Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

A/N: Dr Quinn is not that same as the character in the tv show, it's just a little homage and a link to the glee character.

Chapter 5: The old west

Santana had spent her first morning at the ranch helping Santiago's dad, it had been long and excruciating, more proof she wasn't made for a manual job.

Luckily Ricardo had a 'business meeting' in a nearby town and wouldn't be back until the next day. It was the perfect opportunity to sneak around the property.

The Latina started with a tour of the different barns but there wasn't anything interesting there. Then she moved to the house, careful not to be seen by the workers or Santiago's mom. She began with the first floor, the place was big and there was a lot to cover which meant no time to waste. She had a perfect method to do things faster; it was a 3 point system: open the door, scan the room and leave if nothing interesting caught her eye.

Despite being a big house, there wasn't any important thing to see, just a bunch of paintings and old vases. Granted it looked expensive for this era but still, it looked like her abuela's attic and she knew the woman got most of her things in yard sales.

The Latina searched a few other rooms until she found what looked like an office, probably Ricardo's. She went to the desk and rummaged through the drawers.

After a few minutes, Santana found notes explaining how Ricardo's father had fled Mexico with his wife and son and settled in Glesswood. She put the notes back and kept searching.

In the last drawers were some correspondence, letters from Ricardo to his family. Skimming through them gave the Latina a few interesting bits of information on the Cruz. When Ricardo was old enough, he went to California to find gold and when he finally found some, he came back and bought the ranch. The family was 'respected' in the village because of their wealth and the number of people they employed at the ranch but it was clear that most of the people in town were only tolerating them.

The raven-haired girl shook her head. "Fucking racists…" She put away the letters and started searching another drawer. There were some newspaper articles but nothing really helping her figuring out why she was suddenly a 'Mexican dude' in 1880. She sighed, she had been in the office for a while now, and it could become suspicious if she stayed longer.

The tan girl exited the room and went to Santiago's bedroom. She remembered finding a revolver there and wanted to test it. If she had to be stuck in the role of cow-boy and wear these 'old' clothes, she could at least try to enjoy the 'fun' side of it. She grabbed the weapon and made her way outside.

Once Santana gathered a few empty bottles from around the place, she walked toward the field. She aligned the bottles on the fence and walked away, stopping at a safe enough distance.

After checking the revolver and the ammo, knowledge gained courtesy of Puck and his cousin, the Latina aimed at the first bottle and shot. She was surprised by the strength of the kick back and missed the bottle but for her next try, she anchored her body better and hit the bottle right in the middle. She smiled proudly. "Bouyah, I'm the biggest badass bitch in the old west."

When the tan girl shot the last bottle, she approached the fence to check if she could use some of them as targets again. She reached a bit too quickly for one and the sharp piece of glass sliced her right hand open. "Ouch, fuck." She looked at the wound; it seemed pretty deep and kept bleeding. "Oh god…" She swallowed hard. "I think I need a doctor." She glanced around her. "And of course it happens when I'm in the 19th century and in the middle of dung town. Great, it keeps getting better, fuck my life." She grabbed the bandana around her neck and carefully wrapped it around her hand. "God, it hurts."

Santana rushed back to the house and into the kitchen, grabbing the pitcher of water and pouring some of it onto her hand to clean the wound and get a better view of it. Santiago's mother entered the room at the same time and stood behind her. "Dios mio, Santo, que paso?"

"Nothing, just cut myself on a bottle." The former cheerleader said quickly, not wanted to worry the woman.

"It looks deep; you should go in town and see the doctor, mijo." Anita stated.

"I'm not sure I can." Santana had no idea where it was and she wasn't in the mood to ride her horse to town.

"Pablo will bring you there with his carriage, we can trust him. Let me call him." Mrs Cruz left the kitchen and Santana stood there, applying pressure to her hand and waiting for this Pablo guy.

If Santana was home, her mom would have made sure she was okay and driven her to the nearest hospital to get treated. She was missing home even more now…

Half an hour later, Santana arrived in town. Pablo stopped the carriage in front of a little building at the end of the street and led her to the door. The man knocked on the door and waited. The Latina raised her eyebrow, was there a real doctor in this joint? Because she wasn't in a mood for a consultation with a charlatan who got his degree in a lucky pocket. However, her eyes went wide when an attractive young woman opened the door with a smile on her face. She was pretty good in history and her dad was a doctor, she knew they weren't a lot of those in the 1900's.

"Yes?" The woman said.

Pablo nodded as he removed his hat. "Afternoon, doctor Quinn, I'm here for Mr Cruz, he hurt himself."

The tan girl chuckled at the name. "No way! Ha! Dr Quinn!" Even though the girl didn't look like Quinn, she was still blonde and had this 'I'm perfect and way better than you' aura surrounding her.

