A/N: Hello, everyone!

Thanks so much to everyone who has alerted/favorited/reviewed/read! I'm really glad you guys seem to be enjoying this story so far. :)

First, the reviewers. I'm sorry guys. I totally dropped the ball on responding to you this time in PMs (those of you whom I can PM anyway). So, I'll do it here, k? Great :)

wkgreen - Thanks, as always! Hehe, I know, stupid wind, ruining Brittany's plan...*shakes fist at wind* I hope you enjoy this chapter! :D

Hummel-Evans - Haha, exactly! What's going to happen to Brittany now? ...This chapter will tell. ;) Aw, yeah. Poor Emma. At least Brittany has a chance to escape that torture. Emma has to stay there...:( Anywho, thanks, of course, for the review! I hope you like this chapter! The suspense continues...hehehe ;)

Laucha - Thanks, and well, your wish is my command! Enjoy! :D

Pridemunkeyz - *gasp!* Indeed! Finn and Rebecca have a lot to answer for. But, will they? Who knows? Besides me of course. Mwahahahaaa! ;)

Last White Feather - Haha awesome. :) I'm glad you like the inner dialogue! I am a huge fan of inner thought processes and all that hoopla. Probably because I tend to hold conversations with myself and other people in my head all the time. Ahem. I mean...I'm completely normal and do not do that...*awkward silence* ANYway, hehe, Santana's arrival will knock your socks off! Maybe. Or maybe by the time she shows up you'll just be like, "Finally!" ;) It won't too long now, though. Just a few more chapters. I need to flesh out the backstory plot before it starts to get into the juicy stuff. ;) Anywho, thanks again for the review! It's much appreciated, and I hope you like this chapter. :D

Okay, so want to hear a funny story? If not, be my guest and skip to the chapter. So, Thursday was the 15th of March, which is the Ides of March. Well, I was sitting in my 3:30-6:30 class and we hear this siren right outside the window. Then some people got notification warning things on their phones saying that there was a double stabbing on campus. At this, my professor starts to freak out about how the university should be on lock down because this is similar to how the Virginia Tech shootings started - with a couple people shot and then the inaction of the university left it open for the guy to kill a bunch more people. Anyway, come to find out, what happened was a guy and a girl thought it would be fun to have a knife fight, which ended when they both stabbed each other - non-fatally. I found this hilarious for a number of reasons. First, a girl was involved. You don't usually hear about a girl being involved in a knife fight with some guy. Second, and most importantly, two people got stabbed on the Ides of March, the same day in 44 BCE that Julius Caesar was stabbed to death by the members of the senate! Heheheee, what timing those crazy kids had. :) Yeah, so, that was pointless to tell you guys, but I thought it was interesting, so there you go! :)

Anywho...I'm sorry for the delay in posting this. I was distracted by school, work, and the epilogue of my other story. But, I'm good to go now on this story, so, yeah, there won't be such a gap between chapters. :)

I'll shut up now. I hope you enjoy this chapter! :D


Instantly, Brittany abandoned any thought of retrieving her hat. Instead, she turned and moved quickly down the steps. Once on the sidewalk, she turned right and headed for the nearest street corner as fast as the snowstorm would allow her.

But away from the shelter of the house, the wind struck her full in the face, so strong it threatened to push her right straight back to her stepbrother's doorstep.

At any moment, Brittany expected to hear Finn's voice cry out, feel his strong arms grab her from behind and hold her. Don't think about what might be behind you, she told herself. Just look straight ahead. Keep moving forward.

When she looked ahead, all she saw was a swirling mass of white, the snowstorm all around her.

Without her hat to protect her head, snow embedded itself in Brittany's hair, stung against her face, insinuated itself inside the collar of her coat as she bend over double. It crunched like gritty sand beneath her feet, but underneath the snow, the sidewalk was slick and icy.

Move! she urged herself. Don't look back. But every step was an immense struggle.

The air was so cold Brittany's breath burned in her lungs. The wind in her face made her eyes water. Familiar landmarks disappeared in the swirling snow. It seemed to Brittany as if she were moving in slow motion. Her instincts screamed at her to gather up her skirts and run. Only one small portion of her mind, still clear and calm, urged her to use caution.

If Brittany slipped and fell, she could sprain an ankle or break a leg. If she became injured, she would have no hope of ever reaching the train depot.

The back of Brittany's neck crawled, as if she could already feel Finn's eyes upon her. She clenched her teeth against the cold, pulled the collar of her coat up around her neck, and continued her slow progress forward. It wasn't that far to the nearest corner.

