Chapter 11 – Snowfall
As Quinn walked between the snow covered headstones, she couldn't help but think how even a cemetery looked pretty when everything was covered in snow. And the snow was only getting deeper. Large snowflakes had been falling from the sky for the past hour, and there was now at least four inches on the ground.
But as nice as everything looked, patrolling in the snow wasn't her favorite thing to do. She was bundled up with a coat, scarf, and gloves, but she was still freezing. It did have its advantages, though; if anything had been by recently, she could see its footprints in the snow and know exactly where it had gone. Unfortunately, that also meant things could find her easier by following her trail. Just like she knew something was doing at the moment.
Quinn paused at the sound of footsteps behind her. It wasn't the first time that night that she thought she heard someone following her, but every time she looked around, there was never anything around. Without looking back, she began walking again, listening carefully for any noise. A few moments later, she heard a light crunching sound coming not too far behind her. This time when she turned around, she came face to face with a vampire, who grabbed her before she even had a chance to react.
Within seconds, Quinn felt a sharp sting in her neck and she kneed the vampire hard, causing him to immediately release her. The vampire staggered back slightly and Quinn reached up to feel the spot on her neck where he'd bitten her. When she pulled her hand away, she had blood on her fingertips, but it didn't appear to be bleeding too badly. She'd certainly had much worse in the past, at least.
When the vampire tried to grab her again, Quinn grabbed his arm as she spun to the side, flipping him over. As Rachel pulled her stake from her coat pocket, the vampire knocked her legs out from underneath her and she landed on the cold ground. She cringed at the feeling of the snow going down her shirt and got up as quickly as she could, but it was more difficult to move when she was wearing layers. It always made Slaying just a little bit harder since vampires didn't need to dress for the season.
The vampire was on his feet before she was, but Quinn easily dodged the punch it threw and returned with one of her own. Unfortunately, it didn't have quite the effect that it would have if she hadn't been wearing thick gloves.
"Was that supposed to hurt?" the vampire asked.
Quinn gave the vampire a glare, but she didn't take her gloves off. She didn't need to punch the vampire to win; not when he was obviously cocky. When they were cocky, they underestimated her, and then she could just wait until they slipped up and she could easily stake them. It never failed, really.
"What are you going to do with that?" the vampire asked, looking down at her hand.
"I thought that was obvious," Quinn said, holding up the stake.
The vampire laughed and then asked, "Do you really think you're going to kill me?"
"That's the plan," Quinn said with a slight shrug.
"You're just a little girl," the vampire stated.
Quinn's cocked her eyebrow and kept her eyes locked onto the vampire as he began moving around her. He obviously had no idea who she was, or if he did, he was too full of himself to care. Whatever the case, she knew she had the upper hand. He didn't think she was a threat, which meant he would be sloppy in his attacks. So, she stood there, watching him closely as she waited for him to make a move.
"What's a little girl like you doing out so late?" the vampire asked.
"I like the snow," Quinn calmly replied.
The vampire laughed loudly. "You won't like it so much when you die in it."
Quinn really wished he would stop talking and just get on with it. She was cold and she wanted nothing more than to go home and crawl into Rachel's nice, warm bed. She almost never bothered sleeping in her own bed anymore. It was becoming increasingly more difficult for both of them to sleep without the other one, so even if she did sleep in hers, she often woke up in the morning with Rachel next to her anyway.
"Are you going to talk all night?" Quinn asked.
The vampire bared his teeth before walking up to her and trying to hit her. Quinn ducked under his arm and quickly kicked his back, sending him into one of the nearby headstones. He was on his feet within moments, running at her. She grabbed him by his shirt and used his momentum to flip him over. The vampire ended up on his back with Quinn straddling him. He looked up at her and then down at his chest, where Quinn's stake was sticking half out of his torso. A few moments later, he exploded into dust underneath Quinn, and her knees sunk down into the snow.
Quinn sighed as she stood and brushed the dust and snow off of her pants. When her pants were moderately clear, she began walking toward where she had parked her car. It wasn't that late—only a little after eleven—but she decided she was done for the night. Not only was she cold, but now she was also wet from landing in the snow.
When Quinn woke up the next morning, Rachel was no longer lying next to her. But it wasn't surprising; Rachel was an early riser and was almost always up before she was. It seemed like no matter what time the brunette went to bed, she was always up before seven. Even when they were out of school, like right now.
Reluctantly, Quinn threw the covers off and stretched as she stood up from the warm bed. As she walked toward the door, she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and then ran a hand through her hair. She looked over her shoulder at the clock to see if she had enough time to shower. She saw that she had had plenty of time, though; it was only little after seven and she didn't need to meet her Watcher at the school until nine. So, she walked to her room to grab some clothes before heading into the bathroom and turning the water on.
Her shower lasted longer than usual, but she found it hard to leave the hot water. Eventually, she shut the water off and got out, shivering slightly as soon as the curtain was pulled to the side. Quickly drying off, she threw on her clothes and dried her hair before putting it up in a ponytail. Finally, she put on a little makeup—much less than she usually would have if she was going to school—and then made her way out of the bathroom and downstairs to the kitchen.
"Hey," Quinn greeted as soon as she walked into the room and found Rachel sitting at the island.
"I thought I heard the water running upstairs," Rachel commented, receiving a kiss from Quinn, and then looking down at her. "Are you going somewhere?"
"Coach Beiste sent me a text last night asking me to stop by this morning," Quinn replied.
"Is something going on?" Rachel asked.
Quinn shrugged. "I don't think so. She probably just wants to check in every few days."
"I suppose that makes sense," Rachel replied.
"I'm hoping it'll only take an hour at most," Quinn said, sitting down next to Rachel. "But she may want me to train some."
"I should go with you," Rachel stated.
Quinn shook her head and said, "You stay here. Just because I have to work over winter break doesn't mean you should have to. Like I said, I don't think I'll be gone long, and if I am, I'll call you."
"Fine," Rachel said with a sigh.
