Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and put this story in their faves or alerts! I really enjoy knowing that people like the story. I received some wonderful feedback and I'm so glad that you all are enjoying this as much as I am.
Again, I'm kind of making up the whole witness protection system as I go along, so please bear with me for this chapter.
David and Lindsey Cameron were not what Quinn was expecting. From her encounter with Marshall Winters, she had assumed that every US Marshall would be as intimidating and serious. But the Camerons greeted Mr. Schue and her with friendly smiles and grabbed their bags for them.
David Cameron had held his hand out for a handshake for the both of them, and Lindsey Cameron greeted them warmly, hugging Quinn.
"I can only imagine how stressful the day must have been for you," she said lowly. Quinn gave a small nod in response, remembering to use the manners instilled in her from years of etiquette classes.
"Well, David and I thought it would be nice to take you out for a nice meal before we settle in, y'all must be starving and I'm afraid I'm not much of a cook."
"Dinner would be nice," Mr. Schue said, "if it's not too much of a bother."
"Of course not," David Cameron said firmly. "It would be our pleasure."
The Camerons took them to a restaurant in the heart of Savannah that boasted the best seafood in all of Georgia. While Quinn hadn't been able to make much of a comparison, she conceded that the seafood here was infinitely better than the seafood in Ohio. As they made small talk about sports, their various interests, and current events, Quinn felt herself actually relaxing, her shoulders finally loosening from the uptight position she hadn't even realized she was in. Even Mr. Schuester seemed to have calmed some, his brow not quite so furrowed anymore. It was a huge relief to feel at peace for even a few hours, and Quinn greatly appreciated the lengths the Camerons went to make them feel comfortable.
The couple was younger than Winters; in fact, they seemed to be closer to Mr. Schue's age. They had been married for ten years and had met when they were in college. David was a US Marshall and Lindsey was finishing up medical school. As they explained on the drive to the restaurant, Quinn and Mr. Schuester were the second assignment they'd had from the witness protection program.
The Camerons also offered to take them to a 24-hour Target for clothes for the next week or so, enough for them to settle in without stressing about laundry. Lindsey seized the opportunity to help Quinn shop, explaining that she used to help her sisters buy clothes when they were growing up and she rarely got the occasion to shop with someone anymore. They chatted as Quinn browsed tee shirts and shorts.
"So, Alyssa," Lindsey said using Quinn's new name, when they were both sure that no one was around to overhear their conversation, and even then speaking quietly, "how long have you and 'Jack' been married?"
Quinn cringed, putting down the cardigan she had been considering. She still had no idea how they were going to convince people they were a couple, considering she had difficulty looking Mr. Schue in the eye at times and they had hardly spoken since boarding the plane in Atlanta.
"Actually, we're not married," she replied simply.
"Oh, well then how long have you been together?"
"We're … not. Actually, he was my teacher in high school. There just aren't many years between us." She felt her face flushing and knew she was probably turning red, and looked down awkwardly.
"Oh," was all Lindsey said. "Well that's…"
"Awkward, I know," Quinn finished for her, deciding to go ahead and buy a pair of cotton shorts. "I guess we'll just figure it out later tonight."
Lindsey put an arm around Quinn and hugged her, nodding in agreement. They continued shopping in companionable silence, until Quinn had selected enough clothing for Lindsey to be satisfied. They went ahead and picked up other necessities, like toothpaste and shampoo, because it never hurt to be prepared. When Lindsey asked if there was anything else Quinn needed, she hesitated momentarily before asking for hair dye.
During the last bit of her flight, Quinn had devised a plan. If someone was really after her, she wasn't going to make it easy for them to find her. She had curled up as best as she could on her seat, pulled out a pen, and wrote a few ideas on the bag of the motion sickness bag. She racked her brains, thinking of any movies or books she had watched or read about the Witness Protection Program, but all she could remember was the Mary-Kate and Ashley movie Our Lips Are Sealed, and she didn't think that was very realistic.
She would, of course, follow US Marshall Winters' guidelines when it came to communication. It wouldn't be terribly difficult, considering that she hardly spoke to her mother and she was on summer vacation so most of her friends and acquaintances wouldn't think anything of her flying under the radar for a while. The only people she had any desire to keep in contact with were Karen, her sister Frannie, and Shelby to hear that Beth was okay. Both Karen and Frannie were aware of her entire predicament, and Shelby knew that she had to leave for a while for safety reasons. So there were only three contacts to worry about.
She would start up new email accounts and such for work purposes, because she would be damned if she had to stay cooped up in a room all day hiding out from outlaws. She would go crazy from the worry.
She was going to be a whole new Quinn – well, actually, a whole new Alyssa. Goodbye, trendy clothes; hello, wardrobe appropriate for a kindergarten teacher. Goodbye, blonde hair; hello, red.
Which is how she found herself with her head over the sink of the Camerons' bathroom, while Lindsey was washing the last of the dye out of her hair.
Lindsey had seemed doubtful of the idea at first, asking Quinn to spare what she called her beautiful blonde hair, but when Quinn explained it would help her feel better, she conceded to the request. And if Quinn was allowed to brag, she thought the end result was excellent.
"Alright, are you ready to introduce Alyssa Montgomery to the men?" Lindsey asked after blow-drying her hair. Quinn nodded in excitement, and they walked out to the kitchen where David and Mr. Schue were discussing something in the paper.
"Ta-da!" Quinn exclaimed, not feeling the least bit foolish. The men looked over, and she twirled around so they could see the change.
"Wow, you look fantastic! I almost didn't recognize you," David said with a wink. Quinn smiled and was grateful for his reassurance.
Mr. Schuester paused, and Quinn felt very much like she was under a microscope. Her stomach clenched uncomfortably for reasons of which she was unsure.
