knew he'd never do anything to hurt Quinn, not if he could help it. "But I can see how he would think so."

He nodded, looking at Quinn. "The doctors haven't said anything?"

"The surgeries went well," she replied, smiling a little at the small victory. "They say it's just a matter of when she'll wake up."

"She just needs some time. She's very lucky," he added, almost to himself. Judy shut her eyes briefly, pained at the reminder that her youngest child had almost died. That even with all these injuries, she was lucky to be alive. She paused, steeling herself before looking at James.

"Can you tell me what you saw?" she requested. It had been plaguing her mind ever since the accident. "Please. I need to know." She didn't know why she needed to know, but she did. The police had patched together what had happened, but they had been there after the fact. They hadn't been with her daughter.