Forever Begins with the Ocean's Tides [13/14]
Title: Forever Begins with the Ocean's Tides
Pairings/Characters: (in order of appearance) Quinn/Santana, minor Puck/Kurt, minor Santana/Puck, side Brittany/Santana, Rachel/Quinn
Mentions: Quinn/Finn, Quinn/Puck, Rachel/Finn
Other Characters: Artie, Mike, Will, Russell & Judy Fabray, Matt, mentions SueRating: PG-13 for this chapter; NC-17 overall
Length: ~1,700 for this chapter; 27,000+ overall
Summary: AU Captain Quinn Fabray is in love with the sea and her ship, The Cheerio. With Santana at her side as her first mate she's certain she doesn't need anything else. But when the crew of The Cheerio takes over the Glee and they find some unexpected crew members on board the captain starts to question everything around her.
Author's Note: See Chapter 1
Previous Chapters:
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7
Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12
Before you ask, I will not post the last chapter right now or any time before I want to. I will post it just after midnight (US central standard time) tomorrow, just like all the others.
Warning: You will hate me for this. A lot. Seriously.
-Chapter 13-
Quinn closed her eyes and prayed to whatever god would listen to her that Santana’s shot hit its mark and when she felt her feet hit the ground instead of her neck snap she knew it had. She ducked out from underneath the platform and took off in a sprint following Santana and Brittany both out of the courtyard. Bullets whizzed around their heads and the crowds were yelling but they kept running, Santana leading the way.
“Nice shot, Santana!” Quinn yelled.
“It wasn’t me!” Santana called back to her. “It was Brit!”
Quinn’s jaw dropped but before she could respond there was a loud crack behind her and her mind went back to focusing on getting away from the soldiers.
The women ran out of the city and lost the soldiers through the forest and finally were running through grasslands until Santana pulled Quinn into an abandoned barn. The trio collapsed against the door, breathing heavily. Quinn swallowed hard and took the offered canteen from Santana and a big drink of water.
“Thanks Brit,” Quinn gasped.
“No problem,” Brittany responded. “I wish they would have used a thinner rope, at least give me a challenge.”
“Apparently,” Santana said once she’d regained her breath, “Brittany knows as much about guns as you do about ships. Who knew, huh?”
Quinn nodded and took another drink from the canteen and started tugging at the rope around her neck. Santana reached over and loosened the remainder of the noose and slipped it over Quinn’s head and the blonde smiled appreciatively. The Latina crawled over to a pile of their things in the corner and rummaged through a sack. Out of it she pulled a hammer and an iron spike and Quinn placed her wrists on the ground for Santana to try and bust the shackles open. Santana stuck the sharp end of the spike into the keyhole on one shackle and hit it with all her might and the cuff popped open. She repeated the process with the other cuff and Quinn rubbed her wrists once they were free and they settled back against the barn door.
“One of the navy ships approached us last night right after Mike got back,” Santana said. “So Brittany and I packed what we could and I gave Artie the command to meet us up in Boston. It’ll take a while to get up there but we can make it.”
Quinn leaned her head back against the door and took a deep breath. “I want to figure out a way to see Rachel once before-”
“You can’t Quinn!” Santana half-yelled. “We didn’t just spring you from the gallows so you could walk right back to her and get caught. And if she’s caught harboring you then the both of you will swing side by side, is that something you want? Either you’re both alive and separate or you’re both dead and I know you don’t want that for her.”
“You’re right,” the captain sighed. “You’re absolutely right. Rachel’s…over and done with. It’s over. We should just lay low for a day or so here and then head up to Boston. We’ll head to the Pacific, around China. It’ll be great.” Quinn pulled her knees up to her chest and settled her forehead on them. The tears slipped out of her eyes and she let out a quiet sob. She felt Santana get up and move to her other side and Brittany scooted closer to her. Santana settled her chin on Quinn’s shoulder and pushed her blonde hair back.
“I’m sorry, Quinn. But it’ll keep her alive.”
“You have us,” Brittany tried to offer. “Well, not like that because that’s just for us…but as friends, you know?”
Quinn nodded.
The trio spent the next day huddled around the small fire they’d built in the abandoned barn. Quinn told Brittany and Santana about leaving Rachel at the boarding house and what had happened at her parents' and getting caught. Santana gave her an “I told you not to do anything stupid” look that Quinn ignored. Santana snuck out a few times to get food from a nearby house. She also managed to get blankets and a deck of cards as well as a couple of lanterns to add to the things they’d brought from The Cheerio.
“It’s not Puck’s or Rachel’s,” Santana said, serving up the rice and pork she’d managed to swipe for lunch. “But it’ll do.”
Quinn mumbled a thanks and pushed the food around on her plate. The small fire crackled and she sighed.
“Quinn, come on,” Santana urged. “You have to eat.”
