Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.
A/N: Do you guys like the story? Are you still interested in pezberry stories? Let me know...
Chapter 6: Their stories
After spending the day at the shop for Rachel and working at the Ranch - although slowly because of her hand - for Santana, it was finally time for the girls to meet at their spot. Neither of them could have thought that one day, they would be eager to meet and talk about their day but the life in this era was hard and all they had was each other...
Rachel sneaked out of her room and walked as fast as possible to the abandoned barn. She sighed in relief when she saw Santana was already there.
"Took you long enough!" Santana greeted her. "Can't your short legs walk faster?" To avoid catching people's attention, they had both agreed to walk from their homes to the barn and not use horses.
"Always a pleasure, Santana." The diva deadpanned.
"Whatever, Midget." The Latina rolled her eyes. "So, what's up?" She leaned against the wall and started playing with the bullets on her belt. She had decided that since she was forced to wear this 'cowboy's outfit', she should keep the gun with her. Rachel lectured her for a while but in the end, she had dropped the topic.
"I didn't find a lot of new information about Michelle's father or anyone for the matter. Some details about Cole and hum…" The brunette trailed off.
"And?" The tan girl asked expectantly.
"And you… well Santiago." The petite girl corrected herself.
"Oh…" The raven-haired girl frowned. "What did you learn?"
"That lately the boy helped Michelle, nothing much…" The Jewish girl didn't want to share the details about the possible attraction the girl could have for Santiago, at least until she knew more about it. "What about you? What did you find out in the saloon?"
"That your ex…" The Latina stopped when she saw Rachel's raise her eyebrow. "That this dude, Cole, thinks he can have Michelle back and that he won't let it go until she agrees to marry him. He also went to go to the festival with you, well her."
"Yes, that's what I figured out too…" Rachel sighed. "Anything else?"
"There is this other dude, I didn't catch his name but it looks like he's in love with Dr Quinn or something. He said his parents are against it and he keeps fighting with her so he didn't know if it was just passion or simple hatred." Santana shook her head. "Those guys are pathetic and oblivious; I could almost feel sad for them if it wasn't..."
"Wait a minute." The diva interrupted here, suddenly struck with realisation. "Maybe that's the reason!"
The taller girl frowned. "What?"
Rachel started pacing the floor as the wheels in her head turned. "I kept focusing on the quote we read but maybe that's not it. Maybe it's about the tale the guide told us about."
"That cheesy story?" The tan girl scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous."
The petite singer stopped walking and looked at the Latina. "No, I'm serious." She insisted. "What if Dr Quinn and this guy are the couple from the tale and we are here to help them get together. Think about it, Mrs Harper said they were always fighting and people were against them being together, it could fit!"
"What, No! That's just a legend to entertain tourist." The raven-haired girl stared at the girl in disbelief. "And really, why us? Especially if we are playing someone else's life!"
"Because Santiago is friend with Dr Quinn and Michelle is connected to the boy through Cole." The brunette explained.
"You're crazy and it still doesn't answer why us?" The former cheerleader was starting to get frustrated. "We were just on a weekend with glee club!"
"Because we read the quote, maybe it activated something." Rachel offered. "Perhaps because we have things in common… I still don't know about that part but I'm pretty sure I'm right about the tale."
"I thought you said it has nothing to do with the quote." Santana raised her hands up in frustration. "Make up your mind!"
"Well I'm just like you, I'm trying to understand but at least it's a start." The petite girl declared. "Our presence here has something to do with the tale and we need to figure out why. And more importantly, how to go back to our time?"
The Latina stared at the girl for a moment. "Let's say you're right and I don't think you are but then I never thought I'd travel back in time so I'll bear with you for a minute. What do we do now?"
"We need more information, on Michelle, on Santiago and on their families. We also need to know more about Dr Quinn and Cole's friend." Rachel stated, trying not to smile at the fact that the Latina used 'we' like they were a team.
The taller girl sighed, running her hand through her hair. "How? All I found was some old letters and a few newspaper articles…"
The Jewish girl's eyes widened as an idea popped into her head. "The newspaper office! We should go there and search in the archives."
The tan girl nodded while thinking about a plan of action. "We can't go there during the day and bluntly ask for articles, it would look weird. We should just break in and search ourselves."
