Get up here!
Quinn swam as fast as she could, pushing forcefully at anyone who was on her way. Her heart was thundering inside her chest as fear of losing the girl that she loved became more and more real with every passing second.
Death bodies were everywhere she looked, little boys and girls and well as drawn babies were everywhere and desperate survivors that didn't know where to go, where to look, where to yell for help. They were abandoned in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
She kept swimming as fast as she could to the direction that she believed Rachel would have surfaced.
"Rachel!" she screamed again as she pushed another shocked officer out of her way.
She stayed frozen in place as she realized that it was impossible to look, everyone was yelling and everyone was trying to find someone. They were hundreds of swimmers.
"Rachel!" she yelled again as she reassumed swimming, she couldn't give up, she wouldn't. "Rachel!"
"Quinn!" she heard the muffle cry for help and swam in the direction of the girl's voice.
"Rachel!" she called again.
"Quinn!" she saw the girl swimming towards her and stayed until reaching out her arms until Rachel was hugging her with unbelievable force.
Both girls had thought that they wouldn't see each other again. Those had been the five most terrifying minutes of their young lives.
"Swim, baby. I need you to swim" Quinn asked her once they let go of their embrace.
Quinn didn't know exactly what she was going to do but she knew that she needed to get Rachel out of the chaos and look for something to hold on to until the boats came back to get them.
People tried to cling onto their bodies but every time that happened Quinn had to push and punch a few men to let them go. People were on the verge of insanity, the cold alone was enough to make everyone desperate.
Quinn wasn't lying when she told Rachel that water that cold was like being pocked by a thousand knifes at once. It was worst.
When they finally broke out of the insanity of the survivors Quinn started to look for something, for anything that will help them stayed on float and get Rachel out of the freezing water.
"Come on, baby. Just a little bit more, just a little more" Quinn looked around as faith quickly slipped out of her. There was nothing but darkness in the horizon, they were completely alone and she wasn't so sure that the boats were going to come back.
"It's so cold," Rachel whimpered behind her.
"I know baby, I know" she looked frantically around, there had to be something floating around. "Help me find something, princess. Something that can help us here" she asked without letting go of the brunette's hand.
The sobbing of people was growing quieter as they looked around.
"Baby, look at me" Quinn asked her. Her lips were turning blue, her green eyes were glowing that night under the full moon and Rachel fell a little more in love with the girl, despise the circumstances.
"You are so beautiful" she said without even thinking of her words and was regarded with a small smirk from the blond.
"Right back at ya, baby. Now help me look, ok?" the brunette was trying to get her mind off of everything that was going on around and Quinn knew that her words were everything she got at that moment.
Rachel focused on Quinn's words and started to look around. Her bottom lip was out of control at that point, she couldn't feel her legs and her arms were getting heavier by the second.
She felt Quinn's grip on her hand tighten before the blond turned around and enveloped her in a tight hug effectively shielding her from two men that were fighting against each other over a little cabinet door.
"Bastard!" one of the men shouted before he sucker punched the other, effectively knocking him out.
"Come on," Quinn pulled the brunette a little farther away, her eyes scanning the area with care.
"What's that?" Rachel whimpered and pointed at their right. Quinn saw with great desperation as Rachel's body shook uncontrollably and her lips turned purple from the cold.
She really hoped that they would return for them, sooner rather than later.
"Come on," she pulled the girl to where she could see something floating ahead.
Rachel pushed herself to follow the blond even though she felt like she couldn't move at all but she didn't want to give up, not now, not yet.
"Come on, baby. Just a little bit, we're almost there" Quinn said as she recognized the wood door that was floating a couple of feet ahead of them.
That would do, she thought for herself and as soon they were close enough she lifted Rachel on top.
It was such a nice feeling to be out of the water but the cold didn't subside at all, the wind actually made it colder and breathing was becoming a challenge itself.
"Quinn?" Rachel called when she noticed that blond wasn't by her side and she opened her eyes to find the girl staring intently at the door where she was lying belly down.
"Get up here," she ordered but the blond offered her a sad half smile and shook her head.
"I don't think it'd support us both, princess" Quinn explained but Rachel heard none of it.
"Get up here or I'll be down there with you," the blond noticed Rachel's voice cracking, it was obviously hard to breathe, she was having the same problem but Rachel's small frame was shaking brusquely and her skin was too pale.
"It's better if you stay there" she tried to reason but when Rachel moved to get off the door she gently stopped her with a firm hand of her shoulder.
For a second there she wished that Rachel wasn't so stubborn.