"You look beautiful, Quinn," he smiled softly, and she flushed again, awkwardly tucking a strand of dark red hair behind her ear.
"Well, David and I are going to go ahead and prepare your rooms for you, right, David?" Lindsey interjected. When David gave her a confused look, she tilted her head in the direction of the guest rooms, and he followed after her.
Quinn and Mr. Schuester continued to face each other without actually looking at the other person.
Mr. Schuester cleared his throat. "I, um, I asked Lindsey to give us a moment. She said you were feeling uncomfortable about things, I thought it would be a good idea to go ahead and address them, if you wanted to?"
He was looking so sincere, and he was trying to make things easier between them, and Quinn couldn't help but blurt out, "I don't know how to be married to you."
There was an awkward silence and Quinn went ahead and started counting the seconds of silences. She was well within four digits when she decided to try and start over.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Schue - "
"You know, now might be an acceptable time to start calling me Will. Or, you know, Jack," he said wryly.
"I've just never been around you outside of a school setting. Ever. And I don't really know you, and this whole thing just really freaks me out."
"It kind of freaks me out too," he admitted.
"I still see you as my teacher."
"And I still see you as my student." They paused again and he let out a sigh. He pulled out the chair next to him and motioned for her to sit.
"Maybe it would help if we decided on some sort of cover? To get a better idea of what our aliases are like," he suggested.
"That sounds like a good idea," she replied.
"Okay, start with the obvious. Why are we here?" They both thought for a minute, thinking of plausible explanations.
"I've got an idea," Quinn said. "You're older than me, and my parents weren't too thrilled about us, so we moved away to get some distance."
"That's pretty excellent." He was smiling, and Quinn felt more at ease. "And it explains why we don't keep in touch with our families."
"So that's one question down. How long should we have been married?" Quinn continued.
"I would think not very long. I don't want to look like a cradle snatcher."
Without meaning to, Quinn let out a laugh, and even Mr. Schue – well, Will, really, but it still felt weird to say – let out a grin.
"I don't blame you," she said in reply. "So maybe like a year?"
"That's perfectly fine with me," he said.
As they continued talking, Quinn noticed that Lindsey was walking by the kitchen, hovering by the doorway. She was probably listening in on the conversation, and when Quinn caught her eye, she gave a sheepish grin. Quinn just smiled and shook her head, and Lindsey gave her a thumb's up in response.
They continued to talk for another hour, about this new life, and when they went to bed Quinn felt more prepared to face the next day, which was more than she could have asked for.
The next day passed in a blur, much like the previous one. Quinn at times felt like it couldn't have only been mere days since she was an average college student – it seemed as if this ordeal had been years.
While Mr. Schue and David went out on a job hunt (through David's connections and possibly less than legal endeavors), Lindsey and Quinn searched through real estate ads until they agreed upon a selection of five homes. All of the homes were in the price range and fit Mr. Schue's and her basic needs – two bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen, etc.
To be perfectly honest, Quinn didn't think any house would change the fact that she was living her against her wishes with a man she barely knew, in a place she'd never been, in one of the most miserable predicaments. No floor pattern would change her feelings about being completely cut off from everyone she loved.
Lindsey tried to get her excited about house-hunting, and Quinn gave her credit for her enthusiasm, but at times she wished she could just go home, curl up in her bed, and sleep until the whole trial was over and Gutierrez and his crew were put behind bars.
They looked at the houses and walked through, examining not just the house but the property around it and the neighborhood in which it was located. Quinn didn't pay much attention, but Lindsey remembered to ask about details like appliances and when it was most recently updated and fire codes. After they had seen all the houses once, they went back to the third house on the list; it was the only one that made Quinn seem the slightest bit enthusiastic. Lindsey asked the realtor if they were able to tour the house and he kindly obliged, escorting them around the home.
"What brings you to this house?" he asked genially at the end of the tour.
"Oh, we transferred from Ohio," Lindsey said lightly, putting an arm around Quinn, who was staring pointedly at the ground.
"Well, I want to let you know that this community is very accepting and welcoming to all kinds of people, so you should feel at home here."
"Oh – oh, we're not together," Quinn said quickly. "I'm a, um, family friend of hers. My husband's away at the moment." She paused, surprised by how easily she was able to lie to someone and weirded out by the way the word husband felt in her mouth. It was not a word she had used often, especially not in reference to herself.
Lindsey seemed surprised as well, for she had stared at Quinn for a moment before collecting herself and telling the realtor that it seemed like the perfect option for her friend Alyssa.
Later in the car once papers were drawn up to be signed within the next 24 hours, Lindsey teased Quinn about the man assuming they were lesbians, and they giggled about the day's events. As their conversation died down, Quinn realized she recognized the song on the radio. It was unusal to hear, since it had been released years ago, but "Keep Holdin' On" was making its way through the airwaves from some soft-rock station.
It was the first real song she had sung with the Glee Club, and she remembered how much it meant to hear Finn and Rachel singing their support for her right after she found out she was pregnant. It had, surprisingly, brought her comfort in a time of distress, and hearing the song now was soothing. She leaned back against the headrest and looked out the window.
"Everything alright?" Lindsey asked, glancing over.
"Yeah, everything's fine. I was just thinking … you know, about my old life."
"Well, I want you to know that I won't stop being there for you once you move. My job is to help you guys and I'll be around to help y'all out until you go home for good. So you need anything at all, even if it's just that you're feeling lonely and you want someone to talk to, you call me, okay?"
Lindsey's unexpected kind words caused a lump to form in Quinn's throat. She didn't say anything, but she took Lindsey's proffered hand and squeezed it.
"Thank you for everything," Quinn said sincerely.
