Rose Hill, 1780

"We need to leave," Quinn said in a whisper, hurrying out of the bed and searching around the floor for her gown. She had never been able to put it on without Rachel's help, but her shaking hands and racing heart definitely made everything more difficult.

"What?" Rachel asked confused, getting up after Quinn and helping her to get in the gown. "Quinn, calm down. She's gone!" she said with a nervous giggle. Quinn turned to check if the door was closed again. They always locked the door. How could they have forgotten it?

"No, I can't calm down. Really. She'll be back soon. We can't stay in here, Rachel, we need to leave!" Quinn said nervously, shaking her head and waving her hands in front of her body as she looked around the room although not even she knew what she was looking for.

"Leave to where?" Rachel asked. Quinn could see she was starting to get Rachel worried, but there was nothing she could do. She wasn't able to calm herself down, she wouldn't be able to do so for Rachel either.

"America. We're gonna have to go earlier. We need to get far, far away from here. From her," Quinn said, getting inside her closet and kneeling on the floor to open the heavy safety locket to get the little money she had saved.

"Quinn, this is insane. We're not even sure if she saw something! She didn't say anything!" Rachel said. Quinn stopped to look at Rachel's face, and her look said it all. Rachel shut her lips and bit them down. There was no way she could have opened the door and not seen what they had been doing. "Still, Quinn! She can't do anything, it's your farm! I doubt she'll even tell anyone!"

"Rachel, you don't know her, you don't know what she's capable of. We can't stay here anymore. We can't risk to face her tomorrow and see what she'll do about it, it's just too dangerous!" Quinn murmured, not sure if she was talking to herself or to Rachel. Her spine shivered only thinking what could be the possible outcomes. It sure wouldn't be a peaceful breakfast when morning came.

"But it's dangerous for us to leave like this, too! We don't have anything planned and you still didn't sell the farm and we didn't even pack our things to take with us!" Rachel cried out nervously, attempting to go through Quinn's gowns and start to packing them. Although she didn't agree with Quinn, Quinn knew she would never let Quinn go alone.

"No, stop!" Quinn said, grabbing Rachel's hand and pulling it down. "We can't take anything with us, not even one single gown, otherwise they will know right away that we have run away. We need them to wonder where we are long enough for us to be far away when they decide to go after us. We can buy new things when we get there," she said, still murmuring, afraid someone could hear them. She had no idea if the money she had saved would be enough for even their trip, let alone to allow them to buy new gowns - but she had to take a chance.

"But Quinn, you love those gowns!" Rachel stomped her feet. It was obvious that she wasn't being difficult on purpose, but was only acting out of fear. Quinn was terrified herself. "Please, let's think a little before we make any harsh decisions," she said.

"Rachel, you don't have to be nervous, okay?" Quinn tried to soothe her, but it was hard when her own words came out so shaky. "This is what you always wanted. We're going to America and we're not gonna have to worry about anything or anyone and Oliver will have everything he needs!"

"I just didn't want it to be this hushed," Rachel cried out. Quinn watched her lips starting to tremble and silently prayed that Rachel wouldn't start crying. She didn't know if she was strong enough to see it at that moment. "What about my father? I didn't even have the chance to say goodbye!"

"I promise you the second we get the money from selling the farm I'll get him to come to America and meet us there, okay?" Quinn tried, but Rachel still looked hesitant. Her eyes were starting to fill up and they looked needier than Quinn had ever seen them. It hurt more that she knew exactly what Rachel needed. The truth, although it was so difficult for Quinn to say it. "Rach, do you trust me?" she asked.

"Of course I do," Rachel said with a small sob, looking down to her feet. Quinn grabbed her chin to connect their eyes again. She needed Rachel to be fully committed to it if they were going to leave as runaways. She had no idea what their life would be like and she needed to know Rachel was coming because she wanted to, and not because she felt forced.

"Then come with me," Quinn murmured. "I promise you, I'm not doing this because of me. I don't care about her. She has told me she would kill me and I know what she's capable of, but I don't care. I wouldn't mind dying. But I can't even think of what it would be like if she did anything to you or to Ollie. You two are everything to me and I don't want to stay here for one more second if it means it is one second of you being at risk. It's even worse because aunt Angeline is here and you know how much she wants us to be apart!"