"Get up here!" the brunette said again and as Quinn pushed herself up the door tilted all the way to the side threatening to throw them to the water but Rachel wrapped her arms around the blonde's neck and soon enough the wood bounced back into placed with both girls on top of it.
Quinn smiled relieved and wrapped her arms around the brunette as they settled into a somewhat comfortable position facing each other.
"God baby, you're freezing" the blond took Rachel's hands and started to blow hot air on them as the brunette got impossibly closer to her body.
"You too," her lip quivered strongly and without thinking about it Quinn pressed her lips against Rachel's and after kissing her she remained closed to her, just blowing hot air against her lips.
"They are going to come back for us" Quinn spoke as she tangled up her legs with Rachel's and rubbed up and down with her ankles.
"Will they, Quinn?" Rachel asked as she tucked her hands under the blonde's neck shirt and cuddled even closer. She could feel her hair starting to freeze and barely felt her legs where Quinn was rubbing.
"Yes, they will. We just have to wait a little longer. They had to get away because… because of the suction but they'll come back, you'll see" she snuggled Rachel closer and rubbed her cheek against the smaller' girl to transmit some heat.
Rachel trusted in Quinn's words so she believed her and stuck her hands a bit lower on Quinn's chest, relishing in the feeling of the girl's skin and how perfect it felt under her fingerprints.
"Thank God I met you, Quinn" she sincerely said and the blond pressed her lips to her forehead as she rubbed her back and arms, wishing against the impossible that she were able to give Rachel all the heat she needed at the moment.
"Bring the boats back!" an officer holding onto a floating piece of wood blowing on his whistle non-stop screamed.
"Come back, help us!" a woman yelled but Quinn just kept trying to keep Rachel as warm as possible.
"They'll come back, they are just getting organized," she swallowed down the sudden lump in her throat as Rachel ran her finger on her chest underneath her thin shirt.
A couple of minutes passed in the freezing darkness in silence. Quinn's arms were starting to become numb as she held the girl close to her and nuzzled her under her chin. The water was calm and that wasn't a good sign at all.
"It's getting quiet," Rachel whispered as she moved her head to look at Quinn but the blond was already staring at her when their eyes met.
"Just a few more minutes, princess. Just a few more minutes and they'll come back, they're just getting organized," their breaths were clouding in front of them as their bodies kept shaking lightly.
Rachel wasn't shaking uncontrollably anymore and Quinn was glad for that, she just wished that the boats would actually return but the brunette was no fool and she could see right through Quinn's insecurities at that very moment.
There weren't going to be any boats, the officers knew that they have left behind hundreds of people and if they came back everyone would sink the boats in desperation to save their lives.
Quinn reassumed the light rubbing on Rachel's extremities and back as she whistled and smirked into the freezing eve.
"I don't know about you but I intend to write a strongly worded letter to the White Star Line about all this trouble," she giggled and Rachel smiled at the blonde's antics.
Even like that, on their worst, she still managed to make her smile sincerely.
As she stared deeply into the hazel eyes that had clouded her judgment and drove her to the very insanity path she knew that there was nowhere else she'd rather be than right there in Quinn's arms.
She was lucky, so lucky to have met the blond, to have fallen in love with the blond and to have the girl loving her as much.
She removed one hand from underneath the shirt and cupped Quinn's cheek as the other squeezed the firm abs under her palm. She wished that they could have had more time, that they had met in different circumstances, that they have had a real chance at love.
"I love you," she confessed and smiled before pulling the girl closer to meet her with her lips in a tender and warm kiss.
Quinn's heart melted at the declaration but her brow quickly furrowed in realization of what Rachel was doing.
"Don't do that. I won't allow it. Do not say goodbye, Rachel. Don't give up, we are going to be alright, don't give up" she begged the girl as she grabbed her hand and blew every word against it in the hopes that her breath will share its warmth with the girl.
"I'm so cold, Quinn" Rachel trembled and squeezed Quinn's hand in hers. She didn't think that she was going to make it, she couldn't feel her legs even though she had the foreign thought that Quinn was still rubbing her ankles against them.
"We're getting out of here, Rachel. We're going to make it and we're going to have a long and nice life with each other. We'll see our children grow and I have to tell you in advance that I want a few because I've always had a thing for big family reunions," she giggled nervously as Rachel smiled sadly, imagining everything that was coming out of the blonde's mouth.