“I don’t know if it’s worth it.”
Brittany sighed. “Sure it is.”
“Why?” Quinn tossed her plate on the ground. “For the past nine years it’s been about The Cheerio and killing people and hating my father…why…why is it that when I get something that really makes me happy and doesn’t hurt anyone that I can’t have it? It’s not worth it.” Quinn stood and walked to one of the barn windows and stared out at the grasslands. “It’s like some sick punishment for everything I did.”
“You’re not being punished,” Santana said. She walked over to her captain and wrapped her arm around Quinn’s shoulders. “Listen, if it’s that important to you then maybe we can figure out a way to see her before we go.”
Quinn shook her head. “She’ll want to come with us. You said it, Santana and you're right. If she gets caught…I won’t do it. It's too big of a risk.”
“You’re the captain, Captain,” Santana sighed. “Whatever you think is best.” Santana kissed Quinn’s temple and went back to the small fire next to Brittany and Quinn glanced over at them, huddled together for warmth, Brittany’s head on Santana’s shoulder. She shook her head and stared back out the window.
While Brittany and Santana played cards Quinn mostly looked longingly out of the window toward the city. She couldn’t see the buildings through the trees but she wasn’t looking for the buildings. She was looking for a short brunette in a jade dress to come running through the trees to save her. Quinn watched until dusk and Santana forced her to eat so she’d have her strength for the journey up to Boston.
-*-*-*-*-*-
The following day they packed what little they had “acquired” and what Brittany and Santana had brought with them when they’d left The Cheerio and headed north.
“We have to go around the city,” Santana sighed while they walked through the field. “I should have found a place north so we didn’t have to but I didn’t think about it, that was the first place I saw.”
“It’ll be fine, we can go through the city,” Quinn said.
“You’re joking, right?” Santana stopped and grabbed Quinn’s arm, pulling her back. “We can’t just walk through the city. Every soldier in New York is looking for you, for us. We're not going to find Rachel so why risk it?”
“If we just keep to ourselves it’ll be fine. It will save us an extra day, let’s just go. I’m the captain, remember?”
Santana growled and reluctantly agreed. Quinn led the way through the forest and smiled a little when she saw the city skyline. The trio ducked behind a building when a group of soldiers marched by and Santana groaned.
“This is a bad idea, Quinn. Seriously, we need to turn around and find some other way.”
“Just don’t draw any attention to yourself.”
Quinn took a deep breath and stepped out from behind the building, Santana and Brittany followed her as she walked through the street, heads down. Quinn had to grip tight on Santana’s arm a few times to keep the Latina from going after a few drunks who catcalled at them from saloons. They went from street to street and ducked behind buildings when they saw redcoats marching by. Santana let out a sigh of relief when they saw the edge of a forest signaling that they were almost in the clear. The Latina quickened her pace to keep up with Quinn but crashed into her when the blonde stopped dead in her tracks.
“What the…” Santana looked over Quinn’s shoulder. A soldier was staring directly at her and Quinn was staring back.
“Go,” Quinn said. Santana and Brittany remained still. “Go! Run!” this time Quinn shouted and the Latina and the blonde obeyed and took off running back in the direction they had come. Quinn swallowed hard and took a few steps back. She recognized the soldier as the guard from her cell, the one that had told her she deserved to be shot.
The soldier studied her for a few seconds before he raised his rifle. Quinn’s eyes welled with tears and she looked around at the people that had stopped to watch the scene unfold. She looked back behind her to see Santana and Brittany hiding in an alley between two saloons. Brittany was holding onto Santana’s shoulders and the Latina was struggling against the blonde’s grip.
“Quinn!” the blonde heard Santana shout. “Quinn just run!”
Quinn turned back to the soldier who was holding his rifle steady, aimed right at her. He cocked the lever back and smirked. There was a loud crack and Quinn felt a momentary burning pain in her shoulder. She looked down at her shirt which was no longer white but quickly turning bright red.
Santana screamed a blood-curdling scream that was probably heard for miles when she heard the shot and saw Quinn fall. She struggled against Brittany’s hold around her shoulders and cried.
“No! Let me go! Brittany let me go!” Santana sobbed. “Please! Let me go!”
“Come on, Santana.” Brittany pulled her further back into the alley because people were beginning to stare. Santana continued sobbing and screaming. “Quiet…” Brittany’s voice cracked. “Please you…you have to be qu-quiet!”
Santana finally quieted down but Brittany still held on to her from behind as the pair watched a few men come and pick up Quinn’s lifeless body and carry her away. The Latina retched at the sight.
“We have to go,” Brittany whispered. “We have to go.”
“No,” Santana choked. “No…I-I can’t.”
“We can’t stay here Santana. You’re the captain now. We have to go.”
Santana wrapped her arms around the tall Dutch girl and buried her face into Brittany’s neck. “Okay,” she whispered. “But I want to find Rachel.”