The green eyed girl looked at her questioningly. "Did you hurt your head, Santiago? It's me, your friend Mary."

"Mary?" The tan girl laughed despite the pain. "Even better, it fits perfectly."

The doctor frowned. "Excuse me?"

"Because, well, you know?" The raven-haired girl saw Pablo and the blonde were staring at her and decided to shut her mouth. She was supposed to lay low and act as if she was Santiago, not herself. Besides, it seemed like the boy was friendly with the doctor which could complicate things even more… "Erh, nothing. Never mind…" She removed the bandana around her hand and showed the wound. "I cut myself with a bottle, but I'm sure it's not that bad, don't worry, Quinn."

The blonde's frown deepened. "Why are you calling me Quinn and not Mary?"

Santana sighed. "Whatever, Mary, can you fix it or not."

"You are a in a terrible mood. But yes, come in, I'll take a look." Mary thanked the man and led Santana inside. "So how are you?"

The Latina sat on the exam table and waited for the woman to wash her hands. "Hum, if I ignore that fact that my hand is bleeding, good."

"I know it's hard for you lately with your father breathing down your neck but we are friends, I'm here for you if you need anything." Dr Quinn stated.

The former cheerleader looked at the girl from head to toe. She was clearly older than Rachel and her but she seemed to be nice. She wondered how Santiago and her became friends. At first sight, it didn't look like that had anything in common. Maybe it was because they were both outcast for different reasons, just like in glee.

Mary sat on the stool next to her and looked at her hand. "You need stitches." She stood up to gather what she needed.

"Great, this time travel shit couldn't get better…" Santana muttered.

Rachel had helped Mrs Bercoran at the shop all morning, arranging the fruits and vegetables and serving customers. She still didn't know what to do half the time but at least she was starting to find her bearings in the place.

In the afternoon, Abigail asked the diva to settle in the back-shop and patch some clothes for her. The first thing that came into Rachel's mind was the fiasco of her lady gaga costume and how she had to ask Shelby for help. The problem here was that she couldn't exactly ask anyone for help, Santana and her were stuck in the past, leading other people's lives and unlike her, this Michelle was apparently able to sew.

The petite girl sighed, she had been trying to patch the same shirt for the past two hours and it was clear it wasn't going anywhere. She needed a break. She made her way to the front and pretended sorting articles on the shelves. She had never been a slacker but she had too much on her mind to focus on anything and she couldn't even sing to relax. She had been able to read a bit more of Michelle's journal and it was becoming more confusing than helpful.

A few months before Santana and her were sent in 1880, Michelle had started writing less and less about Cole and more and more about Santiago. The girl had written a few pages about how God seemed to have a weird sense of humor because it was like Santiago and her kept bumping into each other. But lately the boy had been nicer to her, maybe in subtle way but it was there. Santiago even helped her carrying some boxes once. It was clear Michelle didn't know if the boy was playing her or if it was a true change of heart but even though she tried to fight it, she liked these moments with him. It sounded sweet and yet frustrating at the same time.

The Jewish girl sighed, she wanted answers and she wanted them now. She needed to know what happened to them, why and how they could reverse it. Nothing made sense and being away from Santana was making it harder to find a solution because no matter the how or why, she was sure of one thing, they were together in this. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard two customers mentioned Santiago's name.

"The Cruz son arrived an hour ago with a bleeding hand and was rushed to Dr Quinn's office. I wonder what he did this time." The taller woman said.

The other woman shook her head. "God knows what those people do at that Ranch…"

Rachel gasped despite herself. Santana hurt herself, she had to check on her. They had been there for only and things were already going downhill. Without thinking, she rushed out of the shop and into the street. She looked around her, she had no idea where the doctor's practice was. She walked down the street until she saw a plaque with Doctor written on it.

The diva didn't take the time to inspect the place more and barged inside without knocking, stumbling into a blonde woman applying a bandage to Santana's hand. "Oh, I… I was just... I heard…" She stuttered. This wasn't what she expected, she thought she would have stepped into some sort of waiting room and would wait there and she was definitely not expecting this woman to be Dr Quinn.

"Rach…" Santana quickly corrected herself. "Michelle, what are you doing here?" She might be glad to see the girl, well just a bit, but despite Santiago and Mary being friends, this might look weird and right now, she was short of excuses.

Mary looked surprised but smiled kindly. "Ms Bercoran, I wasn't expecting you today."

"My apologies, I didn't mean to be rude. I was just…"

"Obviously worried about Mr Cruz here. I'll give you two a moment. I need to clean my material, I'll be right back." Dr Quinn winked at Santiago before exiting the room by another door.

