Quinn drove furiously, hell-bent on getting to the hospital quickly before either Santana or Brittany's injuries could get any worse. However, she was having a little bit of trouble concentrating fully on keeping her eyes on the road, as Rachel had spent the last fifteen minutes trailing her hand up and down Quinn's thigh in an agonisingly teasing way.
"Rachel." Quinn muttered through gritted teeth. "You do want to get to the hospital alive, don't you?"
She turned her head briefly to face Rachel, who had a devilish smirk on her face. The brunette then nodded, her expression one of mock-innocence, as she replied:
"Of course I do Quinnie. What's wrong?"
Quinn growled –she actually growled- as she turned to once again face the winding road up ahead.
"Little tease." She mumbled, as Rachel giggled cheekily beside her and laced their fingers together.
This made Quinn smile a little, as Rachel's touch made her feel all tingly and light-headed. She shook her head rapidly, intent on staying focused on the task at hand and not getting distracted.
"Okay, we'll be at the hospital in about five minutes. Santana, Britt, how're you guys doing back there?"
"We're okay." Brittany replied timidly, as Santana just nodded weakly from her place in Brittany's lap.
"Good." Quinn answered.
Brittany then continued to comfort Santana, holding her tightly and whispering words of reassurance in her ear. Every so often, the van would run over a pothole or a particularly rough patch of road, and Santana would wince and try not to cry out as jolts of pain ran through her body. Brittany grimaced each time this happened, and tried to soften the impact by pulling Santana up until half of her body was lying across Brittany's legs.
Santana then sat up slightly, using her elbows to prop herself up, and rested her forehead against Brittany's. She leaned in slowly, allowing them both to savour the feeling of their lips meeting, soft and warm, each caressing the other tenderly, moulding together as if they were one person.
After a few minutes, Santana lay back down, exhausted from having to hold herself up in her rapidly dwindling state. Brittany smiled softly, brushing a strand of hair away from Santana's face before speaking.
"What was that for?" she smiled, stroking Santana's arm lovingly.
"To say thank you." came Santana's quiet reply.
"Thank you? For what?"
"For always being here for me. Even with all the shit I put you through, with the diamonds and Blaine and now this" – she gestured to Brittany and her darkening bruises – "You've never left me."
"Well, that's what a partnership's about, right?" Brittany replied, kissing Santana softly on her nose.
"Yes Britt. That's exactly what it's about."
They then settled into a comfortable silence as Santana lay back in Brittany's arms, and they all remained quiet for the remainder of the journey; Quinn drove determinedly while clutching Rachel's hand, while Brittany cradled Santana and planted soft kisses all over her face, which was scrunched up in pain but still managed to smile as she stared deeply into those beautiful baby-blues.
They arrived at the hospital soon after, Quinn bringing the van to a screeching halt, hitting the brake solidly. She chanted out apologies to the cries of protest emitting from the back of the van, but had to contain her grin as she saw Rachel attempting to stifle her giggles in the passenger seat.
"Ay, dios mio! Quinn, you drive like a lunatic!"
"Sorry Santana."
"You will be." The Latina muttered, much to Quinn's amusement.
"Anyway, enough of this. Come on you two, let's get you checked in." Rachel said, trying to diffuse the tension that had suddenly arisen. "I think we're all a little stressed about all that has happened, and we all need some time to just recuperate and get our heads together. Now, let's go in."
Rachel slung Santana's arm over her shoulder and held her up, and then they started making their way to the hospital entrance.
"Wait!"
Quinn, Rachel, and Santana all turned to face Brittany, their expressions a mixture of confusion and exasperation.
"Yes Britt?" Quinn sighed.
"Well, what are we going to tell the doctors?"
Quinn frowned in confusion, while Rachel and Santana nodded in agreement.
"What do you mean?" Quinn asked, her frustration growing due to the fact that she seemed to be the only one who didn't understand what was going on.
"Well, I think what Brittany is suggesting is that we can't just walk in and say, 'Oh, hi there. We've just been involved in a massive illegal operation that included a bunch of stolen diamonds and a kidnapping. Please help us.'"