"We'll die in a warm bed as old ladies, surrounded by all our kids and grandkids," she pressed her lips softly against Rachel's and locked eyes with the girl as she spoke her next words, "not here. Not this night. Not like this, do you understand me?"
There was so much behind the pained look in Quinn's eyes but Rachel was crying softly and couldn't utter a single word out.
"Listen to me, baby. Winning that bet was the best thing that ever happened to me," her own voice cracked as she poured her heart out to the girl and at the same time it was becoming so much more difficult to speak or breathe.
"It brought me to you, princess. I met you and I am so, so grateful for that. I love you so much sweetheart and I wouldn't change a thing if I had the chance."
Rachel sobbed and clung on Quinn's shirt for dear life, she could feel clearly the path that her tears took and smiled as she felt Quinn's lips pressed on her cheek and forehead.
"We won't give up, baby. Promise me that we'll never give up" Quinn pleaded in her ear and she nodded her head twice.
"We'll never give up," she promised and Quinn kissed her again.
"I love you so much, so much" Quinn nuzzled her face on the crack of her neck and rubbed soothing circles on her back.
"I love you more" Rachel whispered against the sensitive skin of Quinn's neck as she realized rather late that silence was almost consuming them.
…
Officer Puckerman had finally take over and ordered to organized the boats but not without much trouble.
The rest of the officers were adamant to join him in the search but at least he had a boat clear up for the job already.
"I'll go with you son," Terri said standing up and jumping on the boat where the young officer was standing alone.
He looked conflicted, he appreciated the offer but he needed at least another officer to help him if they found any survivors.
"I'll go" Mr. Hummel raised his hand and stepped into his boat. Hummel was a delicate boy and some on the crew called him porcelain as a joke but as Puckerman stared at him, he saw a brave and good man.
"We'll do," he said and surveyed his eyes over each of the officers that were staying behind.
"It's insanity Puck! They'll sink your boat, you're going towards your end!"
"Can't you hear that, stupid?" said Puckerman turning around and facing the officer, he was seeing red "There is not a sound that can be heard, there hadn't been in the last twenty minutes. We're probably too late already and you want me to stay here and sit with the women!"
The officer looked taken aback but didn't argue any further as Puckerman handed a shovel to the Hummel boy.
They navigate in silence, the splash of the water the only thing being heard as they neared what was left of the Titanic.
Terri held the lantern at the front of the boat. The first thing she saw was the framed picture of a family, then instruments of the band that used to play in the dining hall, toys and pieces of furniture.
Everything was so quiet and still, she turned to look at the officer but he didn't meet her eyes as the lantern illuminated the first lifeless bodies floating on the surface.
Terri covered her mouth with her hand as she looked at the image in front of her. Hundreds of floating bodies around and ahead of them, she knew that they hadn't drowned because they had their life-vest on but they had frozen to death.
Her heart broke at the sight of a mother holding her little girl in her arms and both had their open eyes trained on the sky
Puckerman did his best to move the bodies out of the way but the boat kept impacting the freezing bodies over and over again.
"We waited too long" he lamented as Hummel and Terri cried softly behind him.
…
It was the worst feeling in the world when you knew you were dying and you couldn't do anything to stop it.
Quinn's breathing was elaborate as she tried to hug Rachel closer, she couldn't feel her body anymore and the only thought that comforted her somewhat was that Rachel was probably a little bit warmer than she was.
The brunette had turn around in Quinn's arms and was staring at the stars above them. They were completely still and for a moment she didn't feel anything, didn't hear anything but the soft and trying breathing coming from the girl beside her.
They were dying, they weren't going to last very long and Rachel knew it. Their hair was dusted with frost crystal as were their clothes.
"There is not enough ink or paper," she began to sing Quinn's favorite as she stared at the shining stars; her voice was barely audible "to put in words how much I love you, there isn't a song sadder or darker than a goodbye."
A flashing light passed right by them and Rachel blinked a couple of times before she turned her head slowly to the right and saw a boat behind Quinn's shoulder.
She tried to move but discovered that her entire body was beyond numb, so she squeezed Quinn's arm that was thrown over her stomach motionless.
With her head slightly raised she saw the silhouette of two men on the boat but they haven't seen her yet and they were quickly passing by them.
She turned around to fully face the blond and raised her hand to touch her face. Quinn's eyebrows were covered in frost, as was her hair and eyelashes.
"Quinn," she called, her voice filled with hope. The blond looked as if she was sleep, her eyes were closed and her face looked peaceful.
Panic rose within her when Quinn didn't answer and she grew desperate at the possibility of losing the girl.