Pairings/Characters: (in order of appearance) Quinn/Santana, minor Puck/Kurt, minor Santana/Puck, side Brittany/Santana, Rachel/Quinn
Mentions: Quinn/Finn, Quinn/Puck, Rachel/Finn
Other Characters: Artie, Mike, Will, Russell & Judy Fabray, Matt, mentions SueRating: PG-13 for this chapter; NC-17 overall
Length: ~1,700 for this chapter; 27,000+ overall
Summary: AU Captain Quinn Fabray is in love with the sea and her ship, The Cheerio. With Santana at her side as her first mate she's certain she doesn't need anything else. But when the crew of The Cheerio takes over the Glee and they find some unexpected crew members on board the captain starts to question everything around her.
Author's Note: See Chapter 1
Previous Chapters:
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7
Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12
Before you ask, I will not post the last chapter right now or any time before I want to. I will post it just after midnight (US central standard time) tomorrow, just like all the others.
Warning: You will hate me for this. A lot. Seriously.
-Chapter 13-
Quinn closed her eyes and prayed to whatever god would listen to her that Santana’s shot hit its mark and when she felt her feet hit the ground instead of her neck snap she knew it had. She ducked out from underneath the platform and took off in a sprint following Santana and Brittany both out of the courtyard. Bullets whizzed around their heads and the crowds were yelling but they kept running, Santana leading the way.
“Nice shot, Santana!” Quinn yelled.
“It wasn’t me!” Santana called back to her. “It was Brit!”
Quinn’s jaw dropped but before she could respond there was a loud crack behind her and her mind went back to focusing on getting away from the soldiers.
The women ran out of the city and lost the soldiers through the forest and finally were running through grasslands until Santana pulled Quinn into an abandoned barn. The trio collapsed against the door, breathing heavily. Quinn swallowed hard and took the offered canteen from Santana and a big drink of water.
“Thanks Brit,” Quinn gasped.
“No problem,” Brittany responded. “I wish they would have used a thinner rope, at least give me a challenge.”
“Apparently,” Santana said once she’d regained her breath, “Brittany knows as much about guns as you do about ships. Who knew, huh?”
Quinn nodded and took another drink from the canteen and started tugging at the rope around her neck. Santana reached over and loosened the remainder of the noose and slipped it over Quinn’s head and the blonde smiled appreciatively. The Latina crawled over to a pile of their things in the corner and rummaged through a sack. Out of it she pulled a hammer and an iron spike and Quinn placed her wrists on the ground for Santana to try and bust the shackles open. Santana stuck the sharp end of the spike into the keyhole on one shackle and hit it with all her might and the cuff popped open. She repeated the process with the other cuff and Quinn rubbed her wrists once they were free and they settled back against the barn door.
“One of the navy ships approached us last night right after Mike got back,” Santana said. “So Brittany and I packed what we could and I gave Artie the command to meet us up in Boston. It’ll take a while to get up there but we can make it.”
Quinn leaned her head back against the door and took a deep breath. “I want to figure out a way to see Rachel once before-”
“You can’t Quinn!” Santana half-yelled. “We didn’t just spring you from the gallows so you could walk right back to her and get caught. And if she’s caught harboring you then the both of you will swing side by side, is that something you want? Either you’re both alive and separate or you’re both dead and I know you don’t want that for her.”
“You’re right,” the captain sighed. “You’re absolutely right. Rachel’s…over and done with. It’s over. We should just lay low for a day or so here and then head up to Boston. We’ll head to the Pacific, around China. It’ll be great.” Quinn pulled her knees up to her chest and settled her forehead on them. The tears slipped out of her eyes and she let out a quiet sob. She felt Santana get up and move to her other side and Brittany scooted closer to her. Santana settled her chin on Quinn’s shoulder and pushed her blonde hair back.
“I’m sorry, Quinn. But it’ll keep her alive.”
“You have us,” Brittany tried to offer. “Well, not like that because that’s just for us…but as friends, you know?”
Quinn nodded.
The trio spent the next day huddled around the small fire they’d built in the abandoned barn. Quinn told Brittany and Santana about leaving Rachel at the boarding house and what had happened at her parents' and getting caught. Santana gave her an “I told you not to do anything stupid” look that Quinn ignored. Santana snuck out a few times to get food from a nearby house. She also managed to get blankets and a deck of cards as well as a couple of lanterns to add to the things they’d brought from The Cheerio.
“It’s not Puck’s or Rachel’s,” Santana said, serving up the rice and pork she’d managed to swipe for lunch. “But it’ll do.”
Quinn mumbled a thanks and pushed the food around on her plate. The small fire crackled and she sighed.
“Quinn, come on,” Santana urged. “You have to eat.”
“I don’t know if it’s worth it.”