You can do this, she told herself fiercely. You have no choice. All you have to do is put one foot in front of the other. Without warning, her left foot extended into open space. Brittany jerked it back so quickly she almost tumbled over backward. At last! She had reached the corner.

But instead of feeling triumphant, she felt her heart plummet in dismay. The snow was falling so thick and fast, Brittany couldn't see across the street. How on earth would she be able to hail a hansom cab?

According to her plan, all Brittany had had to do was leave the house and walk across the nearest street corner. Once out of sight of Finn and Rebecca's bedroom window, she's counted on at least a small margin of safety, and quick access to transportation.

It was easy to hail the horse and buggies known as hansom cabs in the Hudsons' prosperous neighborhood. Only the wealthiest of families continued to keep their own horses and carriages, and the streetcar didn't run through the area yet. The easy availability of transportation had been a key part of Brittany's plan to escape.

However, from the moment she had set foot outside the house, all her desperately laid plans had been swept away, blown off course by the driving wind of the snowstorm.

"Britt! Brittany Pierce!"

Brittany's heart leaped in her chest. That was Finn's voice! The slam of the front door had made her worst nightmare come true. He had discovered she was missing before she could put any more than half a block between them.

Her only hope now lay in the fact that Finn didn't know which way she'd gone after leaving the house. If he set off in the wrong direction…

But if Finn guessed correctly, he could reach her within minutes. And the longer she hesitated, the more she increased her stepbrother's chances of locating her.

There's nothing for it, Brittany thought. Praying that the accumulation of snow would cushion her fall, she gathered her skirts in one hand, tightened her grip on her carpet bag with the other, and jumped into the street.

She landed in a snow bank clear up to her knees.

The cold was so intense, Brittany bit down on her tongue to keep from crying out. She could feel the snow, soaking through her skirts and petticoats in spite of her attempt to hold them up and out of the way. Her feet were so cold she could barely feel her toes.

"Dammit, Britt! I know you're out here somewhere! You'll never get away with this, you know that. Now, answer me!"

Brittany's stomach clenched. She began to shiver uncontrollably. But she didn't think the cold had brought on the trembling. She was sure it was the sound of her stepbrother's voice. Even through the cold call of the wind, Brittany could hear the sound of Finn's fury.

Was he closer than he had been before? No! her panicked mind shrieked. I can't let him catch me. If he did, Brittany was sure her life wouldn't be worth living anymore. Once back under Finn's "protection," she would be a prisoner forever. Her life would be unthinkable.

That isn't going to happen, she thought, steeling her resolve. Not even if I have to walk all the way to the train depot. Still clutching her carpet bag in one hand, holding the other in front of her like a child making its way down a long, dark hallway, Brittany waded out into the street.

She had only taken half a dozen steps when she thought she heard the jingle of a horse's harness. She spun in the direction of the sound. Her feet slipped from under her. Brittany fell painfully to her hands and knees.

Suddenly, a shape loomed out of the snow above her. With a terrified cry, Brittany threw herself to one side. Oh, Lord, she thought. I've given myself away.

She heard a shout, and prayed that it was the driver of the carriage, not her stepbrother. A moment later, she heard the voice again.

"Is there someone down there?"

Desperately, Brittany pushed herself to her feet. "I need a ride," she called out. "I need to get to the train depot. Is this a cab? Can you take me?"

"I can," the driver shouted. "But it's slow going, I should warn you."

"It doesn't matter," Brittany called back. If she missed the train to Seattle, she would wait as long as it took for the next train—the next train to anywhere. All she wanted was to get away from her stepbrother. Just get me away from here.

"Can you get in on your own?" the driver called down. "I don't want to let go of the horse in all this wind."

"I think so," Brittany said. She felt her way along the side of the coach until her fingers encountered the door handle. She pushed it down, pulled the door open, hiked up her skirts as best she could, and put her foot on the first step, praying it wouldn't slip right off. The first step of a hansom was about a foot and a half off the ground. Getting into the cabs was difficult even in the best conditions, and conditions could hardly be considered to be the best right now.

"Britt!" she heard Finn shout once more. This time, she was almost certain that the sound was closer. She didn't know whether he could actually see her yet or not. But as soon as he could, she was sure he would try to stop her.

With all her strength, Brittany heaved her carpet bag into the hansom, pulled herself up onto the seat, and slammed the door closed behind her.

"Go!" she shouted to the driver. "Please, go now."

