Quinn glanced up at the rear view mirror for the umpteenth time to check on the sleeping form in the back seat. They had been driving for 10 hours already, so it was no wonder that the girl would be asleep by now, in fact, the blonde was rather relieved to see the petite diva get some rest. She was usually insistent on staying up to keep the elder of the two company, but a kid could only stay up so many hours before crashing. They had been driving all night; thankfully it was winter so it was dark by 4 in the afternoon, and was still dark at 2:00 AM which was the driving conditions that Quinn required when they finally reached the their destination. She considered waking Rachel, but decided against it seeing as how the young one needed her sleep.
Lima Ohio was a quaint little town that seldom had any travelers. It was one of those places where everyone knew everyone and nothing was kept secret for long, which usually was what made her steer clear, but Lima was home for Quinn. She was born here, raised here, and she had died here. Yes, you read right, Quinn Fabray was dead. Technically. She once was an aristocrat with a mean streak, but with a kind heart, but now she was a creature of the night and a mother to an 8 year old girl. She couldn't believe it had been 8 years since she had been here, but it didn't matter. No one would remember her anyway. Minds had been altered and facts had been changed thanks to the council who perished because of their actions.
The car pulled up into the driveway in front of the garage that matched the aqua blue quaint cottage. There were bushes all around with a small walkway from the front steps of the house to the driveway. The lights were on inside telling her that they were still up awaiting their arrival. She had just shut the engine off when the door opened and two men came out of the house to greet them.
"Goodness, you haven't aged a day" Hiram, the bigger of the two, said in awe as the young vampire stepped out of the vehicle.
"Nope, guess it's part of the whole 'immortality' thing." she quipped as she walked around to the other side to retrieve a couple of bags she had packed for overnight. She knew they would arrive late, so she packed all that they would need the first night and day in separate carry-on bags. The men held out their hands in a silent offer to carry the bags in and the blonde complied opting to get her daughter.
"Is that her? She's so small, she could probably pass as a five year old!" Leroy, the smaller man, observed. Rachel was such a small child that she needed a booster seat in order for the seat belt to fit properly, so it was beyond easy to see how Leroy could think that.
Leroy and Hiram had been good friends of hers since high school. They had met freshman year, and it was even Quinn's matchmaking skills that brought the two lovers together. Thanks to her, they were now married. The three had been through a lot together, and it was all the hardships they had had to face to bring them together. The guys had been there when Quinn had gotten pregnant, and when she had lost her child, they were there when she died and was transformed, and they were there the day Quinn had lost her best friend, who was also Rachel's biological mother. That was also the day Quinn had left Lima 8 years ago.
"Mommy?" A small voice said groggily once the blonde vampire had the girl in her arms.
"Shh go back to sleep Princess."Quinn said softly into the child's ear, but of course Rachel didn't listen. She rubbed at her eyes and looked around trying to take in their surroundings.
"Where are we?" She asked before spotting the Berrys. "Hello" She said to them shyly earning a couple of smiles and waves.
"Rachel, these are your uncles, Hiram and Leroy. We're going to be staying with them."
"Nice to meet you" The kid said courteously; she was raised with manners after all. The men chuckled slightly not used to well-mannered kids.
"It's nice to meet you too, Rachel. We are very happy to have you and your mother are going to be staying with us." Leroy said kindly as Hiram agreed nodding his head.
"I'm glad" Again, there were light chuckles.
"Well, why don't we head on inside, I'm sure we're all ready to get a good nights sleep." Hiram said as he and his husband took the two bags inside.
Once the two were shown to their rooms, Quinn got Rachel into her pajamas and had her brush her teeth before tucking her in. She was asleep the second her head hit her pillow. The blond kissed her on the forehead and whispered goodnight, then left, leaving the door slightly cracked like the little one liked it.
Once she was sure everything was in order, the vampire descended the stairs heading towards the door.
"You still on your diet?" A voice stopped her and she turned to find Hiram sitting on the couch in the dark, as if waiting to see if she would actually come down.
"Yeah. Don't worry, I only take human blood once a month to keep my strength up, but I don't harm anyone. I simply heal them, compel them, then be on my marry way." Quinn never wanted to hurt any living thing, but she had the obligation of survival. All those movies and shows that people liked to indulge in were wrong in some aspects. Vampires cannot find sustenance in blood bags. Once the blood has been exposed to oxygen for a certain period of time, or hasn't been circulating, it was pretty useless to the creatures. Their food had to come straight from the source: the vein. Luckily the old shows were right in the substitution of animal blood, and while it tasted awful, it was enough. Quinn was ever so thankful that she could still eat human food, so she often rid herself of the taste with some fast food afterward. It really helped keeping her from straying.
"And is tonight one of those nights?" Hiram inquired.
"No." the man studied her a bit before nodding.
"All right, good luck."