Rachel took a deep breath and searched for something more on Quinn's eyes, but that was it. Quinn had opened up all her fears to her. She could see Rachel's mind working back and forth and although she was still scared, Quinn could see she believed her. They were scared, but they were together. And as long as they were together, they knew they would find a way.

"Can I still say goodbye to Abbie and Dorea and Lou Lee?" Rachel murmured, finally letting a shy tear escape out of her eyes. Quinn took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around Rachel. It was harder for Rachel to leave. Quinn didn't have no one she cared, besides her brother, who was coming to America too, sooner or later. Rachel didn't have a lot of people either, but she cared deeply about them and Quinn knew it would be hard for her to deal with the fact she might never see them again.

"Yeah," Quinn sighed. It wasn't the best idea. The least people knew, the safer everyone would be. But she couldn't deny the one thing Rachel had asked of her after giving her such a vote of confidence. "Just tell them to keep the secret, okay? I wouldn't want anything happening to them," she said.

"Quinn?" George asked, narrowing his eyes towards the door where Quinn peeked her head inside. "What are you doing awake at this time?" he asked in a murmur, gently rocking Matilda on his arms as he sat by the fire while Arabella slept soundly. The familiarity of the scene cut Quinn like a knife. She had many times stayed awake just admiring Ollie while Rachel slept. It felt weird to know she would very likely never see the walls of those rooms again.

"I need your help," she whispered. Something about her voice must have shown George how serious the subject was, because he set Matilda down at the bassinet by the bed at once and followed Quinn out of the bedroom and into her office. He sat down across the desk, but Quinn wouldn't stop pacing back and forth. It was so shameful to tell him what happened and yet, again, she had no other options. She hated to feel so out of control.

"Please, tell me what's going on!" he pleaded, grabbing her wrist in an attempt to make her stand still. Quinn sighed deeply and sat down on the chair in front of him. She let her muscles relax and instantly felt the tears creeping up to her eyes, but she couldn't. Not yet. She still have too many things to solve before she could just let herself cry.

"Mother walked in on Rachel and me together," she whispered, avoiding his eyes but still able to see his mouth falling open with a gasp of surprise. He murmured an apology, as if it could ever have been his fault. She ignored it. She had no time to heartfelt moments. If she wanted to be out of that farm before sunrise, she had to focus on a plan. "We're leaving. We're going to America tonight."

"Quinn, are you insane? You can't do that!" he said and Quinn groaned inside. She hated that she had one more person to convince. She hated that this wasn't the kind of decision she could simply take and deal with it on her own. She hated to feel like she needed someone's help, even if it was her brother's, one of the few people she trusted.

"Mother and aunt Angeline are gonna kill me, George. Or worse, they'll sell Rachel and they'll sell Oliver and I'm never gonna see them again. That is if they decide to let them live! I can't risk that. I have made my decision and nothing you say will make me change my mind. I need your help on the execution of my plan and that's it. If you're not willing to do so, I'll try to find someone else," she said with a shrug. It was harsh and it was rude but she knew it was the only way she could make him understand how serious she was. And indeed it was.

"What do you need?" he asked in a whisper, letting his head fall onto his hands and massaging his temples. She knew it was cruel to throw all of that on to his shoulder's so late at night, especially after such a huge night for him. But she had been lying. If he wasn't willing to help her, she had no one else to run to.

"First of all, I need you to give me all the details about your friend from New York. I need his name and his address and a way of finding him as soon as I get there, so that I can assure we have somewhere to stay," she said. Before she was even done talking, George had grabbed a slip of paper from the desk and started to write down everything she asked.

"Done," he said, handing her the piece of paper. "What else?"

"I need to know how I can get there," Quinn said in a whisper. She felt ridiculous for having to ask that. Her brother had left the island and lived all the way in London and Quinn didn't even know how to get to a sea port. George grabbed another slip of paper and started to write down again.