In the next instant, she was jerked against the back of the seat as the horse started forward. She swore she heard one final shout, just as the hansom turned a corner.

Brittany sat in the cold, dark interior of the coach. After a few moments, she pulled her carpet bag across the seat and onto her lap, hugging it to her chest as if it were a long-lost lover.

I did it, she thought, and she felt her tense body relax a fraction. She'd escaped from Finn, and she was safe—for the time being.

If Finn had overheard her shouted instructions to the hansom driver, Brittany knew her safety would be all too short-lived. Even now, her stepbrother would be trying to find transportation of his own, hoping to intercept her at the train depot.

Even if Finn hadn't overheard her, the chances were good he still might find her. If Brittany truly wished to get away, there were only so many places she could go.

Please, she pleaded silently as her fingers found the smooth surface of her mother's cameo ring. Let my luck change for the better. Don't let Finn catch me. I don't want to end up like a bird in a gilded cage.

All the way across town as she shivered in the dark, Brittany prayed that she would be in time to board the train that would take her across the mountains to safety in Seattle.

By the time Brittany reached the train depot, she felt all but frozen.

Her fingers had cramped from her tight grip on her carpet bag. Beneath her cold, soaked skirts, her legs and feet had tingled painfully and then gone numb. She had tried stamping against the floor of the cab to keep the blood flowing, but she wasn't sure how well it had worked.

That would be a fine mess, she thought wryly. To finally reach the depot only to be unable to board the train.

The trip to the depot seemed to take forever. As it progressed, Brittany began to feel as though she were encased in some strange, otherworldly cocoon. Though protected from the wind, the interior of the hansom was still cold and dark. The only sounds Brittany could hear were her own heartbeats, her own harsh breaths, and the wail of the wind above them both.

When the hansom finally slowed and stopped, Brittany almost didn't notice it at first, as thought the motion of the cab through the long, cold journey had left her mesmerized. It wasn't until the driver opened the panel in the roof that he used to communicate with passengers that Brittany realized they had stopped.

"Here's the train depot," the driver called down. "The train's still out in front. Looks like you're in luck."

Brittany felt a sudden flush of heat rush through her as she realized that she could hear a new sound. Slicing through the roar of the wind came the deep hiss of some enormous beast: the sound of the steam locomotive, primed and ready to go.

A burst of elation shot through Brittany so abruptly she felt dizzy. She had done it. She had made it to the train depot. In spite of Finn's pursuit. In spite of the storm. All she had to do now was board, and the train would do the rest. It would carry her to safety, far away from the false life her stepbrother had planned for her.

Brittany flexed her fingers and gave her feet one last stomp against the floor of the hansom. Then she leaned over and opened the door. The wind caught it at once, smashing it back against the body of the cab, but for the first time since she'd set out in it, Brittany didn't mind the fury of the storm. She had reached her destination. The storm couldn't hurt her any longer.

Quickly now, desperately eager to reach the train, she slid along the seat toward the open door and prepared to jump down. But just as she was about to set her foot upon the step, the cab driver materialized below her.

He was muffled in a greatcoat, the collar turned up around his chin. He had a scarf wound around his neck, and a cap pulled down over his ears, almost to his eyebrows. The only part of his face Brittany could see were his raw, red cheeks, and a pair of sparkling blue eyes.

"Toss me your bag," the cab driver said. "I reckon you're pretty cold and stiff by now. You'll need some help getting down after that long ride. The horse can stand here. There's some cover. Besides, the snow has stopped."

Brittany looked and was surprised to see that he was right. During her endless journey to the train depot the snow had stopped falling. But the wind still blew, fierce and bone-chilling.

Grateful for the driver's offer of assistance, Brittany tossed the carpet bag down. He caught it, set it on the ground, and then reached toward her. Brittany placed her foot on the step, and then tumbled out into his arms.

"There now," the driver said. "What did I tell you? Just stand a minute, miss, till your legs remember what God made them fore. They'll likely hurt a bit. What do they call it?"

"Pins and needles," Brittany answered. And they'd just appeared in full force. After what felt like hours of being numb, the feeling was returning to her legs with a vengeance.

"Stamp 'em," the driver said. "That'll get the blood going."

Brittany stomped her feet, hearing the snow crunch beneath them. She gritted her teeth as the pain shot upward, making her legs wobble. She was grateful for the support of the cab driver's arms. Without him, Brittany was sure she would have fallen right into the snow. She put her hands on his shoulders and stamped with all her might, determined to get the strength back into her legs as quickly as possible.

