Title: Travelin' Soldier
Author: lps-record
Rating: M for Sex and Violence
Spoilers: None. Completely AU
Summary: Inspired by the Dixie Chick's "Travelin' Soldier". Quinn has been drafted to the Vietnam war. On her way to the army camp in California, she meets the girl she want's to send her letters to.

A/N: Let's all assume it's the 1960's during the Vietnam War era and women were also drafted into the US Army. I'm taking a lot of liberty with historical facts.

All errors are completely mine. Glee and it's characters are not mine. Draft letter belongs to the US Army. Recognizable lyrics belong to the artists.

Please do enjoy.

"She said I'm off in an hour and I know where we can go"

Hippies. She had never been so sad to leave a group of them as they dropped her off at her destined bus stop.

"Good luck at the war, Quinnie!" a young man with long dreadlocks yelled out the window as the vehicle pulled off the curb, the tires screeching against the asphalt.

Quinn gave him the middle finger after hearing the cacophony of laughter of the other passengers in the car. She smiled and shook her head.

Sighing she held on the strap of her bag hanging from her shoulder looking around at her surroundings. She breathed in deeply, closing her eyes and taking in the warm, salty air coming from the ocean. The breeze tussled her bangs and she could hear the seagulls cawing away in the distance. She briefly wondered if the coast was always this peaceful. Her hometown of New York was always bustling with people in a hurry and cars honking in anger because of traffic. She had always dreamed of visiting the West Coast but not under the circumstances she was currently in.

She reached into the pocket of her Army greens touching the edges of the well worn and thoroughly memorized draft letter that had changed her life unexpectedly.

With a heavy sigh she sat on bench on the bus stop. She pulled out the letter and her eyes roamed over the bold lettering once more:

Greetings:
You are hereby ordered for induction into the Armed Forces of the United States, and to report at Fort Irwin in Barstow, CA at 5:00AM (DST).

The letter continued and she stopped once again at the sentence that left her no other choice:

Willful failure to report at the place and hour of the day names in this Order subjects the violator to fine and imprisonment. Bring this Order with you when you report.

She closed her eyes once more remembering her mother's cries as she left home for California. Her thoughts were interrupted as her stomach rumbled in hunger.

She stood up and placed her bag on her shoulder. Glancing to her left, she noticed a small cafe right in the corner of the block.

Once she arrived she spotted a booth close to the window and sat down starring out the windows, getting lost in her thoughts.

A seventeen year old Quinn burst though her house in a flurry of energy still laughing about some stupid joke her best friend Santana had told her. This was going to be their last week together. Santa was moving to Massachusetts where she had been accepted with a full ride scholarship to Harvard Law School. Quinn was going to head west and pursue a career as a sketch artist and painter. She had heard through the grapevine that the great Andy Warhol was currently residing in Hollywood. She wanted to look for him and persuade him to take her under his wing and teach her what he knew.

Her mirth was cut short as she entered the kitchen. She saw her mother quietly sobbing in a chair with her father consoling her.

"What's wrong?" She asked worriedly.

Her father's cold blue eyes settled on the table where an opened letter rested.

"See for yourself"

Quickly grabbing it, she read it to herself: Greetings, you are hereby inducted..."

"No," she breathed out, her mind not believing what her eyes were reading, "this can't be."

"Believe it Quinn," her father's harsh tone boomed, "you brought this on to yourself. You should've gone to college like I told you to instead of becoming like those bohemian "artists"in the streets."

"I-I can't fight in a war that I don't even believe in!" She exclaimed, her facial expression morphing into disbelief

"You'll make this family and this country proud, Quinn, you've got no choice in the matter,"

"I'll run away to Canada!" She threatened

"Oh no you won't! If the government doesn't find you, I'll personally look for you in any part of the world and drag you to the Army camp, it won't be pretty, Quinn, and just maybe the Army will "straighten" you out," he spat with despise.

Her mother just continued sobbing never once raising her voice to at least show any concerns.

"Excuse me, miss, but um, would you like to start with a drink?" A soft voice pulled Quinn out of her reverie.

Turning to face the waitress, she was instantly captivated by the most beautiful dark brown eyes she had ever seen.

"Huh?" She asked stupidly, slapping herself mentally for sounding so mindless in the presence of the dark eyed beauty.

"I said if, um, you'd like something to drink?" the waitress said faltering and blushing over Quinn's unwavering gaze.

"Yeah, uh, a coffee, extra strong, please," she said, a light flush dusting her cheeks and lowering her gaze after realizing that she had been staring.

