AN: Hey guys, I know that I should be updating Finding the Light, but here's a story that I wrote for English! Hope you enjoy it! As always, tell me what you think in a review or PM please
Sunrise is the most active and lively part of the day, though not many people are awake to appreciate it; the striking tune of birds singing infusing the early morning silence with signs of life, drawing the attention of any conscious beings to the animals in the garden. A lone woman was sitting on her back porch, watching the beautiful creatures run through her peaceful garden, frantically completing their morning work. The vibrant colours of the flowers that were planted throughout the yard were enhanced by the morning sun and filled the garden with their sweet scent. Rays of light were shining through her chocolate brown hair, highlighting golden streaks and accenting the tan young woman's beauty.
The scene was the perfect definition of peace and serenity and was barely disturbed when a pale young blonde woman quietly stepped outside, carrying a digital SLR camera around her neck. The newest arrival soundlessly took a few pictures of the other woman in the morning sun, grinning when the brunette turned and smiled at her. Gold flecked russet eyes lit up, radiating love and adoration when they registered the arrival of the blonde. Letting the camera fall and hang from her neck again, Quinn tenderly wrapped her arms around the tan woman and kissed her on the cheek.
The couple stood like that for another ten minutes before Rachel disentangled herself from the blonde and walked over to a rose bush, carefully clipping a rose off. The brunette walked back towards her partner, gently pushing the crimson bloom over the other woman's ear, through strands of blonde hair. Chocolate eyes bore into hazel, each woman glowing with complete and utter adoration and love for the other, though there was a shimmer of sadness shining in their eyes as they recalled the events of the past few months.
The two had been wed a year earlier, after dating for nine years, and the previous few weeks had been spent trying for Rachel to fall pregnant. Quinn and Rachel were both bubbling with nervous excitement, because it was finally the day of their first ultrasound, determining whether or not the first insemination had worked.
In the waiting room, Rachel and Quinn were waiting to be called in for the ultrasound, to kill time the ladies were reading pamphlets on pregnancy, and observing the heavily pregnant women in the room. The blonde's tapping foot creating a strange melody and nervous energy throughout the room. Some of the other couples who were also waiting for their appointment smiled at them, knowing what the couple was feeling, as they were the same position a few weeks prior. The moment the receptionist called Fabray, they were on their feet already walking towards room 13, wanting to find out the news as soon as possible. The doctor was still
typing information into her file from the last woman, when they walked in. She was a slightly older woman and introduced herself as Doctor Ruby Langenheim, with a warm smile at the visibly nervous couple.
Quinn was holding Rachel's hand tightly within her own in anticipation as her wife laid on the bed. The smaller woman shivered as the cold gel was squirted on her warm stomach, making a squelching noise as it spurted. Doctor Langenheim started moving the transducer over Rachel's belly, watching the monitor screen intently. Suddenly a small smile tugged at the edges of the Doctor's mouth, turning to the couple she watched the hope, excitement, nervousness and hope bubbling in their eyes, before she enthusiastically told the women that Rachel is pregnant. Tears gathered in the duo's eyes as the news sunk in, Quinn quickly leaning down and kissing her wife lovingly.
The next couple of months were spent preparing for the birth of their baby; painting the nursery, buying furniture, toys and reading every credible pregnancy and early childhood books they could find. Rachel had taken time off Broadway to ensure the health of their unborn child, while Quinn continued to work to bring in money for the household. While the blonde was at work, the brunette would buy all the little things she thought the baby would need, including clothes, toys and decor for the nursery. People around the city were familiar with the sight of Broadway star Rachel Fabray out and about now, and usually she got smiles from fans, but there was always the occasional glare from extremist Christians who were 'opposed to her lifestyle'.
Rachel was walking down the streets of New York City smiling as she looked at the stuffed lamb toy she had just purchased, as she headed home. It was getting late, the sun beginning to set behind tall buildings and skyscrapers. Just as the small woman was about to call a taxi, large, rough hands grabbed her around the waist, pulling her into a dark alley. The pristine white lamb fell to the floor as the brunette wrapped her arms around her stomach, instinctively protecting her unborn child as what felt to be two or three men began beating her. Rachel could feel her skin tearing and bruising with every blow that was landed but couldn't fight back because there was a man holding her down by her arms that he had forcibly pulled from around her stomach.
One of the men was talking as he was attacking her, growling things that she could barely make out over the sound of blood rushing in her ears. He was telling her that homosexuality is a sin, that they are enforcing God's word by beating the gay out of her. He told her that she's disgusting and that her child is an abomination for being born to two women. Those were the two main points that she heard from his haranguing. The feeling of cold steel alerted her to the knife one of the men held, as he plunged the sharp blade into her flesh. Blood and tears mixed
as the fluids ran down the woman's face, forming a miniature river and meeting up with more of the scarlet liquid on her body. Her chocolate hair felt matted with drying blood, from the sharp impact of her fall. Rachel tried to scream but her throat felt dry and tight, and wouldn't make any sound. She knew this feeling; she was having a panic attack.
The pain was a constant throb that pulsed through her entire being, intensifying with each hit the men laid on her. Each breath she attempted to take resulted in sharp pain ripping through her ribs, making her think that at least one of her ribs was broken. Rachel was feeling light headed and faint, and realised that she was on the verge of passing out, so, ignoring the pain resonating through her body and the lack of air, the brunette kicked the men with as much force as she could muster. She finally managed to scream loud enough to draw a passer-by's attention, and the men quickly scrambled to get out of the alley, leaving her bleeding heavily, passed out on the filthy concrete. It was grotesque: a small pregnant brunette lying in a pool of her own blood, a white toy lamb with crimson splotches covering it.
The man who heard Rachel scream called the police and an ambulance the second he saw her unconscious, bloody form on the floor and saw the small group of men fleeing the scene. The emergency services arrived at the scene a few minutes later, rushing the brunette to the hospital where they checked and treated all of her injuries, and did an ultrasound all before Quinn arrived. The doctor who was given the job of informing the soon to be parents of their miscarriage was a woman who looked only a couple of years older than the two women. They were told that there was nothing the doctors could do for the foetus because there was no heartbeat even when they checked in the ambulance.
Rachel and Quinn were shattered hearing their baby had been killed by a group of homophobic bigots. A powerful wave of heartbreak and mourning overcame them as the blonde went into a state of shock, and the brunette began sobbing uncontrollably, believing she was to blame for the death of their child. The women had already chosen a name for the baby, even though they hadn't discovered the gender yet. Their child was going to be named Phoenix Fabray. They had chosen the name Phoenix because the mythical creature is immortal; whenever the bird dies it is reborn from its ashes. They had wanted their child to have a name with meaning for them behind it, and this said that, just like them, their child would never give up; no matter how broken they were before, they would be reborn from the ashes left behind.
The couple had tears gently sliding down their cheeks at the memory of their lost child. It had been a huge news story, the attack of Broadway phenomenon Rachel Fabray but in the last week or so they had finally gotten rid of the paparazzi, and were able to grieve in peace. Rachel and Quinn had kept the lamb. It now has permanent residence on the living room mantelpiece, where there was also a picture frame filled with all of the ultrasound pictures the couple had received. At the bottom of the frame there was a small metal plaque with the name Phoenix Fabray engraved on it. This way, the small family would always be reminded of what would have been their first child.