"No! We can't do that, that's breaking and entering, you said it yourself we can't get in trouble. What is wrong with you and acts of felony?" The diva cried. Santana completely ignored the girl and brushed past her toward the barn door. "Where are you going, Santana, come back in here!" Seeing the Latina wasn't listening, Rachel ran after her
"I'm going to the newspaper office. It's late and if we hurry, we won't get caught." Santana simply said as she begun walking in direction of the newspaper office.
"This is a terrible idea!" The petite girl exclaimed. "And you are right, it's late, which means it will get harder for me to sneak back into my room. It's already not something I'm used to doing and…"
"If that's the problem, don't worry, dwarf." The tan girl cut her off. "I'll help you with that; I have a lot of practice."
"Do I even want to know?" Rachel muttered.
The Latina rolled her eyes. "Whatever goodie two shoes, shut up and follow me."
Rachel and Santana finally reached the newspaper office after hiding to avoid people a few times.
Santana checked their surroundings and when she was sure there was no one in sight, she looked through the window to make sure no one was in there. She tried to open it but it was locked. She moved to the door. "Well I guess we need to break in, old fashion way. Give me a bobby pin." She extended her hand expectantly.
Rachel frowned. "I don't have bobby pin, Santana, we're in 1880, they haven't been invented yet."
The Latina rolled her eyes. "Thank you, Wikipedia." She sighed. "Alright, then we'll just have to improvise." She looked at the building. "Maybe I can jimmy the window or..." She stopped talking when she saw Rachel simply turn the doorknob and walk through the unlocked door. "Fuck."
The diva smiled proudly. "See? You don't always have to use the force; you can also use your brain."
"God, you're annoying when you do that." The taller girl growled as she followed the girl inside. She settled the lantern she had brought with them on floor so they could read.
The brunette huffed but didn't reply, making her way toward the archive section. The girls looked for almost 15 minutes before Rachel found an article on Michelle's dad. "It says Michelle's dad died during a robbery. At first they thought it was gang from a nearby town but it didn't lead anywhere." She paused to keep reading. "The culprit had never been found but later, some witnesses said it was a man, Mexican type…"
The tan girl scoffed. "Of course, let's blame the Mexicans." She moved close to the diva to read over her shoulder. "It says Santiago's father was interrogated but nothing came out of it." She shook her head. "No wonder this dude is bitter and hates this town if every time something happens, his family or friends are accused…"
"I'm sure Michelle knows the Cruz have nothing to do it." Rachel assured sympathetically.
Santana raised her eyebrow. "So?"
The diva cleared her throat. "Nothing…"
The raven-haired girl stared at her before reading some articles in her hands. "Okay so I found something about Quinn, well Mary. The town needed a doctor but no one wanted to settle here. Dr Quinn offered her services after being freshly graduated but she wasn't welcomed nicely due to being a woman. In the end since they couldn't find anyone else, they let her open her practice."
"Poor woman, this is admirable. She is clearly ahead of her time." The brunette declared.
"Yup. She…" Santana stopped when they heard voices approaching the office. They looked at each other in panic. "Fuck, are they coming here?"
"I don't know." The petite girl whispered.
No wanting to take any risk, the Latina turned the lantern off and rushed underneath the desk. "Hide!" Without thinking, Rachel crawled underneath the desk with Santana. "Did you have to come here with me?"
"Well sorry, Santana, I don't really have time to look around for a better place to hide!" The brunette whisper-yelled as she squeezed her body half on top of Santana's.
The former cheerleader sighed, trying to rest her back against the wood of the desk. "At least, could you avoid putting your boobs next to my face? It's not like they are big, it shouldn't be that hard."
"There is not a lot of space here and I don't think you really mind breasts next to your face." Rachel snapped as she tried to find a more comfortable position, forcing her to get even closer to the Latina. She was grateful for the fact that it was dark or else Santana would have seen her blush.
Santana scowled. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing." The petite girl quickly said. "Now shush, the voices are coming closer."
The Latina glared at her but kept her mouth shut. They waited for almost 20 minutes for the people to walk away from the building and rapidly understood it was too late to continue their research now. The girls decided to call it a night and went back to their 'homes'.
A couple of days later, Rachel and Santana met as their usual secret spot like every night. Everyone in town had been pretty excited by the upcoming fair the next day and the girls thought it was a good opportunity to fish for information.
