Author's Note: You guys are amazing. Yep. Thank you for reading my musings, and for enjoying my story. I know that a lot of you want longer chapters, and I'll do my best, but I feel like the shorter chapters more often is a bit more satisfying than waiting so long for longer ones. This one is a tad longer than the others though. And there's fluff.
To the guest that said Q&S are obedient to Puck, damsels in distress, and that this should be a Puck story instead of Quinntana… I am sorry that you feel that way. That is not where this story is going. Puck is just helping out his girls.
Again, I don't own these characters.
Chapter 4
Santana was woken up by a loud whimper. She looked down to where Quinn was resting in her arms to see a pained expression on the blonde's features, and a thin layer of sweat on her forehead. She gently pushed a few stray blonde hairs from her forehead, which caused Quinn to flinch in her sleep.
"Q, hey, it's Santana. Wake up. You're having a nightmare." Santana gently coaxed her, rubbing her arm and pressing her lips softly to her forehead. "You're safe with me. It's just a dream. Come back to me."
Another whimper came from the blonde before her eyes finally shot open and she jerked away from the Latina, not fully awake or recognizing where she was. After a moment, she focused, and her breathing slowed to normal, looking at the brunette apologetically.
"Shit, San, I'm sorry." She mumbled, as she took the water from the bedside table and began to drink it slowly. "Bad dream."
"I know. I could tell. You wanna talk about it?" San asked, concerned, but sleepy still.
"No, you need to sleep. I'll be fine." Quinn told her as she started to get out of bed.
"Uh-uh." San tells her, pulling her back down beside her. "I told you I was protecting you, you aren't going anywhere. You need sleep as much as I do. You don't have to tell me about it. But I'm not gonna let you be alone right now."
Quinn just nodded her head and let herself relax into Santana once again. The brunette held her tighter, this time she was spooning the blonde. The Latina maneuvered one of her legs to pull one of Quinn's back between hers for more closeness, and buried her face amongst the blonde hair at her neck.
"It was you." Quinn said softly several moments later, when she thought Santana had fallen back asleep. "In my dream, he had hurt you more for protecting me. He beat you so badly you almost…I almost lost you."
Santana squeezed Quinn a little tighter, having still been awake. She pressed a kiss to the blonde's shoulder. "I'm still right here babe. I'm okay, and I'm not going anywhere."
When the blonde felt the girl move and say those things, she trembled a bit. She hadn't expected Santana to still be awake. She felt like admitting what happened in her dream made her more vulnerable to the brunette. Deep down she knew that Santana wouldn't use it to hurt her, or mock her, but she couldn't help but to be afraid that once this was over the brunette would revert to her snarky self.
"Don't be afraid. It was just a dream, Q." San told her, assuming that's why she was trembling.
"San, promise me something?"
"Of course."
"When all of this is over…you won't leave. You won't get distant again."
"I promise. I love you Q. I know we have our ups and downs, but you mean a lot to me. You're my best friend. And I promise…I won't pull away again." Santana assured the blonde, finding one of her hands and lacing it with her own.
"I'm gonna hold you to that." Quinn told her softly. "Go back to sleep now San. You get all Snixxy without sleep."
"Mhmm, I do. But I'm not going back to sleep til you do." Santana grinned at the Snixx remark.
"And if I don't?"
"I'll go all Lima Heights on your ass."
Quinn laughed softly. "Oooh, I'm scared. Guess I better listen."
"Damn right you better." San told her with a grin.
"How do you do that?"
"Do what?"
"Make me feel better so fast, so easily."
Santana shrugged. "It's a gift. Now go to sleep. We have a big morning ahead of us."
Quinn nods and closes her eyes, wiggling back further into Santana's arms, falling asleep again after a little while.
The alarm sounding wakes up the women out of a sound sleep.
"Make it stop." Quinn whines, a pout forming over her features. Santana reaches over the blonde and hits the snooze button giving them an extra ten minutes before flopping back down just as Quinn turns to face her. She chuckles as the sleepy woman nuzzles her face against her chest, wondering if Quinn actually realized what she was doing. "I like your boobs. So comfy." Well, guess she did realize.
"Yep, that's why I got 'em. For your comfort. No other reason." Santana chuckles. "But really, I'm glad they are getting some sort of use."
"Whatever, if I weren't here you'd probably have some girl, like that bartender from the reunion in your bed." Quinn teased.
"You know I'm not really a slut like that, right? I never have been. Most of that shit in high school was all talk. Especially after I started dating Britt." Santana told her, seeming to take offense to the comment.
"Relax, San. I was joking. I knew you were all talk back then. Well, mostly talk. I know you slept with Puck, Finn, and Sam." Quinn shrugged.