If Rebecca could see this, she'd have an absolute fit, Brittany thought to herself. But then everything about this situation would give Rebecca a conniption. At the thought of her stepsister-in-law, Brittany looked around. If Finn had figured out where she'd gone, the break in the weather would work in his favor, not hers. She had to get into the train as soon as possible. Fortunately, the cab driver had brought her right up to the train. Since it was in front of the station, it was actually between Brittany and the depot.

"Thank you," she said sincerely to the driver. "I feel much better now. How much do I owe you?"

He released her at once and stepped back, all business. "That'll be fifty cents, ma'am," he said. Brittany dug in one coat pocket and produced a handful of change. She pressed it into the driver's outstretched hand. Then she picked up her carpet bag and began to move around the back of the cab toward the train.

"Wait a minute," the driver called after her. "You've given me way too much."

Brittany turned back, a genuine smile lighting her face for the first time since the night before. She hadn't truly smiled once since she'd overheard the conversation between Finn and Rebecca.

"No, I haven't," she replied. For what he'd given her, the chance at freedom, no price was too high. Brittany would have handed over her last cent, if that's what it took. "Consider it a bonus, because of the weather," she went on, still smiling. "I'd never have made it to the station without you."

"Well, then," the cab driver said, giving the bill of his cap a tug. "I'm much obliged to you, ma'am. Good luck and safe journey."

Brittany's smile widened brilliantly. She knew he was simply being polite, but the sentiment still warmed her. She was definitely going to need all the luck and good wishes she could get.

"Thank you," she answered.

The driver touched his cap once more, swung himself up onto his seat, and then chirruped to the horse and started the cab moving forward. As it pulled away, Brittany caught her breath.

The train sat in front of the station like a great black dragon. At its head, a thick vapor of part steam, part coal smoke oozing from its smokestack, was the great, jet-black locomotive. Behind it, lining up like beads along a string, Brittany counted seven cars. The one on the very end, she knew, would be an observation car, or "smoker."

Here male passengers would be allowed to smoke, and drink, if they'd brought spirits with them. But Brittany didn't think anyone would be standing outside on the back observation platform to view the passing scenery on this trip. It was too likely they'd be all but frozen.

In the cars directly behind the locomotive, Brittany could see mail and baggage being loaded. Farther down the train, she saw faces peering from windows, and decided those must be the passenger coaches. She wondered which one would have a place for her.

You'll never find out if you just stand here, she scolded herself. You'd better get going.

Even as she moved forward, two sharp whistles split the air. "All aboard!" she heard a voice shouting.

Another five minutes, and she'd have missed the train. Brittany moved quickly toward the nearest coach.

"I don't have a ticket!" she called out to the conductor.

"That's all right, ma'am," he said, turning toward her. He gestured with one hand, urging her forward. "Get on board and we can settle up once we're underway. Just hurry up, now. We're about to get going." He put a hand under her elbow and helped her step up into the train.

"Britt!" a voice behind her boomed.

Brittany's heart and footsteps faltered. Finn had found her! But she didn't look back, knew she couldn't acknowledge Finn's shout in any way. If she did, she'd alert her fellow passengers that she was the one for whom he was crying out.

And she'd acknowledge that he had power over her.

Instead, she began to move swiftly down the length of the train car.

"Britt," she heard Finn's voice cry again. "Don't let that young woman board the train," he went on. "Stop her!"

Brittany's eyes darted right and left. If she could just find some place to conceal herself…I can't give up now. Not when I've come so far. I can't let Finn stop me.

But the farther she progressed along the car, the more Brittany felt her hope falter. There was only row after row of straight-backed seats, all facing toward her.

I'm in a day coach, she realized. The kind used for short excursions. But sure a train such as this would have more than just day coaches. The trip to Seattle required an overnight journey. The train must also include sleeping accommodations. If Brittany could reach a sleeper car, she might hide in one of the berths.

She reached the end of the car and pulled the connecting door open just as she heard Finn's voice, arguing with the conductor.

"No, I don't intend to travel on this contraption! My sister is on this train without my permission. What I intend to do is stop her!"

Brittany pulled the door closed behind her. She maneuvered through the small covered area that connected the day coach with the car behind it. Pulling the second door open, she felt a tiny spurt of relief.

It was a sleeper. Now all she had to do was to pray the conductor delayed Finn long enough for Brittany to locate a place to conceal herself. And then, she had to pray that Finn never found her.