Quinn knew she wasn't pleased with the idea of staying there, but there really was no reason for her to go. They only had a couple weeks off from school and Quinn wanted her to enjoy that time. And she hoped she would get the chance to enjoy it, too. They were still doing research on Dustin, but the weekend had been uneventful. She had patrolled both nights for a few hours, but at least there wasn't anything major going on at the moment. She just wondered what the chances were that it would stay like that. But knowing her luck, she figured it wasn't likely.
"Hello, girls," Leroy said, coming into the room.
"You're leaving, too?" Rachel asked.
Leroy laughed and kissed Rachel's temple. "Some of us do have to work for a living."
"I know, but I thought you had this week off," Rachel said with a frown.
"Not quite," Leroy replied. "They asked me to work today and tomorrow, and then I have the rest of the week off."
"Oh," Rachel replied.
"Where are you going?" Leroy asked, looking at Quinn.
"The school," Quinn answered. "Beiste wants to see me."
"But how will Rachel ever survive here on her own?" Leroy joked.
"Very funny," Rachel said, sounding like she thought it was anything but. "I'm sure I'll find something to occupy my time."
"And do something other than research," Quinn said as she walked to the cabinet to grab a bowl.
Rachel huffed. "If I'm going to stay here, I feel like I should at least do something useful."
"Quinn's right," Leroy said. "Enjoy your day."
"It's snowing again?" Quinn said as she glanced out the kitchen window while pouring herself a bowl of cereal.
"I don't know if it's ever stopped." Rachel replied. "Which is one of the reasons I don't like the idea of you two leaving. There are at least eight inches out there, and they have yet to remove the snow from our street."
"I'm sure the rest of the roads are just fine," Leroy said. "It's probably just our road that hasn't been plowed. The residential streets are never their first priority around here."
"I hope so," Quinn said, not relishing the idea of having to drive through eight inches of snow the whole way to school.
Leroy poured himself a cup of coffee and said, "I should go or I'm going to be late. I'm sure it'll take me twice as long to get to the office in this weather."
"Call me to let me know you've made is safely," Rachel instructed. "Don't drive too fast."
Leroy laughed and said, "I will, Sweetie."
"I love you," Rachel said, hugging her dad.
"I love you, too," Leroy replied. "You be careful, Quinn."
"I will, Mr. Berry," Quinn said, getting a look from the man. "Leroy."
"When do you have to go?" Rachel asked Quinn as Leroy began walking away.
"Not for another hour," Quinn replied.
Rachel smiled. "Good. That gives us just enough time."
"For what?" Quinn called after the brunette as she swiftly began walking toward the living room.
"The last half of the Phantom of the Opera!" Rachel called back.
Quinn sighed to herself; she really didn't care about watching the rest of the movie, but she picked up her bowl, nevertheless, and followed Rachel into the living room.
Quinn walked into the training room right at nine, and found her Watcher standing at the back of the room, looking out one of the windows. Quinn knew the woman had to hear her come in, but she made no effort to move or acknowledge her presence. As Quinn shut the door and pulled her scarf off, she wondered if she had done something to make her Watcher angry with her or if she was just lost in thought. Whatever the reason for her silence, Quinn didn't ask; instead, she remained quiet as she took her gloves and coat off, throwing them onto the bench.
"It's snowin' hard out there," Beiste eventually commented.
"Yeah," Quinn agreed.
"How'd patrollin' go?" she asked.
Quinn shrugged and said, "Okay. I killed a vampire last night and another one on Saturday. I stayed out a couple of hours last night and then I went home."
"I suppose not too many people were out in this weather, so there's probably not many vampires out, either," Beiste replied.
"Other than the vampire, I didn't see anyone all night," Quinn stated.
"Good," Beiste said with a nod before sighing heavily. "The Council's sent me some information. They think it may be relevant to our situation."
Quinn looked down at the stack of papers her Watcher was holding out. She took them from the older woman and began flipping through. There were emails, sections from books, and what looked like someone's notes. When she got to the last page, she found an email with only one sentence. "The darkness is here."
"They think it's from the person that sent the last one," Beiste said. "They've been lookin' into everything, but they've never heard of this Dustin fellow. They found some stuff on the spells he's been using, trying to find a reversal."
"Let me guess—they haven't found one," Quinn replied.
"Not yet," Beiste said.
"It's not like we have a lot of time to figure it out," Quinn stated. "The apocalypse is supposedly going to happen at the end of the month and we have no idea where this guy is or how to stop him."
"I know," Coach Beiste replied.
"Does the Council even care that the world is going to end?" Quinn asked. "Shouldn't they be able to easily find these things and tell me what to do? Isn't that what they're for?"
"It's a little more complicated than that," Beiste replied. "There's threats all over the world that they're tryin' to stop. Places without a Slayer. They're depending on you to be here and to figure it out. They have resources, but they're stretched thin. Just last week a group of Council members were killed stopping an attack in Wales that woulda wiped out a city."
Quinn sighed as she shook her head. This wasn't just some city that was going to be wiped out; if the threats were real, this was going to be the whole world ending or at least changing humanity as they knew it. Though, she wondered how many apocalypses almost happened every year and she just didn't know about it because it wasn't happening in Lima.
But now that this was happening in Lima, she didn't know how to stop it. She and Rachel had gone through all the books they had and they had very little to go on. They knew around when it was happening, but they were no closer to figuring out how to kill someone who was immortal. And even if they did know how to kill him, they had no idea where he was. Right now, Quinn felt like everything was stacked against them and she had no idea how to proceed. She hated waiting around for something to just fall into her lap, which is exactly what she felt like she was doing right now.
"Hopefully there will be something useful in here," Quinn said, looking down at the stack of papers in her hand.
"They are still lookin' into it," Beiste said.
"I just hope when they find something it's not too late," Quinn replied.
"Patrol tonight if you can," her Watcher instructed. "This snow ain't supposed to stop, though, so if it's still snowing, stay inside."
"Really?" Quinn asked.