"Correction. I never slept with Trouty Mouth. I messed around with him, sure, but there was never penetration." Santana admitted.
"Didn't need you to clarify San. You know I don't care what or in this case, who, you did in your past. Now hush and cuddle me. I need more sleep." Quinn told her, right before the alarm went off, causing another pout.
"We have to get up this time. We have to be at the station in an hour. And I am not driving this time of morning. We'll be catching a bus." Santana tells the blonde as she reaches over her again to turn off the alarm. "Come on. And I want that Yale hoodie."
Quinn smiled softly at the comment. "You got it."
Twenty five minutes later, the two are standing in the subway, wearing each other's hoodies, jeans and tennis shoes. The train pulls up right on schedule, and the two board the full vehicle.
"Looks like we're standing up Q. Just hang on to one of the straps up top." Santana told her, as she grabbed one herself, and moved out of the walk way. She watched as Quinn looked around for a free one, but had no luck. So she pulled the blonde over to her side and wrapped an arm around her. "Just hold on to me. I've got you."
Quinn smiled in thanks at her friend and held on to her waist. The train continued to get more and more crowded, leaving them no choice but to get closer and closer together. Finally they were facing each other, fronts flush together. Quinn took over holding on to the strap to give San's arm a rest, and the brunette just wrapped her arms around the taller blonde, basically hugging her, ignoring everyone else on the train.
Santana caught herself closing her eyes as her head rested against Quinn's shoulder, breathing in the blonde's intoxicating scent. A couple of moments later, she felt Quinn nudging her. "San, this is Washington Street. We need to get off here."
Santana pulled back, almost too quickly, and nearly tripped over a foot. She apologized, ignoring the confused look on Quinn's face, and headed straight out of the train car into the subway. "It's about a ten minute walk from here. We'll make it just in time."
"I know, San." Quinn chuckled. "I live in New York too, remember?"
"Yeah, sorry. Habit. Let's go." the brunette smiled as she led the blonde through the crowd. Her smile grew when Quinn grabbed her hand to keep from getting separated from her. She guided the taller girl through the people, until they finally were back up on the street. "You good?"
"Yeah, I'm okay. A little sore where everyone bumped and pushed past, hitting my..." she won't say the word, "But I'm okay."
"Okay, gorgeous." San said softly, squeezing Quinn's hand, which she continued to hold, neither pulling away, as they walked. "Just tell me if you need anything."
"I will." Quinn told her, smiling softly.
As Santana had predicted, they made it to the police station exactly on time. They were immediately led into the interrogation room, and offered coffee. Both accepted, and were waiting for their beverages as the officer who would be taking their statements took a seat across the table from them. He was young, mid twenties maybe, and quite handsome.
"Miss Fabray, Miss Lopez, I am Officer Miles. As you know, I have called you here to file a statement against Mr. Jared Mitchell. I must inform you that this session is being recorded, and by agreeing verbally, it can be used as evidence in court. Do you agree?"
"Yes, Officer." Quinn stated.
"Yes, I agree." Santana said afterwards.
"Miss Fabray, you are claiming domestic violence against Mr. Mitchell?"
"Yes, sir."
"Can you list all of the things he has dome to you? You don't need to go into detail right now, that will be done in court."
Quinn looked to Santana and took a deep breath, grateful when the brunette took her hand and squeezed it for reassurance.
"He has hit me, choked me, pushed me, called me horrible things, threatened to kill me, drugged me, and I am pretty sure raped me." Quinn said slowly, squeezing tighter to Santana's hand as she listed off what he had done. "He also hurt Santana."
"Miss Lopez, is this true?"
"Last night, when we went to get her things from the apartment, he choked me against the wall, to the point I almost blacked out. If out friend hadn't gotten there in time and stopped him, he was going to punch me." Santana answered, using her free hand to pull the hoodie down to show the bruising on her neck.
"Would you also like to press charges?"
"Yes sir. We'd both like restraining orders against him as well."
"I'm sure that can be arranged. Have you brought evidence to use against Mr. Mitchell?"
"Yes sir. I have a camera with pictures of some of the things he has done to me." Quinn answered softly, then slid her camera across the desk for him to look at.
The young man scrolled through the photos on the camera, a look of indifference on his face. It was obvious he had to deal with this kind of situation, and possibly worse, a lot.
"You can keep the memory card as evidence if you need to. To show and print the photos from." Quinn told him. "Those are the only pictures on it."
Officer Miles nodded and removed the memory card from the camera, before handing the device back to Quinn. He then took out a small clear plastic bag, marked "EVIDENCE" in large red letters, and placed the card inside of it, writing down Quinn's name and the case number on the bag.
