Disclaimer: I don't own Glee

Chapter 4 : Howdy

Rachel felt completely lost in her 'mother's shop. She had no idea what she was supposed to do. She had never worked during summer, preferring to work on her artistic skills rather than make money that she didn't really need.

Abigail Bercoran had asked her to help a customer and the woman was more than picky on what she wanted. It took the diva way to long to find everything the lady needed and she couldn't help but sigh in relief when she finally left the store.

The brunette was about to check the back shop when a tall young man called her name.

"Michelle!" The brown-haired boy smiled.

"Hello." Rachel greeted hesitantly. "May I help you?"

"Hum, just an apple." Cole Flint answered. The petite girl nodded and moved to grab the fruit. "How are you doing?" He asked

"Good." Rachel glanced at the man, it seemed like this Michelle and him were friends or he wouldn't keep smiling and following her around. "How are you?" Maybe she could obtain information from him.

Before the man could answer, Abigail approached them. "Cole! It is always a pleasure to see you."

"Likewise Mrs Bercoran." Cole replied with a smile.

"I miss having you around. I keep telling my daughter she shouldn't have let a good man like you go. You are always welcome here." Mrs Bercoran patted his shoulder before going to the back-shop.

The Jewish girl stared mouth opened at the scene in front of her. It was clear now that Michelle was more than friend at some point with this Cole. She cleared her throat and said. "Do you need something else?" She handed him the apple as he gave her the money.

"Yes, I was hoping you would accompany me to the fair next week?"

"Hum…" Rachel didn't know what to say, it was clear her improvisation skills wouldn't be enough in this place…

"As friends. You said we could still be friends." The tall man rushed to add.

The diva didn't want to go to a fair, she wanted to go home, to her own century. "I'm not sure it's…"

"Is this because of Santiago Cruz?" The brown-haired man cut her off.

"Why would it be because of Santa… hum… him?" The brunette corrected herself. It was going to be hard to talk about Santana as Santiago.

"I'm not a fool!" Cole said coldly with anger in his eyes. "I saw you hug, since when are you hugging men in the middle of the street? And since when is he your friend?"

"Shh… He helped me with something; I was just showing him my gratitude." The petite girl improvised. She would have to be more careful in the future about how she acted. They were in the 19th century; people had strict rules about how men and women should interact in public. A friendly hug or simple kiss on the cheek could be frowned upon.

"That's not how a lady should behave and I know men like him, you should stay away from him." The man stated.

"Cole. I am my own person and I don't need advice on how to be a lady, especially from a man…"

"What are you saying?" Cole interrupted her again. "You sure are acting strange today."

"I'm sorry but I need to help my mother. Have a nice day, Cole." Rachel rushed toward the back shop. This was a nightmare, she and Santana really needed to figure out a way to leave and soon.

Santana finally arrived at the ranch and was welcomed not so nicely by Santiago's father. He was mad at his son for taking so long in town. Without knowing how, the Latina ended up helping some workers to fix a fence.

'How the fuck did I end up here? I was supposed to sing at this damn event, not work at a farm! I spent 30 bucks on a manicure this week, these hands ain't made to carry things other than shopping bags! And if this douche has workers, why do I have to help? God, I hate my life right now.' Santana mused. She scanned the place around her, it was surrounded by fields. There were different barns for supplies and animals and on the side, a house. Suddenly, she saw a woman struggling to carry her bucket of water. She looked around to see if anyone was going to help and when no one seemed to move, she decided to go and help. It was still better than carrying boards around with people who look like they hadn't showered in a decade.

"Let me help." The raven-haired girl simply stated.

"Ohhh, Santo, you're sweet. Gracias, mijo." The woman smiled fondly at her before kissing her cheek. "Bring it to the kitchen, por favor."

The tan girl blinked, surprised by the woman's words. She was Santiago's mother. She was definitely nicer than the father. She smiled politely. "De nada." She followed the woman toward the house and dropped the bucket on the kitchen table.

Santana stood there for a while, watching the woman work around the kitchen. It reminded her of her mom. In this moment, she was missing her, she was sure she would know what to do in this situation, her mother always knew what to do. Her thoughts were interrupted by Mr Cruz stepping into the room.

"Santiago, que haces aqui? I told you to work on the fence!" The man shouted.

Santana's eyes went wide in surprise at the tone. She looked at Santiago's mother helplessly; she had no idea what to say.

"He was just helping me with something, Ricardo." Mrs Cruz said.

"Anita, not now." Ricardo glared at his wife before grabbing Santana by the arm and pushing her toward the exit. "Go work on the fence, it better be the last time I'm telling you this today."

The former cheerleader scowled but hastily walked away from the man. She had a feeling this Mr Cruz wasn't someone you wanted to mess with and it was better to stay away from him as much as possible.

Luckily for Rachel, later that day, Mrs Bercoran asked her to do a delivery so she didn't have to try and find an excuse to meet Santana. She had also found a map of the town under the counter with the Cruz's ranch on it. She might always rely on her GPS to reach her destination because her sense of direction wasn't what you could call the best but she guessed she didn't have a choice in this situation.