/
The stars were shining brightly embellishing the inky, black night sky making the moon seemingly glow that much more brightly. The town was quiet as everyone was at home, asleep in their beds. Quinn was currently crouched behind a bush watching a deer that was peacefully grazing in the moonlight. The woman ignored the beauty of the silent creature and the innocence of it's actions as she switched into her predatory mindset. She couldn't let images of Bambi enter her mind as they often threatened to do so, or think about the heartbeat she could hear beating in a steady rhythm. She had far too much of a conscience to be the monster she had become, but she bore through it. She had to think of Rachel, a little girl that saw her as her mother and depended on her to raise her and feed her and clothe her. She had to remember her promise, made to her very best friend who cared about nothing more than her safety. She had to think of her own selfish dreams and goals that she didn't dare leave unfulfilled. And that's when she pounced.
The deer heard her a split second too late. It's ear twitched before snapping it's head in her direction, only seeing her as she collided with the animal. She used all of her weight to pin it down before sinking her fangs into it's pelt without hesitation. The silky, smooth, warm liquid began to invade her mouth and slip down her throat as she swallowed hungrily. It had been 3 days since her last meal. A vampire can technically live five days off one feeding, so she made sure to keep it once every four days.
The animal struggled under her before Quinn pulled back feeling the thick substance run down her chin. She merely looked the animal in the eye, and the deer was calm and still. She raised her hand to her mouth and bit at her own flesh luring her blood out onto her palm to press against the freshly inflicted wounds on the animal's pelt. She felt the two bloods meshing together, then pulled her own hand away to see the wounds disappear without a trace. She stood and looked down at the deer before staring into it's eyes once again. The deer got up calmly before walking away as if to find another patch of grass to graze.
"Still a saint I see." Quinn whipped her head around to see a figure standing a few feet away from her, leaning against a tree. The moonlight wasn't enough to illuminate their features, but she didn't need to see the person's face; she could smell their scent.
"Oh and you think you're so tough? Keeping your distance from a vampire merely feeding on a helpless deer?"
"What can I say, it's always the nice ones that are the craziest." There was a moment of silence before Quinn smiled.
"It's great to see you Santana." The woman in question emerged from the shadows showing that she had a smile identical to the blondes. The Latina embraced the girl in a friendly hug before pulling away.
"The same to you. Took you long enough to get your narrow ass back here, why didn't you visit?"
"It was never safe. I had too many people watching me, and tailing me. I couldn't risk letting you go all Lima Heights Adjacent on them" She smirked as Santana chuckled.
"Fair enough. How's the rugrat?"
"Not much of a rugrat anymore."
"That's right, how old is she now? Like 7?"
"8, she's fine. Shaping out to be a bit of a diva if you ask me."Quinn smiled fondly as Santana laughed.
"Just like old Shelbs, huh?"
"So much it scares me. You haven't heard anything have you?"
"About Corcoran? No, have you?"
"Nothing." Quinn sighed. "It's so frustrating, we don't even know if she's still alive."
"God, she's twenty-four. I wonder how she's aging." Quinn tried to picture it, but was having too much trouble. Shelby had been the youngest of their group, so to think she was out their somewhere looking much older than them was just plain weird.
"Well I better get back, I don't like leaving Rachel for too long." Quinn said finally and Santana smirked.
"Mommy has separation anxiety issues?" Santana teased.
"If that's what'll get me away from you, then yes." Quinn full on smiled as Santana shook her head.
"Good luck to you Fabray, and don't you dare be a stranger, or I might just have to hunt you down."
"No promises." She flashed a cheeky grin, and then she was off.
Rachel was sitting with her back against the headboard when Quinn returned. The kid was seriously close to nodding off, but was more alert when she heard the front door open. She listened for her mother's silent footsteps, but as always there wasn't a single sound 'til a blonde head peeked into her bedroom.
"Rachel, what are you doing up?"She asked concerned as she came into the room and sat on the bed next to the child.
"Waiting for you Mommy." The small brunette informed her as she hugged her. Quinn returned the hug for a moment before scooping the child up into her arms and dropping her into her lap.
"Sweetie, how many times have I told you not to wait up for me? You need your sleep" The immortal mother gently scolded her child.
"I know, but I can't help but worry sometimes. What if someone sees you and captures you to- to expirement on, or imprison you, or-or...kill you. You tell me all the time that while there's good people in the world, there's also really mean ones, what if you run into one of the mean ones?" Tears swam in dark brown orbs and Quinn sighed, running her hand through brown locks. She had always been honest with her kid. Rachel knew what she was, could guess what she did, and knew how most others would perceive that.
"Shhh" The blonde soothed the girl. "You don't need to worry about me. You know I'm always extra careful, and I would never do anything that could risk you losing me. You're safe, I'm safe, we're all going to be just fine. Nothing's going to happen."
"You promise?"
"Yes, now go to sleep." Quinn again tucked her in, just as she had a few hours before and got up to leave when Rachel stopped her.
"Mommy?"
"Yes?"
"Sing to me?" Quinn smiled softly. Rachel had always been a bit mature for her age. While she still called her mommy, she always had impeccable manners, was the top in all her classes and showed countless times that she was very responsible, so Quinn relished in these moments when she could still clearly see her baby girl. She sat back at the girls bedside and brushed strands of dark hair out of the young girl's face. Then she started singing softly.
"...I'm going to make this place your home..."
It wasn't long before brown eyes grew heavy and fluttered shut.