"We don't want you slipping on some ice or nothing," Beiste replied. "You've got an apocalypse to stop, after all, and you can't do that if you kill yourself on some ice."
"Okay," Quinn said with a shrug.
She wouldn't mind a night in. Of course most of it would be spent going over the papers in her hands, but it would certainly be better than freezing her ass of in a cemetery. Plus, that meant she could spend the evening with Rachel.
As Quinn walked toward Rachel's house, she tried not to slip on the snow and ice that covered the walkway. It looked like someone—she was guessing Rachel—had shoveled the walkway. Rather than make it safer, though, it had only exposed the ice that had fallen as the rain had begun changing to snow. She could see where it had also been salted, but it didn't look like it was doing much good.
She made it to the door, only sliding once along the way. Thankfully, she hadn't fallen completely, getting her footing at the last minute. When she checked the knob, the door wasn't locked, so she let herself in. The warmth of the house instantly hit her, and she stopped for a moment to just enjoy it. It was a stark contrast to the bitter cold air outside.
"Rachel?" Quinn called out as she took off her gloves and set the papers on the table.
Usually the brunette was in the foyer almost the moment she walked inside, but that wasn't the case this time. She peeked into the living room, walked through the dining room, and into the kitchen, but Rachel wasn't in any of the rooms.
"Rach?" she asked, opening the door to the basement, but the room was dark.
She frowned to herself as she shut the basement door and walked through the hallway to the stairs. She took them two at a time, looking into Rachel's room as she walked by, and then going into her own. Frowning again, she glanced around and called out again, "Rachel?"
Quinn pulled out her phone to see if her girlfriend had sent her a message saying she was going somewhere, but she had no text messages and no missed calls. It didn't seem like Rachel to just disappear without letting her know where she was going, but Quinn was trying not to worry too much. It was daytime, after all, there didn't seem to be any sign of forced entry, and Rachel was smart enough not to let some random person inside.
Turning, Quinn walked out of her room, looking into Rachel's again before walking down the stairs and into the kitchen again. It was there that she noticed the back door wasn't locked like it always was. Quinn opened the door and walked onto the back porch, looking around for the brunette.
"Ra—"
Quinn was cut off when a snowball hit the side of her arm and she turned to find her girlfriend trying not to laugh. Quinn closed her mouth and calmly put her gloves back on before walking forward and crouching down. Rachel squealed as she began making the perfect snowball and tried to run behind a tree for shelter. Quinn was too quick for her, though. She sent the snowball flying, hitting Rachel squarely in the side of the head.
Rachel turned, giving her an indignant look, but began running when she realized Quinn was making another snowball, and yelled, "I only threw one!"
"Which means you started it!" Quinn yelled back.
Quinn threw the snowball, but missed Rachel by a few inches as she ran behind a tree. As Quinn began gathering more snow, a snowball whizzed by her head and she heard Rachel huff, clearly not happy that she missed. After missing her shot, Rachel had ducked behind the tree again, so Quinn waited patiently for her to show her face again. As she waited, she moved several yards to her left, not wanting Rachel to be able to get her so easily.
When Rachel finally showed her face, Quinn threw the snowball, hitting the brunette in the shoulder just as Rachel threw hers, barely grazing Quinn's leg. As soon as it was out of her hand, Rachel made a mad dash toward the picnic table, though Quinn didn't know why. The tree was much better cover; the picnic table was too open to offer any real protection.
"What did Coach Beiste want?" Rachel asked, peeking her head out from behind the table.
"The Council sent some of the research they've been doing," Quinn answered, throwing a snowball into the air, and catching it.
"About Dustin," Rachel asked as tossed a snowball at her, but Quinn easily dodged it.
"Yeah," Quinn answered, gathering up some more snow.
"Is there anything of importance?" Rachel asked.
"I don't know," Quinn replied. "I just glanced through it." She threw a snowball, hitting one of the bars rather than Rachel. "I figured we can go over it today."
"Do you have to patrol tonight?" Rachel wondered.
"Not if it's too bad, which I'm guessing it will be," Quinn answered.
"This snow doesn't appear as if it's going to let up anytime soon," Rachel commented.
"No, it doesn't," Quinn said, throwing another snowball at Rachel, but she ducked just in time.
"Can we call a truce?" Rachel asked.
Quinn's eyebrow rose as she formed some more snow into a perfectly round ball. "How do I know this isn't a trick?"
Rachel held her hands up above the picnic table. "I promise. And we're not allowed to lie to each other, remember?"
"Fine," Quinn replied.
"You're still making a snowball," Rachel observed.
"Don't you trust me?" Quinn asked.
"Yes," Rachel said, slowly standing as she put her hands by her sides.
Quinn shook her head and laughed lightly as Rachel walked toward her. She kept eyeing the snowball in Quinn's hands, clearly not trusting her completely. When she finally stopped just in front of Quinn, the blonde threw the snowball to the side and learned forward, kissing Rachel's cold lips.
The moment Quinn was in her room, she stripped her clothes off. Part of one of the snowballs had somehow ended up down her shirt and the bottom half of her jeans were completely soaked from walking in what was probably ten inches of snow. She threw everything onto the back and arms of the chair in her room and then walked over to her dresser, grabbing something warm to put on. She opted for a pair of plaid pajama pants and a black, long sleeve William McKinley High School shirt.
"Can I come in?" Rachel asked, knocking lightly on the door.
"Yeah," Quinn said just as she untwisted one of her bra straps.
"I—"
Rachel stopped in her tracks as she walked into the room and saw Quinn. The brunette was already changed as she stood just inside the door, her eyes roaming up and down Quinn's body. Quinn didn't know whether to blush or smirk at the look on her girlfriend's face. After a moment, though, Rachel was the one blushing as she quickly averted her eyes, seemingly suddenly becoming aware of what she was doing.
"I wanted to know if you would like some hot cocoa or tea," Rachel said. "Or coffee, maybe?"
"Cocoa would be good," Quinn said, reaching for her pajama bottoms.
"Okay," Rachel replied, but she didn't budge.