Brittany moved down the aisle as quickly as she could, often turning sideways to avoid colliding with her fellow passengers. All around her, people were preparing to retire for the night. Like the day car, the sleeping car had no individual compartments. It was open. To convert the car into its sleeping accommodations, lower berths were formed by pulling special extensions out between the seats. Upper berths, all but invisible when folded up during the day, were pulled down into an open position.

A porter bustled near the front of the car, making up berths, helping a woman settle two small children. He stepped aside to let Brittany pass with hardly a glance in her direction.

"I saw her come this way, I tell you!"

Brittany picked up her pace. It took every ounce of willpower she had not to glance back over her shoulder. If she once looked at Finn, all would be lost. Never had she heard her stepbrother's voice so filled with fury, though it sounded strange and muffled.

He must be between the cars, Brittany thought. If he entered the sleeper and saw her…

"No," she whispered, completely unaware she'd voiced her desperate thought aloud. She had all but reached the end of the car. Should she continue on to the next one, or stop now, search for a place to hide? "Please, God, don't let him catch me."

"There," a voice said. "Up there."

Brittany skidded to a stop. A girl about her own age was standing at the end of the car. Brittany had a brief impression of startled blue eyes staring straight into hers for a fraction of a second, and then warming for a reason Brittany couldn't fathom.

"It's all right," the girl said soothingly. "Just give me your hand."

Brittany reached out, and felt ice cold fingers close around hers. She's as afraid as I am. But of what, Brittany didn't know.

"Go on," the girl said. "Climb up."

Without stopping to think any longer, Brittany stepped onto the lower berth and tossed her carpet bag upward. The girl gave her a boost. A moment later, Brittany was sliding into the upper berth. Her unknown friend yanked the green drapes that provided privacy for each set of berths closed behind her. But she stayed close. Brittany could see the impression of her back where it pressed against the curtain.

"She's in here, I tell you. Dammit, Britt, I demand you show yourself this instant!" Finn's voice bellowed.

Just in time, Brittany thought frantically, adrenaline still pumping through her veins. It was all she could do not to clap her hands over her ears to shut out the sound of Finn's voice. But she was afraid any movement she made might disturb the curtain protecting her hiding place.

She forced herself to lie absolutely still, and heard a ripple of consternation pass through the sleeping car. Finn had done something no gentleman ever did: he'd cursed in mixed company.

"Can I help you, sir?" she heard the porter ask. "Though I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to remember there are women and children in this car."

"I'm not blind. I can see that," Brittany heard Finn snap back. She was sure it galled him to be chastised by a porter, someone he'd consider no better than one of his own household servants.

"May I help you, sir?" she porter asked again, his voice strained.

"I'm looking for my sister. I'm her guardian, and she has boarded this train without my consent. I'm certain she came into this car. I demand that you turn her over to me this instant!"

There was something in Finn's voice that Brittany had never heard before. Something more than anger. This was something ugly, something brutal.

She tried not to think of what would happen to her if he caught her now, now that she'd forced him to follow her through the storm. Been the cause of him being taken to task for his behavior in public. She felt a hard knot of terror form in the center of her stomach.

"All right, Sam," she heard another man's voice say. Brittany thought she recognized the voice of the conductor who'd helped her board earlier. "Folks in the day car remember seeing a young woman come through in a hurry. It may be she came this way. Do you remember seeing anyone come through here?"

Brittany felt the knot twist. She held her breath.

"No, sir," the porter answered. "I can't say that I did. But I have been pretty busy in here."

"Oh, this is ridiculous," Finn burst out impatiently. "I can't believe the railroad is so mismanaged. I tell you she must be here somewhere."

"What's your sister's name, sir?" Brittany heard the porter, Sam, ask.

"Brittany," Finn snapped.

"Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen," the porter called out, "but is there a young lady named Brittany anywhere in this car?"

"Brittney!" exclaimed a voice so close to Brittany that in spite of her desire to stay motionless, she flinched back.

It was the voice of the girl who'd helped her into her hiding place. She was still standing right on the other side of the green curtain that formed the only barrier between Brittany and Finn.

"Brittney," the girl repeated, the surprise plain in her voice. "But that's my name!"


A/N: Oooo, what is going on here? I know, I've got you guys right on the edge of your seats. ;) Lol, j/k. At least Brittany made it to the train safe and sound (for now?). That's good, right? :)

I hope you enjoyed this, and I'll be back with chapter 4 in the near future! :D