From next to Rachel, Santana snorted as she began to giggle, while Quinn blushed and averted her gaze in embarrassment.
"Oh. Right."
Brittany walked to stand next to Quinn, squeezing her shoulder reassuringly and smiling before facing Rachel and Santana.
"So, what are we going to tell them?"
"We could say... that we were in a car accident?" Rachel suggested.
"Oh yeah, because that explains the gun wound in my leg." Santana replied dryly, as Rachel shoved her lightly and stuck her tongue out at the bemused Latina.
"We got caught in the middle of a turf war between two rival gangs?"
"Britt, that would be a good idea, if this were the 1970's and gangs walked around clicking their fingers and randomly breaking out into song every ten minutes."
Brittany giggled as Santana grinned, both girls remembering the conversation they had had when they had discussed Santana's love for musicals.
Rachel rolled her eyes as the girls gazed lovingly at each other, and continued to think of ideas. Quinn, meanwhile, was doing some thinking of her own, and then, it hit her.
"I've got it! It's a pretty horrible explanation, and I don't particularly like it, but if it gets you guys into the hospital without too many questions being asked, then that's good enough for me."
The other three girls turned to face Quinn, their expressions ranging from curious to sceptical.
"Okay, so you know recently in the papers, there have been quite a few reports of... hate crimes? You know, people being attacked based on their sexuality?"
They all nodded solemnly, listening to Quinn intently.
"Well, we could say that we were leaving a bar, and we were halfway up the road when a group of people came over to us and attacked us. Brittany and Santana tried to fight them off, and that's when they pulled the gun out on San. Then the security guard noticed what was going on and ran over, scaring them away, which is why Rachel and I acquired fewer injuries."
"Quinn... that's brilliant." Rachel breathed, while Brittany nodded in agreement next to her.
"Okay, great, that's our story. Now can we PLEASE get inside before I bleed to death?" Santana grumbled, as Rachel and Quinn quickly went to her with replies of "Of course!" and "Sorry!" and helped her up the steps, with Brittany hobbling next to them quietly.
They entered the hospital reception, which was quiet and only had a few patients occupying some of the seats. Quinn led Brittany and Santana over to sit down, while Rachel marched up to the receptionist and began explaining their 'situation'. The receptionist, whose name Rachel saw was Tina Cohen-Chang, nodded sympathetically as Rachel told her of their dreadful plight.
Quinn, meanwhile, was straining to catch what was being said while trying to support Santana at the same time, who was finding it harder and harder to support herself due to loss of blood. Quinn managed to catch the end of the conversation between Rachel and Tina.
"And so they'll be seen to right away?"
"Yes ma'am. We'll get them both into a room immediately, together as you insisted, and a doctor will arrive shortly."
"Thank you, Miss Cohen-Chang."
"You're welcome. And call me Tina."
They exchanged a friendly smile, and then Rachel walked back over to where they were sitting and perched on a chair next to Quinn, squeezing the blonde's hand and smiling.
A minute or so later, two men arrived with wheelchairs. Santana was manoeuvred into one, while Brittany sat herself in the other. They clasped their hands together for a second, and then broke contact once the interns began wheeling them towards the examination rooms.
"You'll be fine guys." Quinn called.
"And we'll be right here so we can see you once the examination is done." Rachel added.
"Speaking of examinations, don't you need to get checked out? You suffered a bit too back there."
Rachel shook her head but smiled at Quinn's concern, wrapping her arms around the blonde and pulling her to her chest.
"I'm fine, honestly. I've been through a LOT worse before. But thank you for caring."
They exchanged a small smile, and then Rachel leaned down and captured Quinn's lips with her own.
Tina happened to glance up at this moment, and smiled to herself at the sight of two young girls in love. It reminded her of her relationship with her girlfriend Mercedes, and she made a mental note to pick up some flowers for her on the way home.
Santana and Brittany, meanwhile, had been escorted into a brightly-lit room, that had a long table in the middle. The room was filled with various contraptions, most of which were completely alien to Brittany, although Santana had seen a few of them due to her violent past.