Rather than move, Rachel looked at Quinn again and bit her lip as the blonde slipped her pants on. Normally Quinn would have been embarrassed by the attention, but this was Rachel, and there was really nothing to be embarrassed about. It wasn't like they had never changed in front of each other before, but it was the first time Rachel had been so blatant about her staring. Regardless, Quinn really didn't mind. It was nice to know that she was wanted by the person she loved. That Rachel wanted her just as much as she wanted the brunette.
"Do you want me to make it?" Quinn asked.
Rachel hummed and looked up. "Oh, no." Rachel shook her head and gave a light laugh. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" Quinn asked with a shrug.
"For—staring," Rachel said, looking away.
"Don't be," Quinn replied, pulling her shirt over her head as she walked toward Rachel.
"You don't care that I was staring at you when you were only half dressed?" Rachel asked.
"Should I?" Quinn asked.
"I don't suppose so," Rachel answered, looking into Quinn's eyes.
Quinn leaned forward, bring their lips together. Rachel wrapped her arms around Quinn's waist, pulling their bodies closer together. Rachel's skin was still cold from being outside, and Quinn ran her hands up and down Rachel's arms to help warm her up. After a few moments, Rachel pulled away and leaned her forehead against Quinn's. At the loss of contact, Quinn sighed to herself, which made a frown appear on Rachel's face.
"Is something wrong?" Rachel asked.
Quinn shook her head and said, "No."
"Are you sure?" Rachel asked.
"Yeah," Quinn softly replied.
It wasn't exactly a lie—nothing was wrong necessarily—but every time Rachel broke their kisses Quinn couldn't help feeling—sad? Frustrated? She wasn't even really sure. She just knew she hated that it ever had to end.
"Let's go get that hot cocoa," Quinn said, trying to change the subject, not wanting Rachel to worry about it.
She grabbed Rachel's hand before she could say anything else and pulled her out of the room. At the bottom of the stairs, she picked up the stack of papers with her free hand, knowing Rachel would want to look over them as soon as possible. Sure enough, Rachel reached over, taking them from her hand within seconds. She immediately began looking over the top page as Quinn led her to the kitchen, releasing her hand, so she could began making their drinks.
"I told you I would do that," Rachel said as soon as she noticed Quinn pulling two mugs from the cabinet.
"Read and I'll make it," Quinn replied. "What do you want?"
"Tea?" Rachel said.
Quinn gave the brunette a smile and began making tea for Rachel and cocoa for herself. Rachel began shuffling through the papers, humming every little bit, but never saying a word. Quinn noticed her folding down the corners of certain pages and frowning every little bit. When she set Rachel's tea down in front of her, Rachel finally averted her eyes from the pages and looked up at Quinn.
"Thank you," Rachel said, wrapping her hands around the mug.
"You're welcome," Quinn replied, turning to grab her mug from the counter.
"There's a lot of information here, but it's all very vague," Rachel said. "And a lot of it we already know."
"So, no how-to guide on how to kill him?" Quinn asked.
"Unfortunately no," Rachel replied. "There's some information on the three spells that he has used or is going to use, but nothing on how to stop him from performing the final ritual."
"The one that will bring about the end of the world," Quinn said with a sigh.
"Yes," Rachel said. "Although, one thing in here gives me hope."
"What's that?" Quinn asked, feeling like she could use some hope right now.
"I think he's only immortal until the third ritual starts, and it sounds like the third one isn't instantaneous," Rachel stated.
"So—if we can stop him after he's started it but before it's finished—"
"We can stop him," Rachel finished for her, picking up the sheet of paper on top, and setting it down in front of Quinn. "I mean, I could be wrong, but it's what I'm gathering from this."
"Let's hope you're right, then," Quinn replied.
"I think that's your phone," Quinn said when it became obvious Rachel hadn't heard it buzzing.
Rachel hummed, looking up at her, and then glanced at the phone. "Oh, yes." Rachel picked it up and looked at the screen. "It's Daddy."
As Rachel stood up and answered the phone, Quinn looked back down at the small stack of papers in front of her. Thankfully, she was almost through them, but she had unfortunately not found anything new. She and Rachel had already gone through the stack once and now they were making a second pass to see if there was anything they had missed.
She was fairly certain Rachel was right about Dustin only being immortal until the beginning of the third spell, but even if he could be killed, she wasn't sure how she was going to go about it. He was a powerful warlock and she had a feeling it wasn't going to be easy to get near him. She had seen what Brittany was capable of and she had only been a witch for a year. Dustin, however, had been around for a very long time and Quinn could only imagine the powers he must possess.
"Is everything okay?" Quinn asked when Rachel hung up with a sigh.
"He says the roads are too bad," Rachel stated. "He's afraid he won't be able to make it home without getting in a wreck, so he's going to stay the night at work."
"Better safe than sorry," Quinn said, leaning back in her seat.
"I know," Rachel replied. "I just hate the thought of him being stuck there all night, but you're right. It's better he stays there than risk trying to make it home." Rachel paused for a moment and then added, "Losing one father is enough."
Quinn didn't really know what to say; Rachel really didn't talk about Hiram very much and Quinn knew it was because it still hurt too much. So rather than say anything, she reached out and squeezed the brunette's hand, giving her a sad smile. She couldn't help thinking how unfair it was sometimes that Rachel had lost a wonderful father while people like her parents continued to exist. It wasn't that she wanted anything to happen to her parents, but she just couldn't understand how it was fair.
"What are we going to do for dinner?" Rachel asked. "I'm sure no place is going to deliver in this weather."
"I can fix something," Quinn said with a shrug.
"Are you sure?" Rachel asked.
"Why not?" Quinn asked with a light laugh.
She had no idea what she was going to cook—at least not something that Rachel could eat, too—but she was pretty sure she'd seen some vegan cookbooks in one of the kitchen cabinets. Thankfully, Leroy had done some grocery shopping Sunday morning when he found out they were supposed to get quite a bit of snow, so they had plenty of food in the house.