"Tell Hank to drive you to the docks. I trust him fully and I know he won't tell on you. Once you're there, ask for Mr. Bates and tell him you're my sister. He sails ships to America every week with barrels of sugar. If he doesn't have one for this morning, he will find someone that will take you. You gotta know though, Quinn, this won't be a nice vacation trip. The conditions on those ships are far from ideal," he said carefully.

"Yes, I'm aware," Quinn said with a sigh, getting up to get some papers from a drawer. "How much do you think that will cost?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," he said, biting his inner cheek and thinking for a moment before going on. "It shouldn't be more than 5/2/00 pounds for each one of you. He probably won't charge Oliver," George said.

"Damn it, that's still more than I thought it would be," she whispered under her breath, going over the papers on her hand and signing more than a handful of them. "Here, those are the papers of the farm's sale. Do you think you could bring me the money with you, once you come?"

"Of course I can," he said with a soft smile that was almost enough to make her feel calmer. "Do you need more money? I can give you, if you do. I know you're too proud to take it, but you can see it as a loan if it makes you feel better. You can pay me back once you get the money from the farm," he said. Quinn's heart felt tight, especially realizing how much he knew her. She would never have asked, but once he offered, she had no words to refuse. It was Rachel and Oliver's future, after all. It would take one of the biggest worries out of her head to know that she could support them until the money from the farm came.

"That would be lovely," she said in a shy whisper. He smiled again and kept going through the papers she had handed him.

"Wait, what is this?" he asked, holding out a particular piece of paper with his eyes widened. Quinn bit her lip and gave a small shrug. He smiled, but she could see in his eyes that he was worried. "Quinn, if you sign this, you'll get much less money with the sale of the farm. You know that, right?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered. "It's already signed. I couldn't leave otherwise," she said.

"New York is gonna welcome you with open arms, Quinn," he said, with the most truthful smile he could give Quinn. He meant every word, and she could only hope he was right. "It has been the most incredible journey to see you grow up and change so fast - and for the better! You're gonna be inspired everyday for living in a city that is much more liberal than this island will ever be. Everything is gonna be alright, and I can't wait to meet you there," he said. She smiled back and for a second let herself imagine the perfect scenario - but she had no time. She needed to focus.

"Listen, when mother wakes up I need you to act like you don't know anything. I'm fairly sure she won't believe you, but you need to do everything you can to buy us time. She can't reach us before we leave the island," Quinn said worriedly, but he grabbed her hand to try to reassure her.

"Don't you worry, Quinn," he said. "I'm your big brother. It's been my job to protect you, from day one. You're gonna have enough to worry about on your trip, let me worry about the ones who are staying. I'll take care of everything," said George.

"And once you get there, I don't know. I think when mother comes to visit you perhaps Rachel and I can take on a trip, to make sure we won't risk running into her on the streets," Quinn said, but George rolled his eyes.

"Quinn, now you're overthinking. That's probably not gonna happen before a year from now. I just told you, I'll take care of mother. You can go and make your life there and be happy, I'll make sure she never sees you again, if that's what you'd like," George said. Quinn finally felt like her heart had come back to its normal pace.

"How can I ever thank you?" she said in a shy whisper.

"You already have," he said, lifting up the paper in his hand again. "There's no bigger happiness for me than seeing you being able to sign this," he said. She smiled. He was right. He was always right. He was her big brothers, and that's what big brothers are for, aren't they?

They would be happy.

"Abbie, wake up," Rachel whispered, but Dorea was the first one to open her eyes. The kitchen's house bedroom wasn't big enough for her to be able to wake up only one of them - if a needle fell onto the floor, the three women were awake all at once.

"What's wrong, dear?" Dorea said, propping herself up. Rachel suppressed a sob at the endearment term, knowing it was likely the last time she would hear it. Abbie woke up soon after and rubbed her eyes open, frowning in worry when she saw the look on Rachel's face.

"I came to say goodbye," she said with a sad smile. She thought Lou Lee had been asleep, but upon hearing her words the girl flew up from her bed and to Rachel's side.