"We're just going to leave you here, and the on-call doctor will be along in a moment."
Santana nodded, while Brittany glanced around nervously, nibbling her lower lip, her forehead creased with worry. Santana waited until the interns had left, and rotated her wheelchair to face Brittany. She rolled forwards until their knees were touching, and placed her hands on either side of Brittany's face, gazing into her eyes earnestly.
"Britt, I know you're scared. But don't be. There's nothing to worry about, d'you hear me? Nothing. We're going to stay here for a while, get better, and then once we're all healed, we're going to live together, happily ever after, just like we agreed. Okay?"
Brittany nodded and sniffled, and Santana smiled and pecked her lightly on the lips.
Just then, the door swung open and in strode a tall, lithe man, wearing a long white coat atop a light blue shirt and chinos.
"Hello Santana, Brittany. I'm Doctor Michael Chang, but you can call me Mike. I'll be taking care of you both throughout the duration of your stay here at Lima Hospital."
Santana and Brittany smiled at the young, handsome doctor, who had kind eyes and a nice smile. Another male then entered the room; he seemed slightly younger than Doctor Chang, and he had a short black Mohawk and a cheeky grin on his face.
"Ah yes, this is my assistant, Noah Puckerman. He's an intern here, and he's been shadowing me these past few weeks in order to learn the ropes. He's going to be sitting in for your examination, I hope you don't mind?"
Both girls shook their heads, signalling that they didn't have a problem with it.
"Good. Now, Santana, your injuries are worse than Brittany's, so we're going to begin with you in order to ensure that you get all the medical care and attention you need."
He then proceeded to lift Santana onto the examination table, with the help of Noah, and Santana found it to be surprisingly soft.
"That table's a lot more comfortable than it looks, huh?" Noah drawled, winking boldly.
Santana rolled her eyes at the cocky intern, while Brittany giggled from her place in her wheelchair next to the table.
"Now, let's begin with the gun wound on your leg..."
A few hours later, Santana and Brittany emerged from the examination room, Santana with a white bandage swathed around her thigh, being wheeled out by the same two interns that took them in. They were accompanied by Doctor Chang, and were greeted by a relieved-looking Rachel and a rather concerned Quinn.
Quinn raced over to the doctor and grabbed his arm, speaking breathlessly.
"Excuse me, Doctor? What happened? How bad are their injuries? Are they both going to be okay?" Quinn garbled, her hazel eyes wide and panicked.
"Q, calm down." Brittany reassured her, taking her hand and squeezing it gently.
"Right, sorry. What's the verdict Doctor?" she tried again, taking a breath and facing Mike sombrely.
"Well, we performed a thorough examination on both girls, and luckily none of their injuries are life-threatening. Miss Pierce has a few broken ribs and a bruised abdomen, both of which will heal with lots of rest and care. Miss Lopez also sustained bruises to her face, abdomen, and chest, which again will heal quite rapidly, but the gun wound on her leg will take a few months to heal and will need constant supervision and care. Luckily, Miss Lopez is young and in good health and the bullet didn't hit any major arteries when it entered her leg, so long as we make sure her dressing is changed often and cleaned well and the stitches remain intact, the wound should heal up nicely over the course of the next few months. The only thing that will alter Miss Lopez' life is that she will have to use a cane for the next few years, but hopefully that won't be necessary for the rest of her life as long as the treatment is successful."
He offered the girls a reassuring smile, which Rachel returned warmly, while Quinn nodded apprehensively, her eyes cloudy with unshed tears upon hearing the extent of her friend's injuries.
"Right, now we have to take the girls into their room to get them settled, but we will be sure to have Tina inform you of when you can come and visit. Did you have any more questions before we take them in?"
"No thank you Doctor, I think we asked everything." Rachel replied warmly.
"Wait!" Quinn exclaimed. "Could we... have a minute?"
Mike nodded and smiled understandingly, replying "Of course" before stepping off to the side to allow the girls some private time.
Quinn approached Santana and Brittany slowly, taking Brittany's hand, with Rachel to her left.