But when the diva walked out the shop box in hands, went to the side of the building and saw she had to use a carriage with a horse to travel, it was a complete different story.

Her eyes widened in horror. "Oh my god… I have to drive a carriage…" The brunette mumbled. Sure it was an ecologic way to travel but she would prefer her Prius right now. She approached the horse carefully, extending her hand slowly to let the animal familiarise with her sent. She might be vegan but she wasn't always comfortable around farm animals. She untied the horse and jumped on the carriage, keeping the reins in her hands. Everything went smoothly until she reached the end of the town. Rachel tried to go faster but the horse got out of control. In her panic, she yanked the reins harder the necessary, causing the animal to take off quickly and making her fall backward into the carriage.

The petite girl squealed. "Oh my god!" She struggled to stand. "Barbra, Patty, Julie, anyone, please come to my rescue!" She tried a few time to sit back before finally reaching the seat to control the horse as much as she could. It took her another 15 minutes to figure out how to properly control the animal but not before realising she had gone the wrong way. Rachel sighed tiredly; she wouldn't reach the ranch as fast as she thought…

Santana was finally done 'helping' with the fence, helping was a big word, she was just ordering people around and fake working when Ricardo was looking. The girl had thought she would be able to rest after but the man asked her to chop some woods.

The Latina was focusing on the log in front of her, trying to not miss it with her hatchet when she heard someone approach the ranch. She raised her head and saw a carriage stop at the gate. She smiled unconsciously when she recognised Rachel. She never thought she would be this happy to see the girl and yet, here she was. She kept the hatchet in her hands and walked toward the brunette.

"Howdy." Santana greeted her with a fake southern accent, tilting her hat. She leaned against the fence.

The diva laughed as she exited the carriage. "Why Santana, you should be careful, you are already talking like a perfect cowboy."

The Latina scoffed. "How did you find the ranch?"

"I found a map at the store and since Mrs Bercoran asked me to deliver some goods, I seized this opportunity to come and check on you. I have to admit driving this carriage is quite an adventure." The brunette explained.

The raven-haired girl nodded before glancing around. "We can't talk too much, this douche who's supposed to be my father has something of a temper, if he sees us talking…"

The petite girl frowned. "It's not going well?"

"Ohh peachy, really! I've been slaving away in this place since I arrived and now I have to chop wood. Do I look like a fucking lumberjack?"

"I'm sorry, Santana." The Jewish girl said, feeling genuinely sorry for the girl. She knew that Santana didn't get the easiest job working at the Ranch. At least, at the store, she could pretend to be working in the back-shop when they weren't any customers but the Latina couldn't do the same, especially if Santiago's dad wasn't an easy man. "If I can do anything to help, just…"

"Don't even finish Laura Ingalls." The tan girl cut her off. "I don't want your pity. I just want to go back to our time and fast." She didn't know how long she would be able to play this little act. She didn't care what would happen to these people. She needed her comfy bed, her big bathroom, her laptop, her car and her cell phone and definitely not steak on legs, horses and people with low IQ and hygiene standards.

"I'm just trying to be supportive." Rachel answered softly, careful not to upset the girl even more. It was clear Santana was having a bad day and she didn't want her backlash.

"Then find a way to leave this place." The former cheerleader insisted before looking around her again to make sure no one was watching. "Did you find anything yet?"

"I met a boy who seems to be Michelle's ex. I can't tell if I find him charming or despicable." The diva saw Santana roll her eyes but decided to ignore her. "I also met a few people from this town but I still haven't figured out how and why we were sent here."

Santana sighed tiredly. "We need more than that. I can't do anything right now but as soon as this prick leaves for the saloon, I'll search around the house if I can find anything on this family. I mean, why aren't we ourselves? There must be a reason we are living these guys lives."

The petite girl nodded. "You're right, I don't think it's a coincidence either." She paused to think until an idea popped into her mind. "Of course, the saloon!"

"What?" The taller girl looked at the diva confused.

"That's where everything started. The guide said it was the only original building from this town and we are clearly in the 1880 Glesswood. We were visiting the saloon before being, hum… teleported her, for lack of better word. So we should start our research there." The brunette decided.

The tan girl raised her eyebrow. "Searching for what exactly?"

"Any information we could use on Michelle, her mother, I don't know where her dad is, no one mentioned anything so I'll need to focus on that later." The Jewish girl made a mental note before continuing. "Info on Santiago, the Cruz family… Unfortunately Google hasn't been invented yet so our only way to obtain information for now is by the gossip mill…"

"Okay, we'll go there tomorrow." The raven-haired girl stated.

"Santana, I can't…"

"Oh my god." The Latina rolled her eyes. "What better things could you have to do in the meantime? Knit?"

"First I'd like to mention that I don't like your tone and secondly, we might both be women but people see you as Santiago, a man, which means you are the only one allowed in the Saloon." Rachel pointed out.