"What are you talking about? Are you insane? You can't run away! Quinn is great to you! What else could you possibly want?" Lou Lee rambled, before giving Rachel a chance to explain herself. Rachel almost wanted to giggle. She would miss this way too much.

"I'm not running away," she said, but quickly corrected herself with a shake of her head. "I mean, I am running away, but I'm doing so with Quinn. We're leaving. She's selling the farm, and we're leaving," she said. It sounded more concrete once the words slipped out of her mouth out loud. It sounded more real than hearing Quinn saying so.

"What? Why? What is going on?" Abbie asked, and for the first time, Rachel realized she hadn't thought this through sooner. She didn't think what she would tell them. She certainly didn't feel comfortable enough to tell the true, but she hated to lie to them.

"It's Quinn's choice," Rachel said with a small shrug and a smile. Saying it was Quinn's choice took the fault of her shoulders, but she didn't want them to think Quinn was doing so against her will. That's what the smile was for, to show them Rachel wasn't exactly against the idea. "It isn't so bad. It will be good for Oliver," she said. Abbie, Dorea and Lou Lee looked so pale they could almost pass as white. It made Rachel feel even closer to them. They had always felt like family, although their complexion had always been darker.

"I can't believe Bernie and Oliver won't grow up together," Lou Lee said in a shaky murmur. It broke Rachel's heart, but she kept her smile. She couldn't let herself cry. It would just make everything much harder. She couldn't cry.

"She's selling the farm?" Dorea asked in another murmur, full of hesitation and ignoring her daughter's comment. Rachel could hear the fear in her voice. Quinn wasn't perfect, but all of them knew that when it came to masters, it could get a lot worse than the few exigencies Quinn had about the slave's work. Rachel hadn't thought of that, and she damned herself for being so selfish. Things surely could go bad for her, but it could get a lot worse for the other women.

"I'm sure everything will be fine," Rachel said, not sure if she was lying to herself or to them. "If anything happens, you can go look for George. I'm sure he won't let anything bad happen to you, he likes you like family," she said. Abbie nodded quietly, but everyone knew George wasn't as close to them as he was to Rachel.

"Will you come visit, though?" Lou Lee asked, and Rachel felt her heart breaking. She would take all of them with her if she could. She had spent fifteen years of her life without a family, and it tore her heart apart to have to let go of them even after only a couple of years together.

"I'm not sure," she answered with a sigh. That would certainly place as one of the most difficult moments of her life, but she didn't think lying further would help. If she fed them the hope she would come back, but never did, they wouldn't trust her anymore. They would resent her. If she didn't tell them the truth, their goodbye wouldn't be as meaningful. Lou Lee swallowed a sob and Rachel pulled all of them close to her in a tight hug. "I promise I'll write though, as soon and as frequently as I can. And please, Abbie, write me back. I need you to keep me updated on everything that goes on with all of you. You're my family, after all," she said. It was all it take. Once she felt Lou Lee's body breaking in sobs against hers, she started crying too.

It didn't take a second before Abbie and Dorea joined in. Rachel didn't know them for a long time. She didn't have the same skin color as them. She hadn't grown up with them. She spent most of her time apart from them, at the big house. Still, they were all slaves deep down. They dealt with the same prejudices and they supported each other punishment after punishment. The blood that ran in their veins wasn't the same, but their heart beat together and for each other - and especially after seeing the relationship between Quinn and her parents, she knew blood wasn't all that important. They cared and looked out for one another, and it was what family was all about.

Rachel didn't know them for a long time, but each one of them would be forever marked in her heart.

When they finally made it to the port, Quinn almost fell to her knees to cry. With everything that had went on the night before, she had almost forgotten about the hurricane - until she saw the destruction it left behind. Trees blocked the main roads. Houses were destroyed all along their way. A ship was thrown so far out from the sea that she had no idea how anything had remained intact. Still, George knew just the right person to help them. He always did, he had always been talkative and social and kept his friends close. He should have been the one to run that farm. Quinn could never had done anything if it weren't for the many contacts he gave her. But that would all be in the past, from that day on. Another person, who Quinn had never even seen before, would be running the farm that was one day her biggest dream.