"Well," Quinn exhaled slowly, "I think saying that the last few days have been eventful would be a slight understatement."
Santana and Brittany chuckled, and Rachel smiled lovingly at Quinn, as the blonde continued to speak.
"If someone had come to me a few weeks ago and told me that I would become involved in a diamond heist in which my best friend fell in love with a criminal and then was kidnapped and had to be rescued by me, said criminal, and her friend, I would have laughed in their face. But now, not so much." Quinn rolled her eyes playfully, eliciting a giggle from Brittany, before she carried on. "The past few days have been terrifying for all of us, and I can't imagine how the two of you must have felt, being ripped apart so suddenly. And, well, even though I can't do much to change what's happened, I can say that I'm extremely glad that we got you both back alive, even if you did get a bit roughed up in the process. I love you both."
Santana and Brittany smiled, as Quinn leant down to give each of them a warm hug. Rachel then cleared her throat, also wanting to say something before the girls were taken to their room.
"Well, my speech isn't going to be anywhere near as nice as Quinn's, but I will say this: Santana, you've got yourself one awesome girl there, she kicked some serious butt back there when she turned the tables on Blaine. And Brittany, I have to thank you."
Brittany's forehead creased in confusion.
"Thank me for what?"
"For introducing me to Quinn."
A silence settled over the girls for a split-second, before they all reacted in their own way to Rachel's honest words.
Brittany clapped her hands together excitedly and made "Aww" noises; Santana rolled her eyes and made fake retching noises; and Quinn blushed and held Rachel's hand tightly, burrowing her face into the brunette's shoulder to hide her embarrassment.
"Anyway, enough of this soppiness." Rachel chortled, laughing at the over-exaggerated expression of disgust that Santana had adopted. "We should get going, we don't want to waste any more of your healing time. We'll see you both real soon, okay?"
Santana nodded and smiled, while Brittany grinned and said, "Bye Rach!"
Quinn began to follow Rachel out towards the door, but turned just before she stepped outside and gave the girls one last smile and a wave goodbye.
Santana waved back, while Brittany blew Quinn a kiss. Then Quinn stepped out into the cool night air with Rachel, and the doors slid shut behind them.
Quinn and Rachel made their way over to the van, eyeing it thoughtfully.
"So, what do we do about this?" Rachel muttered, pondering quietly.
"I kinda want to keep it." Quinn admitted, much to Rachel's surprise. "Well, it's a good van, it runs well, and it looks awesome."
"Only problem is, what if anyone recognises it? You know, anyone who's worked for Blaine and may have seen the van before?"
Quinn tapped her finger against her chin thoughtfully, and then grinned as she was struck by an idea.
"We could re-paint it! That way, it'll just look like any old van and no one will suspect a thing!"
Rachel beamed at Quinn, nodding in agreement.
"Wow, Quinn. You're coming up with some great ideas tonight."
Quinn blushed and averted her gaze, staring at the gravel beneath her feet. Rachel then strode forward boldly, closing the gap between them in a few steps. Quinn's breath stopped for a second when she felt Rachel's hot breath on her lips, but soon relaxed when she felt Rachel's slender arms slide up and around her neck.
"So, what colour should we paint it?" purred Rachel, as she stroked her hand up and down Quinn's neck.
"W-whatever colour you want." Quinn stuttered, finding it difficult to stop her brain from turning into mush at Rachel's confident touch.
"What's your favourite colour Q?"
"P-purple."
"Purple it is." Rachel whispered, the words gliding over Quinn's exposed neck and causing her skin to prickle heatedly.
"So, you wanna come back to my place?" Quinn murmured, sighing as Rachel placed a soft kiss on her collarbone.
"Hell yeah." Rachel replied, suckling on Quinn's skin for a second and leaving a small pink bruise.
"Let's go."
Quinn then grasped Rachel's hand and led her over to their van, opening the passenger door for her. Rachel's cheeks flushed at the kind gesture, and she smiled at Quinn as she climbed in. The blonde then walked around the front of the van and got into the driver's seat, making sure her seatbelt was fastened before turning the key in the ignition.