"I just thought you may want to relax tonight since you have the night off," Rachel replied.
"Fixing dinner won't take that long," Quinn said. "And I like cooking for you."
Rachel smiled and asked, "You do?"
"Yeah," Quinn replied.
"Okay, then," Rachel said, her smile growing. "I'll look over the rest of these while you cook, and then I think we should take the night off."
"Don't you think we should research as much as possible?" Quinn asked as she stood from her chair and stretched.
"I do, but I don't know how much good it's going to do," Rachel replied. "Right now, we need to find Dustin, and we're not going to be able to do that by reading a book. We know when everything is going to happen, and we know that he can be killed, so we know exactly when our window of time is. More than anything, we need to prepare to fight him, and I don't believe we can do that here. As soon as this snowstorm is over, we'll go to the training room and do everything we can to prepare ourselves. All of us."
"I don't—"
"You won't be able to do this on your own and you know it," Rachel interrupted. "I know you don't want to put any of your friends in danger, but you not putting me there—I'm volunteering. I have no doubt Brittany and Santana will willingly join you, and I suspect Noah and Tina will do the very same. We have two weeks to prepare, and I intend on making the most of them."
Quinn let out a long sigh; she didn't like the thought of pulling her friends into this, but if the world ended, it wouldn't exactly matter. They would all be dead, anyway. And she knew Rachel was right when she said she was going to need help.
"Sometimes I wonder how the other Slayers did it," Quinn commented.
"Did what?" Rachel asked.
"Fought evil without telling anyone who they were or without having help," Quinn replied.
"Maybe that's why they're no longer the Slayer," Rachel pointed out.
"Maybe," Quinn agreed. "I just feel like I'm too dependent on others sometimes. I honestly don't know what I would do without you. You've helped me so much."
"I know Slaying is supposed to be a solo activity, but I don't think it should be," Rachel replied. "You're strong—stronger than anyone I've ever met and I don't just mean physically—but you're even stronger with the people you love there to help. You shouldn't feel bad about that. I believe it's what's going to set you apart from the other Slayers, and why you're going to outlive them all."
Quinn smiled softly at her girlfriend and said, "I hope you're right."
"This movie isn't nearly as good as I thought it would be," Rachel commented with a sigh.
Quinn laughed lightly and replied, "I told you it wasn't."
"I apologize for making you sit through this a second time," Rachel said.
Quinn didn't mind so much; she wasn't really paying attention to the movie, anyway. Rather than watching the movie, she spend most of the time looking out the window, watching the snowflakes come down, and just enjoying being able to cuddle with Rachel on the couch. Even if the movie was terrible, she really couldn't think of a better way to spend her night.
"Do you want me to turn it off?" Rachel asked.
"You can do whatever you want," Quinn said, kissing the side of Rachel's head.
Rachel leaned forward and grabbed the remote control from the coffee table, turning the DVD player and the television off. When she leaned back, she snuggled into Quinn's side, and the blonde wrapped her arms around Rachel, and then smiled as her girlfriend let out a contented sigh.
Quinn felt bad that Leroy was stuck at work for the night, but she would be lying if she said she wasn't enjoying her time alone with Rachel. It wasn't that they couldn't cuddle on the couch when he was in the house, but she always felt a little awkward about it, and any time he walked into the room, her first instinct was to jump away from his daughter. She figured it had something to do with the way she was raised. Not only were her parents never affectionate with each other, but whenever she was dating Finn, the one time her mother saw Quinn kissing him, she made such a big deal about it that Quinn made sure it never happened again.
"What are you thinking about?" Rachel asked, running her thumb along Quinn's lip as she looked up at her.
"How I wish I could stay like this forever," Quinn answered.
"Me too," Rachel whispered.
Rachel's thumb was soon replaced by her lips when she leaned up and kissed Quinn. This kiss was languid at first, but it quickly turned heated when Rachel bit Quinn's bottom lip, causing her to moan. Rachel knew it was something that drove Quinn crazy, and she soon as she did it, the blonde knew exactly what her girlfriend's intentions were.
"Is something wrong?" Rachel asked when Quinn put her hands on the brunette's shoulders and pushed her back.
Quinn looked into Rachel's eyes for a moment, searching for any sign of doubt, before shaking her head and saying, "No. Nothing's wrong."
When Rachel leaned down, capturing her lips again, Quinn kissed her back without hesitation; she hadn't seen any fear or doubt in Rachel's eyes. Quinn, however, was completely terrified. It wasn't that she wasn't ready for this, but she was terrified she was going to let Rachel down somehow. It's not like she had any experience with this and she was afraid it was going to be a disappointment for Rachel. That she was going to be a disappointment after Rachel had waited so long.
A few moments later, Rachel was standing up, pulling Quinn off the couch, never breaking the kiss. Quinn wrapped her arms around Rachel's waist and slowly backed her toward the stairs. Rachel bumped into the end table along the way, but she didn't even seem to notice. Instead, she fisted Quinn's shirt and kissed her deeper, urging her toward the stairs. As soon as they reached them, Quinn broke the kiss, not wanting them to trip on the way up the steps, but the moment they were on the second floor, Rachel's lips were on hers again.
Rachel's back hit her bedroom door and she removed one arm from around Quinn's neck, groping around behind her for the doorknob. Eventually, she found it because Quinn fell forward slightly, but managed to keep both of them on their feet. Once they were into the room, Quinn shut the door with her foot before Rachel pulled her the rest of the way toward the bed.
Spinning them around, Rachel moved her hands from around Quinn's neck and put them on her shoulders, pushing her backwards. The back of Quinn's legs hit the side of the mattress, and Rachel continued pushing her back until she was sitting down on it. Once she was seated, Rachel pulled away and stared into Quinn's eyes without saying anything. After a moment, though, Rachel reached down and grasped the hem of her own shirt, pulling it over her head.