They both talked about their days and the information they obtained on the different people in town. After a while it was more Rachel rambling about some gossips. ""Well, Mr Duncan seems to have an eye for the ladies. Poor Mrs Duncan is either oblivious or has learned to ignore it. And don't even get me started on that lothario Sam Owens..." When she saw the Latina wasn't paying attention, she stopped talking. "Santana are you even listening?"
"Hmm?" Santana looked up at her, startled by the sound of her name. "Sorry, I was, er...Is Cole still bothering you about the fair?"
Rachel sighed. "He came by the shop everyday this week, trying to convince me to go with him to the ball. Abigail pushed me to accept his offer so I compromised. I told him I wouldn't go with him but we could meet there and have a few dances together."
"That's ridiculous; the guy is a douche and his friends too." The Latina exclaimed. "You should have just said no."
"He would have approached me at the fair anyway." The diva argued. "At least this way I have a say in it."
"You could pretend to be sick." The tan girl declared. "Aren't you supposed to be on Broadway at some point because your acting skills are lacking lately."
The petite girl glared at her and put her hand on her hip. "I'm going to ignore that comment because I don't want to fight after the exhausting day I have had. I just have a question though, why do you care?"
The raven-haired girl scoffed. "I don't. I just don't want you slapping the guy and bringing unnecessary attention on yourself." She threw down the hay and pulled at the hem of her jacket. "And I'll have company anyway…"
"Really?" The brunette raised her eyebrow. "You're going with someone?"
"Yes, is this so hard to believe?" The former cheerleader crossed her arms defiantly, her chin rising as if in challenge.
"No, of course not." The Jewish girl assured. "I'm just surprised; I didn't know Santiago had someone…"
Santana sighed as she removed her hat and ran her hand through her hair. "I already don't want to go to that stupid thing but with this chick, what's her name again? Rosa something, following me around, it's gonna be harder to get info." She put her hat back. "Santiago's dad organised this 'date' because he thinks and I quote 'It's about time his son finds a respectable woman to marry.'"
"Maybe Rosa is a nice girl, you could have fun." Rachel said supportively. "And I don't know about Santiago but who knows, she could be your type."
The Latina frowned. "What is that supposed to mean?" She questioned coldly
The brunette flinched slightly under the girl's tone. She hadn't heard it in the last few days. Sure they had bickered and snapped at each other but not like that. "Well, I mean, you could find her attractive and interesting. It's not because we are in the past that you can't have friendly moments or more with some people if you want to. I'm guessing that since Brittany, you are like me after Finn, a bit lonely sometimes."
"What the fuck are you talking about?" The tan girl snapped angrily. "I'm not lonely and you know nothing about what happened between Brittany and I so just shut the fuck up. It's not the first time you've made comments like that either, the next time I can't promise I won't punch you in the nose." She threatened before taking a deep breath to calm her anger. "So I'm gonna say this one last time, I'm not gay. Stay the fuck out of my business."
Feeling the situation quickly going downhill, the diva tried to reassure the girl. "Please Santana, I don't need the details to know that what you had with Brittany wasn't friendship, and it's okay. There is no shame in being gay and I am certainly not judging because as you know I have two dads and Kurt is also my best friend." She smiled kindly. "I think love goes beyond genders and you don't have to put a label on yourself if you don't want to. I know everyone figures out their sexuality at their own pace but when you are ready, if you need someone to talk to, despite us not being friend as you like to remind me, I'm here for you." She moved closer to the Latina to give her a friendly touch but Santana quickly snatched her hand away.
"I'm not you, Gayberry and if you're a carpet muncher, don't project it on me." The raven-haired girl roared. "I'm just seeing this girl because people think I'm a dude here. It's bad enough that I'm expected to fix fences and carry wood, pee in the bushes and wear the same shitty brown clothes every day, without being forced to take some ethnic chick to some stupid dance so my 'father' can get rid of his worthless, waste of space, disappointment of a son."
"Santana..."
"Just shut the fuck up, Berry. Stay the hell away from me and don't even try to talk to me at the dance. I'll find a way to leave this joint on my own." The Latina slammed open the barn door and rushed toward the ranch.
The brunette quickly ran after her. "Santana, wait! I didn't mean to upset you."
"Go to hell!" Santana shouted.
Rachel sighed as she helplessly watched the Latina move away from her. So much for not fighting…