"Quinn, oh God, Quinn!" she couldn't even cry as her throat closed up but she sobbed anyway and shoke Quinn's shoulder.
"Please, Quinn. Don't leave me," she finally buried her face in the crock of the blonde's neck and gripped her arms with all her force.
"Never," she heard the hoarse voice of the blonde and looked up to find Quinn staring at her and a weak smile on her lips.
Just when all hope seemed to be gone, when all her wish to live had practically left her body Quinn came back to her.
"Come on, baby. We have a boat to catch" Quinn said and Rachel actually laughed along with her.
The ice cracked around them as they moved and Quinn was having much trouble breathing but she managed to sit down on the floating door that had safe their lives.
She threw her legs over the edge and into the water and started to petal over to where the officer with the whistle was. She took the whistle from his mouth and turned to face Rachel with a small smile on her lips.
"We made it" she said and when the brunette smiled back she blew on the whistle as hard as her soared lungs allowed it.
…
Quinn didn't remember much after the lantern pointed at their direction, in fact when she woke up the sun was already out and she was lying on a hard surface with blankets wrapped around her entire body up to her chin.
She blinked but didn't manage to focus her stare, every sound seemed foreign to her ears and her body felt heavy, she was so tired.
"Baby?" a soft voice asked by her side and Quinn knew who that voice belonged to but she didn't have the strength to stand up or even sit up so she just turned her head to the left where warm lips met hers in an static kiss.
"Oh my God, baby. I was so scared" Rachel cried as she wrapped her arms around Quinn's neck and pulled her up to her chest and Quinn had never been happier to wake up.
"We're alright" she spoke, cringing when she heard her own voice.
"Yes, we are. We are on the first class deck of the Carpathia" Rachel informed her just as Terri kneelt down beside them.
"There you are kiddo" said the older woman with a light smile on her lips.
Quinn learned that fifteen hundred people had gone down along with the Titanic and that only one boat went to their rescue, one boat out of twenty. She and Rachel had been two of the six survivors that were found barely alive.
Six people out of fifteen hundred.
As the sun moved higher, Quinn's legs returned to normal but they didn't move from where they were sitting, with her arms wrapped tightly around Rachel's form as they waited to get to land.
They had made it, they had survived but their minds were still on the ship, the images kept coming back and Quinn doubted that they'll ever leave them.
Terri was too kind with them, she asked Quinn what her plan was once they got to America and she offered her a job in one of her husband's enterprises without taking no for an answer.
Mr. Hummel came to check on them and brought with him a change of clothes for Quinn to wear but apologized profusely when he couldn't offer a change for Rachel.
They learned that he was the young heir of a fortune and he also offered his help to the young couple.
It was only when Rachel saw her mother that she remembered what happened to Finn in the lower deck. She closed her eyes and held on tighter on Quinn, who shushed her as she slowly walked them back into one of the halls.
"I take it you don't want your mother to see you," Quinn tentatively said and Rachel shook her head from side to side.
"Her daughter died in the Titanic, that's all she needs to know."
Quinn wanted to fight her in that decision but she controlled herself because Rachel looked determined, she had made up her mind and she knew her own mother better than Quinn ever did.
Terri didn't tell anything to Shelby, understanding Rachel's decision as well.
When they got to New York they realized that they had really made up the front page of the papers. Hundreds of people were waiting for them, photographers and reporters were lined up wanting to get an exclusive from the survivors.
Policemen were surrounding the area but that didn't impede the curious crowd to come closer.
Quinn had been at circuses less chaotic than what New York City was that night but she also noticed the hopeful look on many faces, relatives hoping to see their brothers, cousins, sons or daughters decent from the Carpathia.
As soon as they set foot on New York two immigration officers asked for their names.
"Quinn Fabray" the blond answered as she held a bit tighter with her arm around Rachel's waist and looked at her with a small smile gracing her lips.
"And you, miss?" the officer politely asked.
"Fabray," the brunette said, also smiling and locking eyes with Quinn as she spoke, "Rachel Fabray."
The officer thanked them and left as Quinn kissed the girl's forehead, her heart on the edge of jumping out of her chest out of so much pride and joy.
Rachel cupped the blonde's face and pulled her down to kiss her properly on the lips. They had a life ahead of them in New York City, they were free in their own way and the Heart of the Ocean waited to be discovered in the coat that Rachel still had on.
…
Like I could ever do something bad to Quinn in one of my fics :).
I hope you enjoyed and for those who reviewed thank you very much, for those who didn't, thank you for reading :).