Brittany sighed. “Sure it is.”
“Why?” Quinn tossed her plate on the ground. “For the past nine years it’s been about The Cheerio and killing people and hating my father…why…why is it that when I get something that really makes me happy and doesn’t hurt anyone that I can’t have it? It’s not worth it.” Quinn stood and walked to one of the barn windows and stared out at the grasslands. “It’s like some sick punishment for everything I did.”
“You’re not being punished,” Santana said. She walked over to her captain and wrapped her arm around Quinn’s shoulders. “Listen, if it’s that important to you then maybe we can figure out a way to see her before we go.”
Quinn shook her head. “She’ll want to come with us. You said it, Santana and you're right. If she gets caught…I won’t do it. It's too big of a risk.”
“You’re the captain, Captain,” Santana sighed. “Whatever you think is best.” Santana kissed Quinn’s temple and went back to the small fire next to Brittany and Quinn glanced over at them, huddled together for warmth, Brittany’s head on Santana’s shoulder. She shook her head and stared back out the window.
While Brittany and Santana played cards Quinn mostly looked longingly out of the window toward the city. She couldn’t see the buildings through the trees but she wasn’t looking for the buildings. She was looking for a short brunette in a jade dress to come running through the trees to save her. Quinn watched until dusk and Santana forced her to eat so she’d have her strength for the journey up to Boston.
-*-*-*-*-*-
The following day they packed what little they had “acquired” and what Brittany and Santana had brought with them when they’d left The Cheerio and headed north.
“We have to go around the city,” Santana sighed while they walked through the field. “I should have found a place north so we didn’t have to but I didn’t think about it, that was the first place I saw.”
“It’ll be fine, we can go through the city,” Quinn said.
“You’re joking, right?” Santana stopped and grabbed Quinn’s arm, pulling her back. “We can’t just walk through the city. Every soldier in New York is looking for you, for us. We're not going to find Rachel so why risk it?”
“If we just keep to ourselves it’ll be fine. It will save us an extra day, let’s just go. I’m the captain, remember?”
Santana growled and reluctantly agreed. Quinn led the way through the forest and smiled a little when she saw the city skyline. The trio ducked behind a building when a group of soldiers marched by and Santana groaned.
“This is a bad idea, Quinn. Seriously, we need to turn around and find some other way.”
“Just don’t draw any attention to yourself.”
Quinn took a deep breath and stepped out from behind the building, Santana and Brittany followed her as she walked through the street, heads down. Quinn had to grip tight on Santana’s arm a few times to keep the Latina from going after a few drunks who catcalled at them from saloons. They went from street to street and ducked behind buildings when they saw redcoats marching by. Santana let out a sigh of relief when they saw the edge of a forest signaling that they were almost in the clear. The Latina quickened her pace to keep up with Quinn but crashed into her when the blonde stopped dead in her tracks.
“What the…” Santana looked over Quinn’s shoulder. A soldier was staring directly at her and Quinn was staring back.
“Go,” Quinn said. Santana and Brittany remained still. “Go! Run!” this time Quinn shouted and the Latina and the blonde obeyed and took off running back in the direction they had come. Quinn swallowed hard and took a few steps back. She recognized the soldier as the guard from her cell, the one that had told her she deserved to be shot.
The soldier studied her for a few seconds before he raised his rifle. Quinn’s eyes welled with tears and she looked around at the people that had stopped to watch the scene unfold. She looked back behind her to see Santana and Brittany hiding in an alley between two saloons. Brittany was holding onto Santana’s shoulders and the Latina was struggling against the blonde’s grip.
“Quinn!” the blonde heard Santana shout. “Quinn just run!”
Quinn turned back to the soldier who was holding his rifle steady, aimed right at her. He cocked the lever back and smirked. There was a loud crack and Quinn felt a momentary burning pain in her shoulder. She looked down at her shirt which was no longer white but quickly turning bright red.
Santana screamed a blood-curdling scream that was probably heard for miles when she heard the shot and saw Quinn fall. She struggled against Brittany’s hold around her shoulders and cried.
“No! Let me go! Brittany let me go!” Santana sobbed. “Please! Let me go!”
“Come on, Santana.” Brittany pulled her further back into the alley because people were beginning to stare. Santana continued sobbing and screaming. “Quiet…” Brittany’s voice cracked. “Please you…you have to be qu-quiet!”
Santana finally quieted down but Brittany still held on to her from behind as the pair watched a few men come and pick up Quinn’s lifeless body and carry her away. The Latina retched at the sight.
“We have to go,” Brittany whispered. “We have to go.”
“No,” Santana choked. “No…I-I can’t.”
“We can’t stay here Santana. You’re the captain now. We have to go.”
Santana wrapped her arms around the tall Dutch girl and buried her face into Brittany’s neck. “Okay,” she whispered. “But I want to find Rachel.”