I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, It all belongs to RIB and Fox. Any characters you don't recognise are my own creations.
Thank you so much for the great reviews for the last chapter! I so appreciate them!
A/N - I know you guys may be expecting more details about what happened inside the school but it felt far too insensitive to keep that part in the story after what has happened recently. I'm sure you understand that I had to remove it from the chapter.
Chapter 7 - December 19th
Dave's knuckles pop against his skin as he grips onto the steering while, staring intensely at the road, not hearing a word of the several conversations that go on around him. The others question Mike and Puck loudly, trying to find out what had happened back at the school, the traumatised young men barely registering that they're being spoken to. Santana and Brittany are the only ones not answering questions, only because they are curled up one one of the seats together at the back of the bus; fast asleep. Everyone had noticed that they had been acting differently since yesterday but nobody could work out why, they had kept it to themselves, sharing adoring smiles and tender kisses. The focus had shifted from them to the boys when they had come home with the bus, silent, bruised and pale; Mike with them with red rimmed eyes. Everyone's questions had been ignored from the minute they walked into the house until now; thirty minutes into their journey. Even another argument between Quinn and Santana, over what they would need to take with them, had broken the three young men from their trance.
"Alright, that is enough!" Maribel's furious voice cuts into the babble of voices and they fall silent. "Everyone sit down and leave them alone now." Puck briefly meets Maribel's gaze, sending her a look of gratitude before accepting the bottle of water she offers him. He drains the bottle in mere seconds and stares out of the window as they pass a large group of the infected, his stomach bottoming out when he sees that they are fighting over something. He can guess what it is. "Noah, you should try to eat something," Maribel murmurs, "or at least get some sleep, you've been awake since yesterday morning."
"I can't go to sleep, not yet," Puck mutters, his voice hoarse as he speaks for the first time since last night, since he had watched Tina turn into one of them.
"Okay, sweetheart, please try to eat something though," Maribel states softly, kissing the top of his head before moving further up the bus to hand a bottle of water and a sandwich to Mike. He looks like he is about to pass out and he jerks is surprise when he feels her hand on his shoulder. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. You need to eat, you look feint," Maribel explains. Mike doesn't respond, doesn't even look at her. He's in shock. Maribel wishes she knew what had gone down at the school but she knows she can't force it out of them, they need to tell their story in their own time. She wanders back to her seat, sparing a glance at Judy as the woman sips on a can of soda, knowing that she is wishing there was something stronger on the bus. Maribel knows that it had been hard for her to sit in the house doing nothing while Quinn was out there but she can't help but feel a little angry with her. Your child should always come first. At least she's trying, Maribel has to give her credit for that.
"There's so many of them," Judy murmurs, "they're everywhere."
"We'll be safe soon," Maribel says reassuringly.
"We've been lucky," Shelby adds her two cents from her seat across the aisle from them, the three mothers automatically glancing at their daughters. "Well, most of us have been."
"They have us," Maribel mumbles, "we can't replace the people they've lost but we can offer support and love," she adds strongly, glad to see that Judy and Shelby nod their agreement. They can help these kids through it.
0-00-0
Brittany moans softly as wakes up, keeping her eyes firmly squuezed closed as snuggles her pillow. Wait, that's not her pillow. She briefly cracks her eyes open and grins before closing them again and adjusting her head on Santana's chest; much better than a pillow. Santana's arms automatically tighten around her, even in sleep, and Brittany can't help the tender smile that tugs at her lips. Her girlfriend...no, her fiance is so protective. Santana always tells Brittany that she counts herself as the luckiest person in the world to have Brittany as her soul mate but Brittany disagrees; she's the lucky one. She snuggles closer to Santana, jostling her as she does so and Santana groans lowly.
"It's not time for school yet, five more minutes," Santana grumbles tiredly, her eyes still closed and a frown pulling on her full lips.
"Shh, just go back to sleep, babe," Brittany chuckles softly, lifting her hand to Santana's brow and stroking gently, soothing her back to sleep. She lifts her gaze when she feels someone watching her, meeting Maribel's tender gaze and smiling. Maribel carefully and quietly moves up the bus and sits down in front of Santana and Brittany, eyeing them both with a knowing smile.
"When did she ask you?" Maribel asks in a whisper.
"What?" Brittany chuckles nervously.
"You are wearing one of Santana's rings, which I wouldn't say was unusual, apart from the fact that it's my mother's ring and it's on your ring finger," Maribel says gently.
"I don't have to wear it, I..I.. I didn't realise it was your mother's," Brittany stutters, suddenly even more nervous and beginning to get worked up.
"I'd be upset if you didn't wear," Maribel remarks. "My mother's ring is important to my daughter and, if I hadn't already known how much she loves you, her giving you that ring would have told me. You're already an important part of this family, Brittany. If you want to make your love more official, I support it," she states with a soft smile.
"Thank you, mama L," Brittany whispers, blinking back unexpected tears.
"You're welcome. You just let me know if that daughter of mine causes trouble, we can gang up on her," Maribel smirks, the same smirk that her daughter usually wears, and Brittany chuckles. Her features sober when her gaze lands on Mike and she feels her heart sink. She can't imagine what he's feeling, he lost the love of his life. Brittany doesn't think she'd be able to live without Santana.
"How's he doing?" Brittany questions lowly, her blue eyes filling with sadness and concern.
"Not well. Not well at all," Maribel murmurs regretfully. "He still hasn't said a word and I can't get him to eat or drink anything. Noah and David haven't said much either. The things they must have seen," Maribel shudders, "I can only imagine."
"I don't think I want to imagine it," Brittany whispers with a shake of her head.
"Well, try not to," Maribel states gently. "You just imagine what your wedding is going to be like," she adds with a wink. "You should try and get more sleep, the journey will go much quicker. Just think, by this time tomorrow we'll be safe."
"Okay, goodnight, mama L."
"Goodnight, sweetheart." Maribel stays where she is as Brittany closes her eyes and lays her head on Santana's shoulder, her hand lightly resting on Santana's stomach. Maribel sighs softly. Despite everything that is going on right now, her daughter's relationship with her girlfriend...fiance...has only grown stronger. Santana always did like to do things differently from the rest of the crowd. Once Brittany's breathing evens out, and Maribel is sure that she's asleep, she slowly stands up and turns to move back down the bus.
"I love you, mami." Maribel turns back to the teenagers when she hears her daughter's voice, gazing tenderly into tired, deep brown eyes.
"I love you too, mija," Maribel whispers softly, leaning over to press a soft, tender kiss to Santana's forehead. "One more day."
"One more day," Santana echoes. "One more day."
To be continued...next chapter will be up later tonight. Please review.