"Okay, what the fuck was that?" The Latina frowned before glaring at Rachel. "And what the fuck are you doing here? Do you want to get us all in troubles? You can't barge here like it's the choir room and you're the glee princess."

"I heard you got hurt and I didn't think…" Rachel tried to explain.

"Well, clearly you didn't." The tan girl interrupted. "It seems like Santiago and blondie are friends but we still have to be careful. It's like people in this town are worse for gossip than Kurt and Mercedes."

"Are you okay?" The diva asked, coming closer to girl. "What happened?"

The raven-haired girl shrugged like it was nothing. "I was just shooting some empty bottles and cut myself on one…"

"What? Why were you using a gun, it's dangerous!" The petite girl cried.

"I need something to entertain myself or it won't be empty booze bottle I'll shoot!" The former cheerleader rolled her eyes. "But it's whatever, Quinn fixed it."

"Quinn?" Rachel raised her eyebrow. The doctor last name was Quinn, it didn't click right away.

Santana chuckled. "Yes, Dr Quinn, can you believe that?! And her name is Mary! It's hilarious."

The brunette crinkled her nose. "This is weird, yes… But it doesn't change the fact that you need to be careful."

The taller girl scoffed. "This is the Old Wilde West, not Disneyland, midget, so shut up."

"You're infuriating." The diva growled. "I don't even know why I bother…"

"Because you need me right now and trust me the feeling is shared." The tan girl stated.

The Jewish girl sighed wearily, deciding to change subject. "Did you go to the saloon?"

The raven-haired girl checked if the blonde was coming back. "I was supposed to but this happened." She lifted her hand to make a point. "So I'll go tomorrow."

The petite girl nodded. "Okay, in the meanwhile, you should rest. We need you in one piece if we want to leave this place." She ended up in a whisper. "Are we still meeting tonight?"

"Yes, now leave Laura Ingalls before people start asking questions we don't have answers for." Santana ordered.

Rachel moved forward and hugged her quickly. "For what it's worth, I'm glad you're okay."

"Yes, okay, great but what did I say about hugs?" The Latina pulled away. "We're not friends, don't do that. Now go."

The diva smiled before hastily leaving the practice.

The next day, Santana went to the saloon as planned. She knew she couldn't stay long because Ricardo was supposed to be back at the ranch soon and she was not in the mood to get a lecture from him. She ordered a whiskey and settled at a table, if she could enjoy herself while spying on people, even better.

The Latina glanced around her, it was pretty crowded. She brought her glass to her lips to taste her drink but almost spat it out. This thing wasn't whiskey, it was just surgical spirit. She coughed hard, trying to ignore the few people staring. After a few minutes of listening to some uninteresting talk, 5 men entered the saloon and settled on the table in front of hers.

The men chatted happily about their job until one said something to the taller one, mentioning Michelle's name. It picked her attention.

"So Cole, are you going to the fair with Michelle? What did she say?" A small dark haired man asked.

Cole sighed. "She's not sure but she's just confused. I'm sure she will quickly understand I'm her best chance to get married and have a good husband."

Santana raised her eyebrow. This guy was probably Michelle's ex that Rachel told her about. She could already say she wasn't a big fan.

The man continued. "After all, before me, no one really paid attention to her. But I'm not worried, if I keep being nice to Mrs Bercoran, she will probably push Michelle to marry me." He smiled. "I like her despite her weird personality and I want to marry her, it should be enough. She just needs to realise that she likes me too."

The tan girl scoffed. No wonder Rachel found him half charming half despicable, he sounded too much like Finn for her liking. She had a bad feeling as soon as she put her eyes on him but now that he opened his big mouth, it was even worse. She didn't know why but she felt pissed at the boy's statement.

John, the small man who had asked him the question nodded. "You are lucky to have your parents and Mrs Bercoran's support. I've been trying to court Ms Quinn for a while now but my parents don't want me to talk to her. And I don't know, it's like every time we talk, we end up fighting. I don't know if it's because she's passionate or just doesn't like me."

"Women..." A blonde man stated as he shook his head.

Santana snorted, these boys were pathetic but what she heard could still be helpful. She checked the time on her pocket watch, this thing was ugly but at least it was useful. It was late, she needed to go back to the ranch.

If Santiago's father was back, it might not be a good idea to sneak out tonight, especially if he questioned her about her hand wound. Santana walked toward the shop and we thankful to find Rachel there. She grabbed some fruit and made her way to the counter. She glanced around the shop before whispering. "I need to go back to the ranch but I heard some interesting thing about Michelle's ex and his friends. I can't meet you tonight because the prick is back but tomorrow night, at the barn, I'll explain everything." She gave Rachel some money before exiting the place and rode her horse back to the ranch.