"To get a restraining order, you have to go to the courthouse and fill out paperwork. You can have it expedited, and the restraining order will go into effect immediately. I recommend that you go there when you leave here. We are finished here ladies, you may go. Thank you for your time, and good luck to you. Try to steer clear of Mr. Mitchell as much as possible until a court date can be set up." Officer Miles told them, standing up and shaking their hands before opening the door for them to leave.
After several hours of running around, between the police station, the court to get the restraining orders, a break for lunch, shopping to get Quinn a bed and some other things for her room (which would be delivered the following day), and fighting the after work rush for the subway, the women finally entered the apartment they now shared.
"Wow, what a day." Santana sighed as she kicked off her shoes and flopped down on the couch.
"Yeah, it was crazy." Quinn said as she kicked off her own shoes, then placed them neatly by the door, causing Santana to chuckle. "What?"
"Nothing. You are still the same neat freak." Santana laughed as she lifted her legs for Quinn to sit down, then promptly put them back in the blonde's lap. "So, you're gonna stay in my room tonight again. Tomorrow you'll have a big comfy bed to yourself without worrying about me hogging the blankets or anything."
"I don't mind sharing with you San. Actually, it's kinda nice, sleeping with someone I know won't hurt me." Quinn says softly before looking over into the brown eyes that were gazing at her.
"You can share with me as long as you want, Q. For as long as you need me." Santana told her. "I don't mind. It's nice for me too, you know."
"Why is that?" Quinn asked her curiously.
"Because I haven't had anyone in my bed with me since Britt. And that was almost two years ago." Santana admitted. "It's nice not being lonely."
Quinn knew that Santana hadn't dated since Brittany, but she had assumed she'd at least hooked up once or twice. She was surprised that the Latina would admit that to her. She had been incredible with Quinn the last couple of days, but that doesn't mean that she was gonna let someone in and see behind the walls she had fought so hard to build. The blonde appreciated that Santana was letting her in, even just a little bit, but she wasn't going to push her luck and get locked right back out.
"Well, since you have helped me out so much, the least I can do is offer my cuddling services whenever you need them. If you are ever lonely, or upset, you don't even have to tell me. Just know that I will be there to cuddle and make you feel better." she told Santana with a small smile. "No catch, nothing like that. Just me and you. Nobody else has to know, after all, we both have reps to maintain."
"You'd do that for me, Q?" San asked as she tilted her head to the side a bit.
"Of course. San, since high school, you have always been there for me. I mean, yeah, we fought, argued, and had petty differences. Through it all, you still had my back when it came down to the important things. When I was pregnant, you didn't judge me, at least, not when it was just us; you actually were nice to me and were there for me. I know you had a rep to maintain then more so than now, so I didn't ask for help even though I know you would have given it. I was also quite stubborn.
"When I joined the 'Skanks,' you were the one that tried to bring me back. That tried to talk me out of that. You and Britt.
"And after the accident, you were the person I woke up to in the hospital. Not even my parents were there. Apparently, they weren't there most of the time. The nurses told me...it was you. The whole time. You only left to go home and shower every morning, then go to school. Then you came back...you always had something for me to eat...just in case I woke up and I was hungry." Quinn told her, smiling warmly as she told Santana what the nurses had told her. "You stayed past visiting hours. I don't know how you did it, but they said that you would sit there, and hold my hand, telling me about what happened during the day. Then you did your homework, and you slept at the hospital with me, curled up in my bed on the side that wasn't hooked up to all the machines. So in case I woke up, I wouldn't wake up alone."
"You've known all this time, haven't you?" Santana asked incredulously.
"I have. I didn't say anything because I know you'd put up your walls, and I didn't want to hurt your reputation. I owed you that much, and so much more." Quinn admitted, starting to tear up. "And now...San, I don't know what I'd do if it weren't for you. I'd still be stuck with Jared, probably more than just bruised up."
Santana sat up from her position on the couch and pulled Quinn into her arms. "Hey now, no more crying, okay? I've got you. Oh, and for the record, the way I got to stay past normal visiting hours...I told them you were my girlfriend. And of course that my dad was their top surgeon. They let me stay so I didn't get them in trouble with Papa."
The blonde huffed out a little chuckle and held tightly to the brunette. "Your girlfriend huh? I must have been pretty important for you to use that line."
"You were, and you still are. Other than Britt, you were the most important person in my life. And now, she and I have drifted, and you've surpassed even her in that department. You are my best friend, Q. I love you." Santana told her, laying back down with Quinn in her arms.
"I love you too, San." Quinn told her as she snuggled into the Latina's embrace. "More than you know."