"You ready?" she whispered.
Rachel could sense that Quinn was talking about more than just the ride home, and so turned to her and kissed her passionately, before replying:
"I've never been more ready for anything in my life."
Meanwhile, back at the hospital, Santana and Brittany were getting settled into their joint room.
"Now, if there's anything you need, you just press the button labelled 'Assistance' and either myself or a nurse will come to you. Also, you will have meals brought to you three times a day, and there is a phone on your bedside table for any calls you may want to make. Do you have any questions?"
Both girls shook their heads at Doctor Chang, who smiled and nodded.
"Okay then. I'll be back later to check your vitals and make sure everything's going well."
"Bye Mike!" exclaimed Brittany, which caused Santana to burst into a fit of giggles.
"Oh Britt-Britt."
"What?" Brittany said, her eyes sparkling mischievously.
"Nothing. You just make me laugh, that's all." Replied Santana, a grin dominating her stunning features.
"Well, good." Said Brittany, who beamed back at the Latina.
They settled into a comfortable silence for a few minutes, until Brittany turned her head to face Santana's bed once again.
"Hey San?"
"Yeah baby?"
"I love you."
"I love you too." Santana smiled, as she met Brittany's honest gaze.
"No, I mean, I LOVE you. Like, I'm completely, totally, wonderfully, irrevocably in love with you, Santana Lopez."
"Wow, that's a lot of adjectives." Santana said playfully. "But I think I can top that. I am ridiculously, head-over-heels, one-hundred percent, magnificently, colossally in love with YOU, Brittany S Pierce."
Brittany smiled over at Santana, and then her expression turned serious.
"Honestly San. I mean, I can't express just how much I love you. And how grateful I am that you came and rescued me, even though it put your own life in danger. That time we spent apart was the worst time of my life, and I never want to be apart from you again. I want you to be mine, forever, until death do us part. I will love you forever, and that's a promise, because you make me so damn happy, and you deserve to be shown all the love in the world. You're the most amazing, beautiful, astounding, life-changing person I've ever met Santana. And I am so glad that those stupid diamonds fell into my bag that day. Because they led you to me. And now you're mine."
Santana listened to Brittany speak with tears rolling openly down her face. She had never heard anyone speak so honestly before, and Brittany's words tore right into her heart.
"Brittany, I swear, I will never let anything come between us again. And if anyone even tries to hurt you ever again, I will kill them."
"Don't say tha-"
"I mean it."
"Well, as much as I appreciate it, I don't want you to say it and I don't want you to mean it. All I want is for us to be together, and once we leave this hospital, for us to start a new life, together, away from all this."
"Okay B."
"Where should we move to?"
"What?"
"Well, we've discussed leaving, but we haven't yet said where we should go. So, ideas?"
"Okay. Well, I've always wanted to go to New York..."
"New York it is."
"What? Britt, are you sure?"
"If it's what you want, then it's what I want. Simple as that."
"Oh Brittany. I love you so much."
"I love you more Santana."
"I doubt that."
"And Sanny?"
"Yes Britt?"
"Will you take me to see a musical when we get to New York?"
"Of course Britt. We can see as many musicals as you want."
YAAAAAAAAY! Everything's all happy again! I love writing happy chapters ^^
So, this was meant to be the last chapter, but I realised that it would be RIDCULOUSLY long, like, 20 pages or something, so I cut it in half. SO, you'll get the next part in the next chapter, but its fine, because it doesn't continue on from this chapter anyway. That means this isn't the last chapter, which I hope ya'll are happy about :)
Oh, here's another fun questions for you guys - did anyone notice the tiny bit of dialogue that I borrowed from Episode 8 of Pretty Little Liars Series 3? The episode was called 'Stolen Kisses' – anyone who figures out what quote it is and who said it, leave the answer in a review and you'll get a shout-out in the next chapter! :D Here's a clue – the line was in the last section of this chapter.
Also, this update was noticeably quicker than some of my previous ones, so I hope that's a good thing ^^
So I hope you're all enjoying the fic so far! Next update should be along real soon, and until then, stay awesome everyone! :D