Quinn could only watch as Rachel's shirt came off, her eyes roaming over the brunette's body as the garment was tossed to the side. Biting her lip, Quinn locked eyes with Rachel and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend's waist, pulling her closer. Rachel gave her a faint smile and Quinn smiled back before looking down at Rachel's exposed flesh.
Leaning forward, Quinn kissed Rachel's stomach, feeling her muscles tighten. She made her way up Rachel's torso, but her progress was eventually impeded. She glanced up at the brunette to make sure she hadn't changed her mind, and then moved her hands up Rachel's back when she gave her a slight nod. Quinn easily unclasped the bra and guided the straps down Rachel's arms before pulling it off entirely and casting it to the side.
It wasn't the first time she'd seen Rachel topless, but it sort of felt like it was. She figured maybe it was because it was the first time she knew it wasn't going to stop at just that. When she leaned forward and flicked her tongue against Rachel's left nipple, the brunette moaned and put her hands on the back of Quinn's head, pulling her closer. Quinn obliged, flicking it again, and then grazing her teeth along it. Rachel moaned once more, so Quinn repeated the action, hoping to hear the sound again.
Before Rachel moaned again, she pulled back and looked down at Quinn, her dark eyes staring into hers. After a few moments, she reached down and began pulling Quinn's shirt over her head. When it was off, she leaned down and hungrily kissed Quinn. Slowly, Rachel's hands slid down Quinn's chest and stomach, not stopping until they were unbuttoning her pants and pulling down the zipper. Once they were undone, Rachel knelt down and slowly pulled Quinn's jeans down her legs and dropped them onto the ground with a light thump.
"You're so perfect," Rachel whispered as her hands ran up Quinn's thighs, grazed over her stomach, and finally stopping just beneath her breasts.
Quinn shook her head slightly, but didn't protest further. She was far from perfect, but when Rachel said it, she wanted to believe it. And she could tell by the look in Rachel's eyes that she did believe what she was saying. Quinn had spent so many years with everyone pointing out every one of her flaws, but here Rachel was, telling her she was perfect, and fully believing it. Sometimes she didn't know what she did to deserve someone like Rachel in her life, but whatever it was, she was thankful for it.
"Are you okay?" Rachel asked.
Quinn nodded and said, "I've never been better."
Rachel smiled and leaned down to kiss her. As soon as their lips met, Quinn parted hers, allowing Rachel's tongue full access. When they tongues met, Quinn put her hands on Rachel's hips, grazing her nails along her skin. Rachel moaned into her mouth and Quinn tried not to smile at the sound as she grasped the top of the brunette's shorts, pulling them down her thighs.
She had to break the kiss to get them the rest of the way off, and when they were finally on the floor, she put her hands on Rachel's ass, and in one fluid motion, stood, lifting Rachel up, and turning her so she could put her onto the bed. The moment the brunette's back was on the mattress, Quinn crawled up her body while Rachel positioned herself until her head was resting her on her pillow.
Quinn placed a lingering kiss on Rachel's lips and then moved down to her neck, kissing and nipping her skin. She felt Rachel moving beneath her and she knew her girlfriend was wanting more. So, Quinn began making her way down, kissing and licking her soft, tanned skin, making sure to pay special attention to her breasts. When she tried to move past them, though, Rachel grabbed her shoulder and said, "Wait."
"Do you not want to?" Quinn asked, feeling a surge of disappointment.
"No, it's nothing like that," Rachel said, vigorously shaking her head. "I just want to be able to see you."
Quinn smiled at her and placed one last kiss on Rachel's stomach before moving up and softly kissing Rachel's lips. She glanced down for a moment as she set her hand just below Rachel's bellybutton. When she looked into Rachel's eyes again, she slowly slipped her hand into Rachel's underwear until she was met with Rachel's wetness.
As soon as her fingers touched Rachel's clit, the brunette's back arched off the bed and a moan escaped her mouth. Quinn had to stifle a moan of her own at the sight as she ran her finger along Rachel's slick folds. As she did so, she was trying to pay attention to what Rachel reacted to the most, hoping to figure out what she liked the best. Rachel, however, didn't seem to be disappointed with anything she was doing, so Quinn continued sliding her finger around before finally pausing at her entrance.
"Take them off," Rachel said, sounding breathless as she reached down and tugged at her panties.
Quinn pulled her hand out from them and did as she was told. Once Rachel was completely naked, Quinn's eyes gliding over every square inch of her body as she crawled up the bed again. But rather than going straight back to what she was doing, Quinn stopped just above Rachel's chest and lowered herself down, running her tongue around Rachel's nipple for a moment and grinning when Rachel squirmed under her. Quinn then moved the rest of the way up, kissing Rachel's neck several times, and then finally placing a kiss on the corner of Rachel's mouth.
With complete access, Quinn found Rachel's center once again and entered her. The brunette's hands instantly went to her back, gripping at her shoulder blades. Quinn wasn't sure if one finger was enough, but she didn't want to hurt the other girl, so she waited to see if Rachel demanded more and she moved her finger in and out of Rachel.
It didn't take long before the brunette was panting and griping Quinn's back even more tightly. Quinn knew she was close, and with a few swipes of her thumb over Rachel's clit, the brunette's walls clamped around her finger as she let out a strangled cry. After a moment, Rachel went limp and Quinn slowly removed her finger, feeling Rachel spasm around her as she did so.
"Was that okay?" Quinn couldn't help asking after several minutes of silence passed by them.
Rachel turned her head and reached out, putting her hand on Quinn's face, and running her thumb along the blonde's cheek. A moment later, Rachel pushed Quinn back and she found herself being straddled by her girlfriend.
"That was more than okay," Rachel softly said as she hooked her hand around the back of Quinn's neck and pulled her into a heated kiss.
By the time Quinn woke up it was light outside and she struggled to open her eyes as the bright sunlight shone through Rachel's sheer curtains. She tried to turn away, but when she attempted to move her arm, she realized Rachel was using it as a pillow. And not only was she being used as a pillow, but Rachel's leg was tucked between hers and the brunette's arm was thrown over Quinn's hip. Quinn quickly realized that if she moved, Rachel would most certainly wake up. Not that Quinn really wanted to move at the moment; it was hard to care about the light when Rachel was naked and almost completely wrapped around her.