It's curious how dreams can change as you grow up. When she was a child, she dreamed she could live in the kitchen house with Mama Minda and all the kids. Growing up a little, she dreamed she could have moved away to London with George. Not much after she began her studies, she dreamed to be a successful farmer, to make Rose Hill thrive and to make her family proud. That was until black hair and brown eyes swayed into her life, stealing away her heart in a way she was sure from then on she wouldn't dream of anything else but being forever with Rachel.

Quinn placed an arm around Rachel's waist protectively as Rachel climbed up the ship with Oliver still asleep and wrapped in blankets on her arms. She got strange looks from the sailors and other few passengers. She didn't mind one bit. She wouldn't have to, from then on. It was liberating, to say the least. For less money than she was expecting to pay, they got a small cabin on the lowest floor of the ship. It smelled of smoke and burnt sugar and sweat. A thick layer of dirt and dust sat upon the nightstand and for a second Quinn regretted not bringing at least a sheet for the narrow bed, because only thinking about what could have happened on top of that mattress made her want to puke. She doubted that lack of hygiene could be healthy for Oliver, so while Rachel watched the sunrise over the ocean she made sure to clean and scrub every surface on their small cabin. It was just the beginning of the so many changes in their lives. It was the least Quinn could do, when Rachel had flee away and put herself and her son in risk, just to be with her.

When she was done, she walked to the top of the ship to watch the hopeful waves by Rachel's side. She approached her from behind but regretted it when Rachel jumped in startle, although she smiled soon after realizing it was only Quinn. Quinn grabbed a handful of papers and didn't say anything before handing them to Rachel.

"What is this?" Rachel asked in a murmur, looking down to the papers. Quinn didn't say anything, so she sat down to carefully read them. She wasn't even half way done with the first page when her mouth fell open in a gasp and her eyes glistened before she looked up to Quinn. "You have freed all the slaves from the farm," she said in a shocked murmur. Quinn smiled and nodded. Rachel shook her head, still in disbelief. "Every single one of them," she whispered to herself. "Abbie, the girls, Bernie. They are all free now," she said.

"So are you," Quinn murmured back, unsure if Rachel had already realized it. Rachel kept her eyes down and Quinn gave her the time to process everything. The moment didn't feel like she expected at all. She always thought she would be terrified when she freed Rachel, but although she was scared about many aspects of their future, this wasn't one of them. She knew Rachel wouldn't leave her. She loved Rachel and she knew Rachel loved her too, and nothing felt more like freedom than that. "I hope you're still mine, though. On the other sense of the word," she said and watched a drop of tear falling on the paper and smudging the ink. It didn't matter, the official papers had been left with George. She had only brought those copies to show Rachel.

Rachel didn't say anything, but wrapped her in a hug that said it all. She thanked Quinn in all the ways she knew how to, and all the ways she could, taken that they were surrounded by many people that wouldn't judge them for her being a slave, but for both of them being woman. Quinn thanked her back. The merit was all Rachel's. Quinn changed because of her. For her.

The days and nights they would have to go through for weeks on that ship wouldn't be the best of their lives. Quinn certainly wasn't used to the so little comfort and luxury, but she didn't complain once. They had no way of showering or even changing clothes. Food was scarce and they went days without eating to make sure Oliver would stay nourished. The tepid sun burned their skin raw. Still, there wasn't a day they didn't wake up with a smile on their faces, grateful simply for being together.

The universe was on their side. All the sailors commented on how they had never seen the ocean so calm while the wind still blew fast enough to get them to New York in less time than all of them expected. When Quinn watched the so many buildings coming to the horizon, her knees faltered. She had been born and raised in a farm, with only rare trips to the tiny Basseterre with it scarce houses. She didn't know how to live or how to make it in a city. But Rachel looked into her eyes and grabbed her hand and they stepped on to the hard ground together, with their right feet for luck - not that they ever needed it. Luck had never been on their side, but nothing could stop them.

The end of a dream was always the start of a new one. It was the end of Rose Hill, but it was only the beginning of their long life together.