Santana growled. "Great, so I get cast as the Mexican ranch hand cos I'm Latina? My family is from Puerto Rico! How racist is this mystical casting department!? And to top it all, I am a dude!"

"Yes, I think I get it by now with how many times you've mentioned it." It was the diva's turn to roll her eyes.

"God, I want to hurt you again…" The taller girl declared, raising the hatchet and putting it on her shoulder.

The diva's eyes widened as she took a step back. "Please don't, if you kill me I'm sure you'll stay stuck here forever. We might not know a lot but we arrived here because we read the quote together, which means we have to do something else together to leave."

"Don't be so dramatic…" The former cheerleader was about to add something but noticed some workers were looking at them. "I need to start working again so we'll have to meet later."

"Come and find me once you've visited the saloon."

The Latina shook her head. "I'm not sure it's a good idea for people to see us together."

"Santana, this is not McKinley, I don't see the problem…"

"Well of course you don't see the problem, you're this perfect little white girl in a goody two shoes dress." The tan girl interrupted. "If you haven't noticed, we are Mexicans, there is a big chance three quarter of the town hate us. If they see us hanging out together too much, they'll start talking and I'm not sure we want to find out what will happen when they voice their disapproval." Santana explained.

The brunette crinkled her nose. "Oh…"

"Yes 'oh'. Racism isn't a new disease of the society." The raven-haired girl sighed. "So we should meet somewhere out of sight, preferably at the end of the day, it's easier to sneak around at night."

"You're right… But where?" Rachel suddenly remembered seeing an abandoned barn between the town and the ranch. "Do you remember seeing an old empty barn when you arrived here?"

"That old pile of wood on the side of the road? Yeah."

"We could meet there." The petite girl offered. "It's midway between the ranch and the shop."

"Okay, we'll meet there tomorrow, once the sun is down. Now you should go…"

"See you tomorrow." The diva smiled before adding. "And Santana?"

"What else, Midget?"

The brunette ignored the nickname and said. "Nothing, just be careful."

"Yeah, you too…"

Rachel quickly went back to shop after that. She helped her mom close the place and prepare dinner. They ate in relative silence and for the first time in her life, she was grateful for that. She had too much on her mind and even if she didn't, she wouldn't know what to say without sounding strange.

Once she was done with the chores, the diva went to Michelle's bedroom. The room was small and poorly decorated. There was a bed with a wood box at the end of it, a dresser, a dressing table and a little desk with a chair.

The brunette sighed; it was nothing like her room and she didn't think she could practice her singing exercises. She couldn't help but feel saddened by that. She wanted to go back to her time and see her dads and her friends… She sat downcast and looked around her. Since it was still early and she had nothing to entertain herself, maybe she could search the room to gather more information about the situation. She couldn't understand how a weekend with the glee club ended up with Santana and her travelling back in time and living the lives of strangers. It didn't make any sense and this wasn't a sci-fi movie, time travelling wasn't real or so she thought….

Rachel stood up and started searching the desk. In the drawers, there were notes and receipts, nothing really useful at the moment. She moved to the dressing table, there were a hairbrush, a comb and other hair accessories. Still no luck there... She glanced around her again until her eyes fell on the wooden box. She kneeled down in front of it and opened it. She slowly removed books and toys and finally found something interesting. It was a small notebook, with Michelle written on the first page. It must be the girl's journal. There were a few others but this one seemed to be the most recent.

The petite girl hesitated for a while, after all it was prying into Michelle's life but she decided to read it anyway, desperate times call for desperate measures. She settled in bed and started reading some pages. From what she could read, the girl was sweet and passionate; they had a few things in common. It could explain why she was in this particular 'body' but not the rest. Rachel's heart broke a little when she read Michelle's dad had been killed years ago and how she was still missing him. The girl's mother had managed everything since but Michelle found her more tired than usual. The diva skipped a few pages; she'd have time to read them later for more details, now she needed other information. She quickly found an entry talking about Cole. Michelle was talking about how the man used to be sweet and kind but since his father got sick, he changed. He felt it was his responsibility to take care of his family and became cold and distant. The girl also explained how she didn't want to get married so young and wanted to do something other than manage the shop with her mother even though no one cared about her opinion on the matter.

On one of the latest pages, the brunette noticed Santiago's name. Intrigued, she read with more attention. 'Mother sent me to the Cruz ranch today to deliver their order and of course the boy was there. He is so infuriating, always mocking my attire and commenting on my stature. He thinks he is better than me because of his family money but he is not. Sometimes, he behaves as if his only pleasure in life is to cause me irritation. I would like to wipe the smile right off his handsome face.'

Rachel raised her eyebrow. She wasn't the only one who had points in common with the person she was 'impersonating'. Santiago had some resemblance with Santana. The diva read again the last part; the girl thought Santiago was handsome. She giggled despite herself but a knock on the door quickly interrupted her.

"Michelle it's late, you should be sleeping. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow." Abigail said from the other side of the door.

The petite girl sighed; she guessed the rest of her reading would have to wait…