It had taken her a moment to remember the previous night, but as soon as she saw their current state of undress, it all came rushing back. The hours they spent exploring each other fully for the first time. Quinn may have been nervous at first, but that had quickly gone away. It hadn't mattered that she had never had sex before because neither had Rachel, and they were able to learn together. And it also helped that the brunette was so unabashed about everything.
"You're awake."
Quinn looked down to find Rachel with her eyes still closed but a smile on her face. "Yeah."
"What time is it?" Rachel asked, her lips brushing against Quinn's arm as she did so.
"A little after eight," Quinn said, looking over her shoulder at Rachel's alarm clock.
Rachel hummed and stifled a yawn with her hand before resting it on Quinn's hip again. After a few moments, Rachel began drawing a circular pattern with her nail, causing goosebumps to erupt on Quinn's skin. She couldn't help but think about the previous night when Rachel's nails dug into her scalp as she tasted Rachel for the first time. Quinn bit her lip, trying not to moan at the memory. She was just thankful Rachel had her eyes closed or she had a feeling the brunette would have known exactly what was going through her mind at the moment.
"Is it still snowing?" Rachel asked.
"I'm not sure," Quinn replied.
Rachel finally opened her eyes and gave Quinn a light smile. "So last night—"
"Yeah," Quinn said, smiling back when Rachel didn't say anything else.
"You don't have any regrets, do you?" Rachel asked, furrowing her brows in concern.
Quinn shook her head and said, "I think my only regret is that I waited so long. I just—I wanted everything to be perfect."
"I know, and it was perfect," Rachel stated. "It was perfect because it was you."
"You sound like Santana," Quinn remarked with a laugh. "She basically told me the same thing."
"I'm sure she'll be happy when she hears we finally made love," Rachel replied.
"Yeah," Quinn agreed. "Although, I have no plans to tell her, but I'm sure she'll figure it out sooner or later. It's what she does."
Rachel laughed and said, "That's very true."
Quinn had a feeling the moment her friend saw her, she would instantly know. She didn't know how she did it, but Santana had a knack for quickly figuring out things that were none of her business. Quinn gave up long ago trying to hide anything from her, but that didn't mean she was going to run and tell her.
"I love you, you know?" Rachel said, running her hand up Quinn's side.
"I know," Quinn whispered. "And I love you."
"I can't imagine what my life would be like if we never became friends—if you never fell in love with me," Rachel said, and Quinn could see tears in her eyes. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I'm aware that I'm only sixteen and people change, but I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you." Rachel sniffed and swiped at the tear that had finally escaped. "And that isn't going to change."
Quinn leaned down and softly kissed Rachel's lips before pulling away and saying, "I hope not because I plan on spending the rest of my life with you, too."
Considering she was the Slayer, she knew she was a lot more likely to get her wish than Rachel, but she wasn't going to say that aloud. As much as she tried to ignore it, she knew the reality of being a Slayer. They had notoriously short shelf-lives and were lucky to make it past their teen years. That didn't mean Quinn wouldn't do everything in her power to make sure she was the exception, though; she would love nothing more than to be able to grow old with Rachel.
Rachel put her hand on Quinn's cheek, bringing their lips together again. "Do you have anywhere to be today?"
"Not unless Beiste has tried to contact me," Quinn said, beginning to turn around to see if her phone was in the room.
"Can it wait?" Rachel asked, stopping her.
"What did you have in mind?" Quinn asked, her eyebrow rising.
"I thought maybe we could have a repeat performance of last night," Rachel replied with a grin.
As Quinn stirred the batter for the waffles, she felt Rachel's arms wrap around her waist from behind. She tried to ignore it as she continued to stir the batter, but it was hard when Rachel was running her hands up her shirt. After a few moments, she leaned back into her girlfriend with a smile, and the brunette's grip tightened as she kissed her shoulder blade.
"You're very distracting," Quinn remarked.
"I hope so," Rachel replied with a light laugh.
Quinn dropped the spoon into the bowl and turned around so they were face to face. Leaning forward, she captured Rachel's lips and the brunette half squeaked and half moaned. She swept her tongue along Rachel's bottom lip and then slipped it between them when Rachel parted her lips. Rachel twined her tongue around Quinn's before gently sucking on it, sending a wave of arousal through Quinn's body.
Quinn knew she needed to make breakfast, but it was hard when all she wanted to do was touch Rachel. Not that she hadn't always wanted to touch her, but something had changed. Now that they were as close as they could be, she couldn't seem to get enough of her. She knew it was ridiculous, but it almost seemed to physically pain her when they weren't together.
Reluctantly, she eventually extracted herself from Rachel with a sigh and said, "I really need to make breakfast. I know you have to be hungry."
"You're right," Rachel said, taking a few steps back, and leaning against the island.
Quinn opened the cabinet door and pulled out the Berrys' waffle maker, setting it on the counter, and plugging it in. It had been a while since she'd made waffles, and she had never made vegan ones, so she just hoped they came out okay. Not that she figured Rachel would care if they didn't; the brunette seemed to like everything she cooked. Quinn didn't know if she really did like everything or if she was just being nice, but either way, she never complained.
"Did you ever see if your Watcher called?" Rachel asked.
"I did, and she didn't," Quinn replied.
"Good," Rachel said. "I would very much enjoy spending another day with you. Maybe this time we can watch a better movie."
Quinn laughed lightly and said, "I doubt anything would be worse."
"I will certainly be sure to listen to you next time," Rachel replied.
"Somehow I doubt that," Quinn said, looking over her shoulder with a smile.
Rachel sighed. "It just looked so good!"
"I know, but looks can be deceiving," Quinn remarked. "You should know that by now."