"OK, and you want to order now or..." The girl trailed off.

"Uh, yea a BLT sandwich with extra bacon," Quinn replied.

The young brunette wrote Quinn's order in her her small notepad, "Alright then, you're order should be right up," she said twirling on her toes and leaving Quinn by herself once more.

Quinn kept her eyes on the girl who was now presumably giving her order to the cook. She was wearing a flowered dress about knee length and a white apron surrounding her shapely hips. Her hair was loose around her shoulders, curled and held by a bright yellow headband. Quinn subconsciously smiled as the young brunette laughed softly at whatever the cook had said. Feeling eyes on her, the brunette looked to her side to find Quinn looking at her again with a look she could no place, she blushed, shyly bit her lip and looked away from the blonde.

Quinn didn't know what it was about this girl that had her so captivated. She looked away and stared out the window getting lost in her own thoughts. She started to remember the day she had to say goodbye to her best friend.

"Promise you'll write me, Quinn, as often as you can" a broken Santana said, hugging Quinn for all she was worth

"I promise," Quinn said, trying to hold back a sob that seemed to had been caught in her throat.

"Please try not be killed, Okay? I love you so much Quinn. I can't lose you just like a lost my brother," Santana said letting her tears drench Quinn's shirt.

"I won't Santana, okay? I need to see you graduate top of the class and see you kick everyone's ass in court, yeah?" Quinn said, trying to lighten up the mood. Both best friends laughter were chocked, but were glad they could still laugh even through this situation, "I'll miss you so much, San"

"Are you okay?" the brunette spoke, causing Quinn to jump slightly, she wiped her eyes becoming conscious that she had began crying at the painful last memory of holding her friend for the last time.

"I-I'm sorry, I..." Quinn started, "it's just that I left home a couple of weeks ago and I'm feeling rather homesick at the moment"

"It's understandable," the young waitress said, her heart clenched in pain at seeing the blonde's hazel eyes so sad, red and brimmed with unshed tears, "I don't want to be nosy or for you to feel that I want to intrude in your personal business, but maybe, if you've got time, you'd like to come with me somewhere. It seems like you need someone to talk to." She said placing the blonde's food on the table.

Quinn smiled at the girl's friendly gesture. She nodded her consent. "I'd like that"

"Then it's set," the girl smiled, Quinn's heart skipping a beat at having that smile directed at her. The girl turned to leave but was stopped by Quinn grasping her wrist.

"I didn't catch your name," Quinn inquired.

"Rachel, Rachel Berry" the girl said

"I'm Quinn Fabray, in case you wanted to know," Quinn said.

"Nice to meet you Quinn Fabray," the brunette said smiling once again.

"Likewise, Rachel Berry" Quinn grinned

Rachel left Quinn's table but not before sending Quinn one last smile over her shoulder.

To say Quinn was inspired was an understatement. She quickly searched through her Army bag and retrieved her sketchpad. She found a blank page and drew a sketch of Rachel by memory. Her food forgotten and her mind filled with thoughts one Rachel Berry. She flipped the page over and wrote:

Santana, I know you won't believe me, friend, when I tell you that I think I just met the girl of my dreams. It is for certain that I won't ever forget her face, or this place where we met. She saw me crying over a memory of us and she asked me if I wanted to go somewhere else to talk and I said yes. Hope you've met a hot young thing yourself in Harvard. ;)

Love you and miss you, Q

P.S: Momma always told me not to talk to strangers, so I'm hoping she doesn't kill me. :) I drew a quick sketch, but it doesn't do her justice.

She ripped the page from her sketchpad and slipped it inside one of the many envelopes currently residing in her bag. She licked the fold, grimacing at the bitter taste, and stuck it close. She placed the letter to the side and happily began to munch away at her still warm BLT.

She watched intently as the edges of Rachel's dress flitted around with the brunette's movements. Her heart fluttered at every glance of a smile or laughter coming from her.

This is stupid, she though, I just met the girl and I feel all nervous and stuff.

Time fleeted rather quickly after that. Next time she knew, Rachel was at her table again.

"Ready to go?"

"Yeah, let me just pay real quick, meet you outside?" Quinn said

Rachel nodded and left Quinn to pay her bill. Quinn secretly paid her a hefty tip. It's not like her father's money would be of any use in Vietnam.

Finding a mailbox right outside, she kissed the letter and dropped it inside.

A/N: Thoughts?

I do have a busy schedule but I'll update as soon as I can. Please be patient. I am assuming this should be a fairly short story.

Some of you were asking if I took prompts, I do.