After Quinn sprayed the waffle maker so the batter wouldn't stick, she poured the mixture in and closed the top. When she turned around, Rachel was watching her intently with a soft smile on her face. Rather than ask was she was smiling about, though, Quinn stepped closer to her, resting their foreheads together. She could guess exactly why Rachel was smiling; it was the same reason she couldn't seem to wipe the smile off her own face.
"I love you," Rachel said, lightly trailing her fingers up and down Quinn's forearm.
"I love you, too," Quinn replied, placing a soft kiss on her girlfriend's lips.
Before she could pull away, though, Rachel's hands were around her neck, pulling her closer. Quinn didn't exactly try to fight it; instead, she put her hands on Rachel's waist and lifted her up, setting her on the island. Rachel's legs were instantly wrapped around her waist, and Quinn rested her hands on the brunette's firm thighs.
"Girls!"
Quinn instantly jumped away from Rachel and looked around, but when she heard the front door close, she breathed a sigh of relief. The last thing she wanted was for Rachel's dad to catch them in a compromising position. She wasn't sure what he would do, but she didn't want to risk being kicked out of another home.
"We're in here, Daddy!" Rachel called back, jumping off the counter, and adjusting her clothing.
"I'm so happy to be home," Leroy said as he walked into the kitchen.
"I didn't think you would be able to make it today," Rachel commented. "The roads still looked fairly bad."
"The main roads were clear by morning and I was lucky enough to follow behind a truck that was clearing the neighborhood," Leroy said before frowning. "Is something burning?"
"Crap," Quinn said, remembering the waffle.
"Do you want breakfast, Daddy?" Rachel asked.
"Breakfast?" Leroy asked. "It's nearly noon."
"Oh, well, we overslept a bit," Rachel lied.
"What did you do last night?" Leroy asked.
"We watched a movie," Rachel answered.
Leroy nodded. "What movie?"
"When in Rome," Quinn and Rachel answered together.
"It was terrible," Rachel added.
"I could eat breakfast," Leroy finally answered, kissing Rachel's cheek. "But I'm going to shower first."
As Leroy walked off, Rachel looked over at Quinn and gave her a shy smile. Quinn smiled back and reached out, squeezing Rachel's hand, before turning and attempting to scrape the burnt waffle out of the waffle maker.
As Quinn walked into Rachel's room, she stretched, hearing her back crack in several places. Rachel was sitting on her bed and Quinn walked over, crawling up next to her. Even though they had been over it multiple times, the brunette was going over the same stack of paper. Quinn really didn't see any point in it, but she didn't interrupt the other girl; instead, she just watched her, thinking how cute she was when she tried to really concentrate on something.
"I'm almost done," Rachel said, glancing to the side at Quinn.
"I'm not rushing you," Quinn replied, putting her head on Rachel's pillow as she continued to look up at her.
The sun was just setting outside and Quinn could hear the television on downstairs. Her Watcher had sent her a text that afternoon telling her to take the night off. The roads may be cleared, but there was still a lot of snow and ice around, and Coach Beiste didn't think trudging around in a foot of snow would be the best use of her time. Quinn was perfectly happy to spend the night in with Rachel, so she readily agreed. She knew she would have to get back to patrolling in the next night or two, but she was quite enjoying her time off at the moment.
"What?" Quinn asked when Rachel lowered the paper she was reading over and stared at Quinn like she was doing something wrong.
"You need to stop doing that," Rachel stated.
"Doing what?" Quinn asked.
"Looking at me like that," Rachel said, looking down at the paper again.
"How am I looking out you?" Quinn asked.
"My father is downstairs," Rachel replied.
"That didn't answer my question," Quinn noted.
Rachel sighed and gave Quinn a look that said Quinn should know the answer. The blonde just laughed, though, and turned onto her back but still looked at Rachel.
"I'm serious," Rachel said after a few moments. "My father is just downstairs, and you need to stop looking at me like that! It's very hard to concentrate."
"I'm just looking at you," Quinn argued. "It's not my fault that you're reading too much into it."
"Are you honestly telling me you're not thinking about sex right now?" Rachel asked.
"I actually wasn't," Quinn truthfully answered. "But I was thinking how cute you are. I can see how you would mix the two up."
She could see a faint blush on Rachel's cheeks as the brunette went back to her reading. Quinn knew she should probably be helping Rachel, but she really didn't know what the point was. She figured their her best bet of finding Dustin was to track down someone who knew where he was and get the information out of them, but that was easier said than done. Not that finding him now would do much good; after all, she couldn't touch him at the moment. At least if she knew where he was, though, maybe she could keep an eye on him and figure out where the third ritual was going to take place.
"Okay," Rachel said, taking the stack of papers and putting them on her nightstand.
"What?" Quinn asked.
"I'm done," Rachel said, lying down next to Quinn.
"Do you want to watch a movie?" Quinn asked.
Rachel shook her head and said, "No. I just want to cuddle."
"I think I can do that," Quinn said with a smile.
Quinn scooted toward Rachel, wrapping her arm around the brunette's waist. Rachel smiled and turned her head, so their faces were only an inch apart. Rachel began playing with Quinn's finger, and just as the blonde leaned in to kiss the other girl, she heard a rumbling noise and the bed swayed slightly.
"What was that?" Rachel asked, her lips brushing against Quinn's.
"An earthquake?" Quinn guessed, sitting up.
A few moments later, the ground shook again, but this time it was much harder. She heard several of the pictures in the hallway fall off the wall and a few of Rachel's trophies toppled off of the shelf they were sitting on. She knew they should get in the doorway or under a desk or something else sturdy, but she ran to the window instead.
The sky outside was red and not from the setting sun. A small vortex was forming in the middle of town and lightning was crackling around it. A fissure was forming in the street in front of the house, splitting the neighbor's garage in half. A few moments later, the lights flickered twice before the power went out. Outside, she saw a transformer explode as multiple power lines fell, one of them landing close to her car in the driveway.
"Dustin," Quinn said as she looked back toward the vortex.
"But that's not supposed to happen for another two weeks!" Rachel replied.
"I think the apocalypse is coming early," Quinn stated.
The final chapter will be up in three weeks.